After spending a little time exploring Pompeii, our guide picked us up and we began the next part of our Italian adventure—driving along the Amalfi Coast.
I had seen photographs of this beautiful part of Italy before, but nothing quite prepared me for seeing it in person.
The roads were steep, winding and incredibly narrow. Around every curve was another breathtaking view of the Mediterranean Sea, colorful buildings clinging to the hillsides and tiny towns that seemed to appear out of nowhere.
It was one of those journeys where I spent as much time looking out the window as I did trying to take photographs.
Driving along the Amalfi Coast was an adventure all by itself.
Our guide, Roberto, explained that many of the roads were not designed for large vehicles, especially tour buses. Even traveling in a smaller van, there were times when the road felt barely wide enough for us to pass.
At one point, we had to pull in the mirror on the van so it wouldn't get knocked off!
As you can see in one of my photographs, the wall beside us was only inches away from the vehicle. Coming from rural Arkansas, where roads tend to be wide and open, this was definitely something different.
But as nerve-racking as some of those curves could be, the scenery made every minute worthwhile.
One of the things I remember most about driving along the Amalfi Coast was the feeling that I never knew what I was going to see next.
We would round a curve, and suddenly there would be a view of the sparkling blue water below. Around another bend, we would see colorful homes stacked along the mountainside.
Some of the little towns looked almost like toy villages from a distance.
The entire coastline seemed almost unreal.
Signs Pointing the Way to Positano
One of my favorite photographs from the drive isn't a sweeping view of the coast at all.
It's a photograph of a road sign.
Napoli 49. Amalfi 28. Positano 13.
Only 13 miles to Positano! I was so excited!
As we continued along the highway, the views became more and more spectacular.
Looking down at the Amalfi Coast from above was something I will never forget. The deep blue water, steep cliffs and colorful buildings created views that seemed almost too beautiful to be real.
It is difficult to capture the scale of it all in a photograph.
The roads curved high above the water, with villages tucked into the hillsides and buildings appearing in places where I couldn't imagine how they had been built.
Everywhere I looked, there was another photograph waiting to be taken.
The Little Things That Caught My Attention
Of course, not every photograph I took was of the coastline.
One of the things that fascinated me most was how close homes, doors and windows were to the streets and highways.
There were doors and windows right alongside the road that immediately caught my attention. I still don't know exactly what all of them were, but I found them fascinating.
Coming from rural Arkansas, this was something completely different from what I was used to.
Getting hit by a vehicle is not something I normally have to worry about when stepping out my front door!
But that is one of the things I love about traveling.
Sometimes it isn't just the famous landmarks or beautiful scenery that stay with you. Sometimes it's the ordinary things that seem completely different from what you see at home.
Looking back, I realize that driving along the Amalfi Coast was much more than simply getting from one destination to another.
The journey itself became part of the experience.
I remember the narrow roads, the sharp curves and the feeling of looking out the window and wondering what might be around the next bend.
I remember the tiny villages, the colorful homes, the signs pointing toward places I had only dreamed of visiting and the incredible views of the Mediterranean below.
And, of course, I remember the excitement of seeing that sign:
Positano 13.
The Amalfi Coast was everything I had hoped it would be—and the drive itself was an adventure I will never forget.
Sometimes getting there really is part of the journey.
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