The Grittier Italy
I got into Sorrento and COULD NOT find my hostel. Even with looking it up on Google maps and asking a few people I could not find it. I walked and walked. I think I saw all of Sorrento. That’s the good news, but my legs were getting so sore from supporting the weight of the backpack. I’ve also been having problems with my right knee, especially going down stairs. Hopefully it straightens out eventually. Anyway, I happened to see a sign for Ostello Le Sirene after about an hour and a half of searching. Normally I would have just given up after 20 minutes but I had made a reservation and I didn’t want to be rude by not showing up. But guess what!? After all that work of trying to find the place, I get there and tell the woman my name and they lost the reservation! She asked, “You’re sure you called today? Who did you talk to?” I was a little irritated but mostly just tired and in need of a bed. I said it’s fine as long as she can help me get a bed. She told me that they have a sister hostel and they had room for me. She told me that it was on the opposite side of town but that one of the guys who works at the hostel would take me. I thought I was going to load my stuff into the trunk of a car but I ended up just slinging my leg over the back of a scooter. Now, you remember me telling you about the scooters on the Amalfi coast–they drive these things like maniacs! You have to be fearless to do it. I wanted to take video of the ride on my camera but we were already off in a few seconds and I didn’t want to risk dropping it! We weaved in and out of cars, passing over the middle line, and playing mini games of chicken with the other scooters. We would go to pass a car and there would already be a scooter, coming towards us, passing traffic in the on-coming lane. You had to be there to understand the madness. I arrived at the hostel in one piece and thanked the guy for a fun ride. It was just another day driving in Sorrento for him, but for me, it was a thrill ride. I went in to reception and the guy from the scooter blurted lots of Italian and then the guy at reception immediately picked up the phone, calling the first hostel I assume, and seemed to be getting into an argument with the lady at their reception. Looking back on it, I think that was just my impression though…maybe that’s how Italians always talk, with intensity and passion…and lots of hand motions. He hung up the phone and said rather placidly, “Welcome to Sorrento.”
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