Sunday, April 22, 2012

The Amalfi Coast Road

The adjectives pour out riding along the Amalfi Coast road. First, spectacular, amazing, thrilling (scenic is too tame). Second, treacherous, dangerous, life-threatening, maddening. From Salerno west to Positano, it winds up and down, around hundreds of bends and turns, hugging the rock-cliff shore above the turquoise Mediterranean. It’s mostly little more than one-lane. Buses (and there are many) have difficulty getting around most of the turns without any on-coming traffic. With on-coming traffic, there’s a humorous (if you’re watching from a safe distance) and frightening (if you’re a bozo on the bus) dance of position and squeezing through the thin ribbon between rock and sea. Cars take chances passing blindly on the few brief straights, motorcycles just weave their way insanely through. But the view – the views – are well worth the fear. Spectacular, amazing, thrilling . . .

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