 |
| From Italy!!!! |
After several weeks of flawless planning and execution on this vacation in italy, all the perfectly synched gears came to a grinding halt when we landed on the island of Elba....
On the road down to the port, the picturesque roads wound their way through the gorgeous hillsides covered with various crops. Unfortunately, the beauty came at a cost! The winding motion had an effect on several of our stomachs! The Dramamine that Rebecca and I took knocked us out for the rest of the trip. (In my case, I fell asleep for the last hour of the car trip, woke up to help carry everything and run to the boat so we wouldn't miss it, then promptly fell asleep for the hour ferry ride over. I again woke up long enough to carry the backpacks and herd kids to the bus stop before falling asleep yet again for the hour's bus ride to our hotel in Rio Marina, across the island. That night, we all went to bed early, and I think the Dramamine finally wore off by the morning.)
After an afternoon of hard play in a lovely little cove (covered with colorful little pebbles instead of sand), catching many sea creatures, having rock-skipping contests, and watching the bustle while a ferry docked and unloaded, we decided to find an "authentic" restaurant. We got exactly what we asked for, but not exactly what we wanted, as evidenced by the kids faces when they saw pieces of octupus and raw fish come out on the appetizer plates! Spaghetti with clams (or rather, a mess of clams with a few noodles intertwined) and gnocchi with octopus "sausage" followed by a fish whose "head got chopped off" before our eyes was a little too much for the kids (or the adults?!). We tried to salvage what was left of the evening with a good serving of gelatto....
With a good night's rest, the next morning promised to bring a smoother day. We woke up at 6, left the hotel, and made it onto the 6:30 bus for the hour ride across the island to the "good" beaches. Rebecca (3) serenaded us and brought a smile to even the bus driver's face...not an easy thing to do at 7 in the morning! Spirits were still high when we got off the bus and took out a map to get our bearings, but when Jason opened the backpack and discovered that our passports were missing.....well let's just say our spirits changed.
Thankfully, they hadn't been stolen, we had just forgotten to retrieve them from the hotel manager after he had checked us in. I volunteered to take the bus back to get them and then return to the "Barabarca Beach" and hopefully meet up with the family. We found a little cafe and ate breakfast before hopping back on the bus to our various destinations (Goetzes--Barabarca, Me--the hotel in Rio Marina). I took 50 euros with me for emergency money and set off to save the passports. I arrived at the hotel, got the passports, and then walked outside to wait for the bus. It might be a good time to mention on the side that the bus system in Elba is somewhat hit-or-miss. The buses come between 2 and 4 hours apart, so if you hit it, it's great, if not, you're rather stuck!
Yes, I'm sure you know what's coming....after walking around for 2 hours, enjoying the town and taking lots of pictures, I sat down at the bus stop we had used that morning. Unfortunately, not realizing that it wasn't really the right bus stop. The bus driver in the morning had been kind enough to pick us up because we were the only people out at 6:30 in the morning and were unmistakably waiting for his bus! By 11 am, though, I must have blended with everyone else on the road...the bus driver whisked on by.
After confirming with a man at the "tourist service point" that the next bus to the place I needed to go (Capoliveri) would leave in almost 4 hours (at 2:45), and that a taxi (of which I had not seen any) would probably cost me 50 euros, I had to come up with a new plan. The ferry back to the mainland was supposed to leave at 5, so the Goetzes would be leaving the beach around 3. Getting on the bus at 2:45 for an hour's bus ride was not an option!
I finally planned to get on a bus at 12:35 and go to a city closer to the beach, where I could either rent a scooter or take a taxi the shorter distance. I sat down at the correct bus stop, determined not to miss the bus again! When the bus finally stopped at the city I wanted, I got off, walked across the street to the rental store and discovered that it was closed! The bus was still there, so I ran back to the bus and hopped on. I had overheard someone asking the bus driver if the bus was headed to Capoliveri, so I asked that man if he could help me! I showed him on the map where I needed to go and he told me it would be easy! He only spoke Italian, but "easy" sounded good in any language at this point!
After getting off who-knows-where, we walked across the street to wait for the next bus, which he said would come in 15 minutes. Less than 5 minutes later, though, a friend of his happened to be driving through and honked at us. Normally, I wouldn't just hop in the car with two strange men, neither of whom speak my language, but at this point I was desperate! I prayed that I would be safe, jumped in the car and trusted that I would see the Goetzes soon!
The three of us used every language we could think of to try to communicate. They were Romanian, so we used bits and pieces of Romanian, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and English. In retrospect, I'd have to say we did quite well! Thankfully, they dropped me off right at the beach and I was soon reunited with familiar faces!
We did eventually make it back to the ferry and all the way home....what an adventure!
Posts
