Procida

PROCIDA: Our third and final afternoon in Napoli was to be a relaxing one, so we decided to head to the least touisty of all the islands in the Bay of Naples, a small fishing island called Procida. Apparently some of the film Il Postino was shot here, among the gorgeous medieval streets. Near to the ferry port, the lanes wind upward to breathtaking views overlooking the fishing village, and, after another ascent, out toward Sorrento - our next destination.

We'd intended to cool off in the water first, but decided to work up a bit more of a sweat (the mercury has been hovering in the mid thirties since the last week of Rome) by heading up the hill. As I write now from Florence, the utter absence of tourists on our subsequent stroll through the fishing village - old men talking, youngsters on vespers, a woman and child scrubbing the front door of their house together - seems like something from an idyllic past. (More on Florence as I catch up on this blog).

We overshoot the beach, so distracted are we by the sights and sounds of the palce, but find another soon enough - my first ever swim in the Mediterranean Sea! We have a patch of sand all to ourselves, which again will come to seem like a luxury (both the sand and the space) in light of our visit to Capri in a few days time.

On the way back to the port we catch a bus - at my instigation - which happens to be going in the opposite direction... to the other end of the island. Thankfully, we made it to the port just as our ferry was boarding, and so managed to include a tour of the island withour intending to... the sunsetting over the Bay of Naples as we head back to the boisterous city is one of those sunsets that stick.