Oh, to wake up and realize you’re in Capri! Breakfast was complimentary at the hotel. And let me just say, nutella is HUGE in Europe! I made sure to eat some dino (dinosaur) cereal. :) We checked out, I grabbed my new slippers, and were on our way to meet Brittany (on an SAS trip to Capri). We went down to the port to find out about boat tours. We ended up taking a group boat tour around the island that stopped at the Blue Grotto! The Blue Grotto was closed the two previous days, but was open for this morning! The other girls didn’t know if they wanted to go into the Blue Grotto because it was extra money, but I had my mind set. The good news was that we could decide when we got there, and not everyone had to go.
We got onto the tour boat and started around the island. It was amazing! Capri is SO beautiful. It has little grottos all around it. One of them was the Love Grotto- they say you go in with 2 people and come out with 3! The water was so bright blue, and the cliffs were light cream colored and light brown with green plants spaced out throughout them. We sat at the front of the boat on the flat part, with our feet up and hair down. Oh, were we relaxed! The wind blew into faces and little mists of salt water splashed up to cool us down. Finally, we got to the Blue Grotto. I was definitely going! All the other girls decided to as well, so we stopped the boat and sat to wait. In the mean time, a little girl on our boat started throwing up. :( It was so rocky where we were waiting, and soon I saw others in different boats also throwing up. Thankfully I didn’t get seasick from it!
The opening was TINY. We got into small canoes- 4 of us with a guide, and were instructed to sit in the bottom of the canoe so we could lay down completely while going through. I was never nervous- just SO excited!! I’ve seen gorgeous pictures of the Blue Grotto and was about to experience it myself. Notice I said experience, not see- it was so much more than what my eyes saw. As we approached the entrance, we waited as the guide timed the perfect entrance. We were told that if the wind and waves weren’t perfect, the canoe would smash up into the opening and crush the canoe. The passengers would fall out, and the Blue Grotto is EXTREMELY dangerous- nobody is allowed to swim there. I’m not exactly sure what it is, but I think it has something to do with strong currents sucking you under from both sides of the grotto. Anyway, we waited for the perfect timing as he yelled at us to lay even lower, we made our way through the opening. Bright sunlight, pitch black….then gorgeous glowing blue EVERYWHERE. We were inside the Blue Grotto, and it was amazing. The sunlight makes some kind of reflection under the water, and the entire grotto is lit up with a bright blue color. The water is the color of the brightest blue gem, crystal clear and sparkling. The whole inside of the “cave” is lit with a darker blue, and even the walls show the blue reflection. The air was almost heavier inside- cold but warm- it’s not even explainable. There was constantly a tour guide in the grotto singing in a deep Italian voice, adding so much to the experience. All I could hear was the faint sounds of the water moving, deep Italian serenading, and small splashes as the canoes made their way around inside the Blue Grotto. I would definitely turn on my moment-recorder if I had invented it! After spending some time in there, it was time to lay back down and time our exit perfectly. Our guide got us through! I was curious to see whether the other girls thought it was worth the money since they didn’t all initially want to do it. I myself was happy about it and thought it was completely worth it. How often do you get an experience like that?! Turns out the other girls agreed and really enjoyed it too. We finished the boat tour and headed toward the ferry lines. We bought our tickets and were on our way back to Napoli! We got back a little early (we didn’t have to be on the ship until 6), so we took advantage of a little internet café just outside where our ship was docked. Unfortunately we didn’t plan ahead so many people’s computers were low on battery- mine included. There weren’t any plugs around, so we couldn’t charge them…not like that would have helped anyway, since my laptop charger is 3-prong and I only got a 2-prong adapter! :( Anyway, I uploaded some pictures to my blog and then my computer died. Michelle was still using the internet, so I stuck around and waited. In the meantime, I realized I could get wifi on my phone so I could use Skype! It was about 4 pm in Italy, so when I called my parents on Skype it was 7 am in San Diego. And they were awake! Yay!! My dad was just about to leave for a bike ride, but I did get to say a quick hello and chat for a bit! I got to talk to my mom for a long time, and it was so nice!! Of course, once I hung up I realized that talking to her made me miss my family more! But I was very grateful that I had the opportunity to talk to my parents…I miss them!
We got back on the ship by on-ship time and headed up to the deck for dinner. This port change was interesting- since we were still going to be in Italy, just a different city, students were not required to return to the ship. We were allowed to leave the first day in Naples and not come back until the last day in Civitavecchia. The only catch was that we had to tell them ahead of time (a week or two beforehand) that we would either be on the ship or off the ship while it moved. Because the ports are really strict, only those who said they were coming back to the ship were allowed back. Everyone else had to get to Civitavecchia. About 300 of the 700 people came back to the ship. Since it was a small group and it was the 4th of July, they threw a little 4th of July barbeque for us! Michelle is slightly obsessed with 4th of July, so she brought about 5 red, white, and blue outfits. Either 4 or 5 of us were wearing her clothes! We were probably the only group of people being festive, but we were having fun. We went up to the deck and got some food- it was so much better than normal! There was fun dancing music on, so after we ate everyone was dancing around having fun. We did the Cha-Cha Slide, and sang all the “typical” songs- Journey, Girls Just Want to Have Fun, etc. We took some fun group pictures, then got TONS of ice cream (Darwin was serving it) and watched the sunset from the front of the ship. As the sun set, the city lights grew brighter, and we eventually drifted away from the port to go on to Civitavecchia. Along with the barbeque, there was a sleep-out under the stars night. They set up lounge chairs on the decks for people to sleep on. We were all going to do it- why not? It was the 4th of July and Michelle’s birthday in the morning, so it would be fun. We were there at midnight, when all of the sudden in the distance on the shores of Italy there were a bunch of groups of fireworks all along the coast. They were small, but it was like our own private fireworks show- we got to enjoy a number of shows! It was so fun- fireworks on 4th of July AND technically Michelle’s birthday! We were outside for a little longer, but all went inside eventually because we were leaving to go to Florence in the morning and didn’t want to be TOO exhausted. Goodnight, and God bless America!
We got onto the tour boat and started around the island. It was amazing! Capri is SO beautiful. It has little grottos all around it. One of them was the Love Grotto- they say you go in with 2 people and come out with 3! The water was so bright blue, and the cliffs were light cream colored and light brown with green plants spaced out throughout them. We sat at the front of the boat on the flat part, with our feet up and hair down. Oh, were we relaxed! The wind blew into faces and little mists of salt water splashed up to cool us down. Finally, we got to the Blue Grotto. I was definitely going! All the other girls decided to as well, so we stopped the boat and sat to wait. In the mean time, a little girl on our boat started throwing up. :( It was so rocky where we were waiting, and soon I saw others in different boats also throwing up. Thankfully I didn’t get seasick from it!
The opening was TINY. We got into small canoes- 4 of us with a guide, and were instructed to sit in the bottom of the canoe so we could lay down completely while going through. I was never nervous- just SO excited!! I’ve seen gorgeous pictures of the Blue Grotto and was about to experience it myself. Notice I said experience, not see- it was so much more than what my eyes saw. As we approached the entrance, we waited as the guide timed the perfect entrance. We were told that if the wind and waves weren’t perfect, the canoe would smash up into the opening and crush the canoe. The passengers would fall out, and the Blue Grotto is EXTREMELY dangerous- nobody is allowed to swim there. I’m not exactly sure what it is, but I think it has something to do with strong currents sucking you under from both sides of the grotto. Anyway, we waited for the perfect timing as he yelled at us to lay even lower, we made our way through the opening. Bright sunlight, pitch black….then gorgeous glowing blue EVERYWHERE. We were inside the Blue Grotto, and it was amazing. The sunlight makes some kind of reflection under the water, and the entire grotto is lit up with a bright blue color. The water is the color of the brightest blue gem, crystal clear and sparkling. The whole inside of the “cave” is lit with a darker blue, and even the walls show the blue reflection. The air was almost heavier inside- cold but warm- it’s not even explainable. There was constantly a tour guide in the grotto singing in a deep Italian voice, adding so much to the experience. All I could hear was the faint sounds of the water moving, deep Italian serenading, and small splashes as the canoes made their way around inside the Blue Grotto. I would definitely turn on my moment-recorder if I had invented it! After spending some time in there, it was time to lay back down and time our exit perfectly. Our guide got us through! I was curious to see whether the other girls thought it was worth the money since they didn’t all initially want to do it. I myself was happy about it and thought it was completely worth it. How often do you get an experience like that?! Turns out the other girls agreed and really enjoyed it too. We finished the boat tour and headed toward the ferry lines. We bought our tickets and were on our way back to Napoli! We got back a little early (we didn’t have to be on the ship until 6), so we took advantage of a little internet café just outside where our ship was docked. Unfortunately we didn’t plan ahead so many people’s computers were low on battery- mine included. There weren’t any plugs around, so we couldn’t charge them…not like that would have helped anyway, since my laptop charger is 3-prong and I only got a 2-prong adapter! :( Anyway, I uploaded some pictures to my blog and then my computer died. Michelle was still using the internet, so I stuck around and waited. In the meantime, I realized I could get wifi on my phone so I could use Skype! It was about 4 pm in Italy, so when I called my parents on Skype it was 7 am in San Diego. And they were awake! Yay!! My dad was just about to leave for a bike ride, but I did get to say a quick hello and chat for a bit! I got to talk to my mom for a long time, and it was so nice!! Of course, once I hung up I realized that talking to her made me miss my family more! But I was very grateful that I had the opportunity to talk to my parents…I miss them!
We got back on the ship by on-ship time and headed up to the deck for dinner. This port change was interesting- since we were still going to be in Italy, just a different city, students were not required to return to the ship. We were allowed to leave the first day in Naples and not come back until the last day in Civitavecchia. The only catch was that we had to tell them ahead of time (a week or two beforehand) that we would either be on the ship or off the ship while it moved. Because the ports are really strict, only those who said they were coming back to the ship were allowed back. Everyone else had to get to Civitavecchia. About 300 of the 700 people came back to the ship. Since it was a small group and it was the 4th of July, they threw a little 4th of July barbeque for us! Michelle is slightly obsessed with 4th of July, so she brought about 5 red, white, and blue outfits. Either 4 or 5 of us were wearing her clothes! We were probably the only group of people being festive, but we were having fun. We went up to the deck and got some food- it was so much better than normal! There was fun dancing music on, so after we ate everyone was dancing around having fun. We did the Cha-Cha Slide, and sang all the “typical” songs- Journey, Girls Just Want to Have Fun, etc. We took some fun group pictures, then got TONS of ice cream (Darwin was serving it) and watched the sunset from the front of the ship. As the sun set, the city lights grew brighter, and we eventually drifted away from the port to go on to Civitavecchia. Along with the barbeque, there was a sleep-out under the stars night. They set up lounge chairs on the decks for people to sleep on. We were all going to do it- why not? It was the 4th of July and Michelle’s birthday in the morning, so it would be fun. We were there at midnight, when all of the sudden in the distance on the shores of Italy there were a bunch of groups of fireworks all along the coast. They were small, but it was like our own private fireworks show- we got to enjoy a number of shows! It was so fun- fireworks on 4th of July AND technically Michelle’s birthday! We were outside for a little longer, but all went inside eventually because we were leaving to go to Florence in the morning and didn’t want to be TOO exhausted. Goodnight, and God bless America!
Breakfast- Hotel Capri
BEAUTIFUL Capri!
Island Boat Tour
I thought it looked like a teddy bear rock :)
Blue Grotto!
Blue Grotto!
Blue Grotto!
4th of July sunset
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