Day 23

Buongiorno,

The Amalfi Coast is famous for growing lemons. Lemons were brought to the Mediterranean area by Arab traders, who used them to ward off scurvy on long sea voyages. We now know that this is because of the high levels of vitamin C present in lemons.

In order to grow lemons the hills along the Amalfi coast line have all been terraced over the centuries. It is interesting to see how the lemon trees are encouraged to grow up over wooden trellises, almost like grapes or kiwifruit. This must make it easier to pick the fruit. It would also stop a tree heavy with fruit from falling over, like the lemon trees at Grandma & Koro’s house.

Before the Nastro Azzurro (Amalfi Coast Road) was built in the 1850’s, the only way to move from village to village was to walk the paths up over the hills. These paths still exist, as they are the paths used to access the lemon groves.

The Path of the Lemons is the ancient path that connects the village of Maiori to the next village, Minori. We decided to walk this path to Minori, then walk back along the road.

As expected, the path was narrow, had lots of steps, and at the top offered stunning views.

When the lemons are harvested, they are packed into sacks that weigh about 25kg each. This is done high in the hills, along paths with lots of steps. There is only two ways to get the full sacks down from the high hills - carry them yourself, or get a mule to carry them.

We saw this little caravan of two mules walking along the Path of the Lemons, carrying sacks of lemons to somewhere. Grandma took notice of their shoes, which had special little heels at the rear to stop them from slipping as they walk down the steep, stone steps. Metal horse shoes don’t offer much grip on stone or cobbles, especially when it rains. It’s neat to see the old ways are still the most effective in some circumstances.

As you walk along the paths you often see these little skinks scurrying out of your way. They move very fast, and can walk up and down the stone walls. They must have sticky feet like a spider.

Minori is smaller than Maiori, not as developed, but with a beautiful little beach. There wasn’t much to keep us there, so we walked back along the crazy road to Maiori.

It was a beautiful day, no wind and very hot. Our plan was to lie on the beach and enjoy the sunshine and swim.

The beach is almost like a lake, as there are hardly any waves. It is also very steep - ten metres from shore and the water is well over your head. The water is incredibly clear, and still nice and warm.

All three of us enjoyed the beach, then we enjoyed a refreshing beer as we watched the afternoon sun slip behind the hills. It was a nice relaxing day.

Love to you all from Grandma and Koro and Bondi Sands Sun Tan Bee.