Now inland, high up with no cell or internet coverage it is very peaceful and after to settling in to our amazing quarters on an organic working farm we popped into town where Orlondo’s Café had caught our eye: with tiles pictures of a smoking cat, on the wall and as we ventured further to the outdoor dining area, we found a statue of said cat – with a smoke in it’s mouth "In memory of Alfredo and his cat". The owner was very friendly and told us it was his grandfather’s cat, back in 1907 who did smoke and now the cat (and bar) were now “legend”. He gave Ross and walking map of the area and 2 postcards for me of the said Smoking Cat! We enjoyed his company and the refreshing lemon gelato, watching the local men play cards out the back in the shade: a different game to what we play for sure!
At dinner we enjoyed the company of a lady from Quebec who thought NZ was part of Australia – as you can imagine that didn’t go down too well! Anyhow, she was very interesting and well travelled and had been doing a similar trek to us, but on her on relying on her GPS – sadly there is no coverage of GPS, cell phones or internet high in the mountains, so she got lost one day ending up with a 10 hour walking day: in this heat that would be exhausting. Our hosts were amazing with their spread of organic homegrown and homecooked food.
After a substantial breakfast of homemade goodies: bread, butter and jams, and pots of tea, we set off on our last day of tramping through little villages most of the way to Sorrento. Again the instructions were a little tricky, with little deviations, half turns and the route markers changing color several times – all makes a very interesting day. In Massa Lubrense we managed to miss a turn and circumnavigate the town, ending up where we started and snuck back through the narrow alley ways, hoping the locals weren’t watching! Again another day of magnificent views and past many homes with orchards loaded with cherries, apricots, walnuts and peaches. Rows and rows of olive trees with the netting underneath them, neatly tied, waiting for the fruit to grow and ripen. Lots of church services in homes as well as churches, today being Sunday so we heard lots of music and chiming bells along the way. Some of the time the map led us into the narrowest alley ways, sharing the path with private homes and feeling like we were intruding in their space, but no one seemed to mind. We had the company of several lots of friendly dogs today as well. As we neared Sorrento, we had magic views of Mount Vesuvius, Pompeii and Capri as well as the coast line with the many boats and ferries on the water.
Motel Astoria is where we will be for the next two nights and it is very comfortable with a pool and bar, very central again to the main piazza. A bonus too, having tea and coffee making facilities in our room. But finding a supermarket open was another matter, being Sunday and right in the middle of siesta time. Fortunately it opened at 5pm.
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