Grateful AF

DAY 13

Today was a day we had really been looking forward to, our day trip to Capri.  We got picked up in the lobby at 9:30 and boarded a van to head to the dock. Once there and checked in, we waited a significant amount of time to board our boat. Things seemed quite unorganized down there, but eventually after waiting over a half hour in the heat, we boarded the boat to what seemed a not-so-happy boat captain. It was a really nice boat and there were only 10 other people on it which made it great, as if we were on a boat with friends: not packed at all and didn’t feel like a tour. We sat up in the front of the boat just living the dream. 

Our first stop was to the white grotto which we could only see from the boat. The driver explained that it’s called the white grotto because of the stalactites (or was it stalagmites?), but nonetheless, the limestone was what made it white. He drove a little more and then let let the anchor down so people could get off and swim and snorkel. I could not pass up the opportunity to get in this crystal clear water. I mean, it was so blue, it looked like it was dyed (like

the color of the Chicago River when the Cubs won the World Series. That blue. I swam for about 20 minutes or so and then got back on the boat. Soon enough, we were off to the green grotto. There were a bunch of boats parked around it and we parked too. The driver said we could jump off the boat to go and swim in there, so again, I just had to. Plus since the boats couldn’t go through the grotto, I swam in it. Honestly, it was surreal. It felt like it was fake. The water was so blue and clear and the light reflections coming in were unreal. At that moment I felt so lucky and grateful to be here. I’ve felt that way on numerous occasions this trip, but this one really did it. It was an awesome experience. 

After that swim, we went to the Blue Grotto, the most famous of them all; the main attraction of this boat excursion. I actually think that is what Hugh Hefner modeled the grotto in his home after. If you ever watched Girls Next Door like I did, you know what I’m talking about. If not, you clearly missed out on great TV. Anyway, we didn’t pull into the Blue Grotto even though so many other boats were. I was confused because we specifically picked a tour that would go through it. Apparently, there was a 20-minute wait to get in, but our driver didn’t want to wait. What the fuck?!?! I was annoyed, but I wasn’t going to let it ruin the day. We continued on our way to Capri to actually dock and get off. We had about 3.5 hours to walk around and explore the city. My friend and I knew we wanted to head up the funicular to town to not only get an amazing aerial view, but to walk around the shops. We had heard there was some fancy stores up there, so we had to check them out, even though we clearly weren’t going to be making any purchases. The town, Anacapri, was super upscale and nice. Every luxury brand you could imagine had a storefront. After treating ourselves to some very overpriced lemon slushies again, we walked around. My friend has been wanting a Gucci bag so we popped in the store. From the moment we walked in, they had eyes on us. My friend picked up a purse to look at, and immediately one of the employees told her to be careful and was just glaring and judging us, all while hovering. We walked around the store looking at other stuff and he legit followed us around the whole time as if we were going to steal something or damage goods. It was actually quite offensive. Like relax dude, our “poorness” will not rub off on the goods. We have just as much a right to be in there as anyone else. I know I’m privileged to have this be the first time that has happened, and it certainly wasn’t lost on me that this happens to many people, quite often, if not daily. 

After walking around and just profusely sweating, we decided to head back down by the water to walk around there and then go to the beach to just chill. We got to the public beach and ugh, it was all rocky. We purposely bought water shoes for this after our experiences with rocky European beaches last year, and we didn’t think we’d need them today so we didn’t take them. Rookie mistake. Grrrr. We sat at the beach anyway and I attempted to go in the water in my flip flops, but it was so rocky and slippery, and to me, dangerous, it wasn’t worth it. I don’t know how people were barefoot. You could roll an ankle or cut your foot; it wasn’t worth it to me. We relaxed on the rocks for a solid hour before realizing we really should get some water and eat something. It was 4:00 by this time and we hadn’t really had anything but two beers and a bag of chips. We weren’t hungry, but knew we should get something. Soon enough, it was time to get back on the boat. We were talking with some  other people on the boat and figured we’d ask if we could attempt to go to the Blue Grotto again on the way. When we did, we were told this time that it wasn’t part of the tour to go in the grotto. On my confirmation paper, there were very specific details stating we would be going into the Blue Grotto, so now I was more annoyed. We had paid for something that we weren’t getting. I will hopefully get it handled via my travel agent, but again, it wasn’t worth having such an amazing day ruined over. Sure we were disappointed, but it was out of our control. 

When we finally got back on land, we got our ride back to the hotel and just showered and got on our robes and laid around. It was a long day in the sun and heat and we had really thought we were going to head down to the Marina Grande for dinner, but just didn’t want to get dressed again so you know what, we ordered room service. Heck, we are on vacay. So if we want to stay in our robes and watch the sun set and order in food, we will. Especially because we have another long boat day tomorrow, this time to Amalfi and Positano. I love being on boats, and I’ve heard these towns are gorgeous, so I can’t wait!