Day 15

Buongiorno,

Sorrento was founded about 2600 years ago by the Greeks as a trading port. Since then it has passed through many sets of hands, including the Roman, Byzantine, Spanish and Sicilian. Today it is part of Italy.

Over the years it has been fortified, especially in the Middle Ages. It has a natural port for ships to berth and unload and load cargo. The rock cliffs behind form a natural fortress, and these have been enhanced over the centuries. The hills give a commanding view of the sea allowing plenty of warning if you see a fleet of invading ships (or pirates) heading towards the city.

The modern day conquerors are the packaged tour companies, and their armies the hoards of tourists. Old and fat tourists (not a word, Miss Abigail!). Cruise ships at anchor in the harbour lay siege to the city while their passengers remove all vestiges of tradition with their insatiable demand for spaghetti bolognese and souvenir T Shirts (that are made in China).

Looking at the walls and the buildings, the roads and the layout, Sorrento probably has some old stories to tell. But these days those stories are hidden underneath a dense layer of boutiques, souvenir shops and kitsch restaurants.

The language you hear spoken most often is English, usually with an American accent. You also hear bits of French, Spanish and Deutsche. We can also hear snippets of Russian accents. Koro has become very used to hearing the strident commanding tones of the female Russian accent.

Firenze, Venezia, Roma, even Paris and Barcelona are all high tourist areas as well. But Sorrento feels very different, pre-packaged, stop, buy a souvenir, have lunch, perhaps a drink on the pier, then back to your cruise ship and move on.

We walked around the narrow streets, our objective being to look for the best way to get to the island of Capri. Do a package tour, or take a ferry and wing it? We decided on the ferry, so we’ll just buy tickets at the terminal in the morning.

The streets are chaotic, full of cars and buses and scooters and pedestrians. Being a major trading port in ancient times, you can well imagine the streets have always been like this. Jammed with carts and horses, oxen, donkeys and slaves carrying cargo up and down the hill to the ships in port. Or filled with soldiers rushing to defend the city, and civilians rushing to escape the invaders.

We did find the alternative way down to the port. It is a winding road. Longer, but far less scary than the silly steps Koro had to walk down last night.

We thought we might find somewhere to swim, but there are no beaches to speak of at Sorrento. There are just piers where you can sit, have a drink or something to eat, and if you want to, swim. The point being, you have to spend money to swim.

We chose not to. The weather has cooled down quite a bit, although the water is still warm. While the water is clear, being a port with lots of boats around there is a lot of rubbish and debris.

Sometimes we have to leave home to appreciate how lucky we are to live in Aotearoa. We are so lucky to have beaches like Mount Maunganui and Ohope that are so clean (although we could all do better at keeping them clean), beautiful, free for everyone to enjoy, and relatively empty. Never take what we have for granted.

We have seen lots of feral cats in Sorrento. We’ve never seen them before, not even in Roma where they are famous. They seem to hang around down near the port and the fishing boats. We’ve also noticed fewer pigeons than you see in a lot of cities. Perhaps the cats are doing their job.

Then, do you know what we discovered? A lift! There’s a nice, safe, fast lift from the bottom to the top of the cliff.

Sometimes, Mister Google Maps, the fastest route isn’t always the most sensible.

Love to you all from Grandma & Koro and Buzzy Bee