So it's another serendipitously beautiful day in Capri. I arrived yesterday and am staying at a cozy hotel near the main port. While I've been to Capri before, I'm once again stunned by the beauty of the island. Last evening, I took the funicular up to the center and walked to the south end of the island, looking out over the azure blue water and the rocks jutting up as the sun set. It was so beautiful,it hurt.
Anyhoo, I'm traveling alone and the great thing about today is that I have no plans, so I set out to wander the lesser trodden parts of the island where I have not been before. I head west and putter through some residential areas where locals are enjoying their weekend. While I am walking I can't take my eyes off this breathtaking cliff soaring into the sky. Anacapri must be on top. On the side of the cliff, there appears to be a road slicing across it, but I can also see some sort of a path winding up to the top. I decide to investigate.
After a few false leads and dead ends, I stumble upon a sign that reads "Scala Fenecia" and stone stairs appearing to lead up the cliff. Not knowing what I am in for, I decide to head up the stairs for a bit to see what I find. There is no one else around. I'm questioning my decision to wear jeans and not shorts but I have some water and figure I can easily turn back at any point. So up I go. And up and up and up.
The steps and path seem pretty well-maintained but they are stone and uneven. I'm huffing and puffing and sweating bullets. And the increasing drop down to the bottom of the cliff is making me a bit dizzy.
I turn one corner and am startled by a cat. I scream a little bit and freeze. We are staring each other down. I wonder if the cat is some ancient spirit warning me against proceeding but I win the stare off, the cat scampers away, and I steel my resolve to continue. Now I'm on a mission.
Eventually, I make it to the road that I saw from the bottom slicing across the cliff and I know I am high up. I almost turn back because at this point the path smells like a toilet and there is this netting over the rock face presumably to stop falling rocks. But the path goes under the road and there is nothing to stop me from getting beaned by a bottle thrown from a passing car (or squished by a falling car!). So I hold my breath and scoot along as fast as I can to make it above the road. I see a marker that depicts ancient people coming down the stairs and that inspires me to forge on.
After a seemingly endless hike up and up the steps, all of the sudden, I pop out into a square that is bustling with tourists. I am a bit rattled because the whole time on the stairs, I have not seen another soul. In turn, I startle a group of people who are taking pictures of the panoramic views. They look at me in horror wondering where I've come from. I'm huffing and puffing, I'm dirty, and I'm drenched in sweat. I stagger past them to sit in the shade under a tree. The people are still looking at me (and I think a couple are taking pictures); they must think I live on the cliff. I should stick a hat out and collect some change from them but I'm too tired. I must be in Anacapri.
Then a tour guide with a group of English-speaking tourists comes by near to where I am. He points to where I came from and tells the group that it is the entrance to the famed Phoenician Steps, named for those who built them in the 8th century BC! He says there are 924 steps, not 799 like many guide books state, because of some reconstruction a few years back. He says they are some of the oldest stairs in Europe and they take you back in time when you go down them. He then emphasizes the point that people go down the stairs, they never come up. Doh!!!
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