#20 On the Island of Capri




Navy Story #20

On the Island of Capri

On the second of USS Pensacola's two Mediterranean cruises while I was aboard, we pulled into Naples for a few days of shore leave. During that time, I was able to take a hydrofoil boat over to the island of Capri, which is nearby. John Carpenter, a fellow officer friend, went with me. I don't think this next picture is the exact version of the hydrofoil that we rode on, but it will give you an idea of what kind of boat it was:


After we landed at the harbor (here's a picture)


we walked up to the main village on the island for some lunch. In fact, I think the picture you just looked at was taken from near the restaurant we stopped at. I don't remember what I had to eat, but I do remember that we each had a small bottle (very small, probably 16 oz. or so) of the "house wine", which I think is locally brewed. The lunch and the wine were excellent, and when we were done we went outside to continue our exploration of the island. When we got outside, I noticed that the trees along the road were moving strangely. I mean, it looked like the trees themselves were moving around, not just the branches. I realized that I was mildly drunk, and that the moving of the trees was due to my legs' and eyesight's being very unsteady! I think that was the first time I had ever felt drunk.

John and I didn't allow that to deter us from our hiking up the hill behind the village, to the top of one of the high hills that are on the island. It was a slow, tough hike, but were sure were rewarded when we got to the top! Here are some pictures I took from up there, from as close to the edge of the cliff as I dared to get:



What a beautiful island! We sat up there for awhile and just drank in the sunlight, the beautiful view, the breeze, the smell of the sea, the singing of the birds, and the sight of the butterflies fluttering by. That was really fun!

Then, of course, we had a hydrofoil trip back to Naples. That was fun, too! Those hydrofoils are nice boats.