Day 18 started bright and early because, despite Praiano's insidious effect on me - to slow down & take it easy - I had a date to keep. At 10am the local authorities were putting on a free concert called I Suoni del degli Dei (Sounds of the Gods) half-way along the
Sentiero degli Dei (Path of the Gods).
As soon as I found out about the hike between Praiano & Positano I knew I had to do it & I was super-excited to find out that one of the concerts coincided with my visit. The walk starts right beside the Farmacia in town & I had already been warned about the 1000 steps up the side of the mountain. What I hadn't been warned about were the few hundred steps I had to take before I even got to the track (nor about the continued climbing up the cliff after the steps had finished - more about that later).
Here are the actual '1000 steps' from the bottom.
And from a little way up.
I had started later than I wanted to & was in a bit of a hurry (as much as you can hurry up 1000 steps without having a heart attack), but every now & then I swivelled around to admire the view. S'alright I guess.
Then I had to tear myself away & keep climbing.
And climbing.
These cute shrines were scattered along the way.
Once I reached the top of the stairs I could fully appreciate the view.
At the pinnacle of the steps sits the Convent of San Domenico - a still-functioning church. From what I could tell there aren't any roads leading into this church, just the steps leading down one side & another climb up on the other. I could be wrong, but if I'm not, that's one committed congregation.
It was another hazy day on the Amalfi Coast, but the views were still amazing.
I had been warned not to attempt this walk if I suffered from vertigo. You can see why. They aren't really into protective barriers in Italy.
As I mentioned, the climb didn't stop at the top of the 1000 steps. It just turned into a scramble up these cliffs - eerily similar to all those I had completed in NSW. Lucky I had done them because it was pretty challenging.
Every corner promised something new.
Like this view overlooking Positano.
Finally I arrived at the halfway point where the concert was going to take place - with 10mins to spare! The musicians were actually running late, so I got to rest for about 30min before it started. This concert was a duet of oboe & flute, playing 4 pieces - a mix of Baroque, Classical, Romantic & Modern.
It was a magical experience - listening to Mozart while relaxing on a cliff high above the Amalfi Coast. Not your average day in the office, so to speak.
The concert lasted about 40min, then it was time to keep walking. The views kept coming - this time of the soaring cliffs above.
And of course the Coast below.
I reached Nocelle surprisingly quickly, from where the walk started to climb back down. This tiny chapel was hidden around a corner.
There were only 750 odd steps back down - something I'm sure my knees would thank me for.
I highly recommend this walk to anyone visiting the Amalfi Coast. Funnily, the local authorities class it as medium difficulty, but I would definitely say it's difficult. I get the feeling that a difficult climb to these locals would mean nothing less than scaling Mt Everest.
