The Life of Amycita: Day 12... Island of Capri, Part 1

As I write this blog entry, Brad is driving to the Galveston area to be the Best Man in the wedding of his friend Ricky and his longtime girlfriend, Nicole. Sadly, I am not with him... this week I haven't bee feeling very well and after a couple of doctors appointments and a couple of diagnosis (first it was vertigo), it was decided that I have a sinus infection. Although I don't have any of what I consider "normal" symptoms, like a stuffy nose or congestion, I have been getting bad dizzy spells and more recently nausea and a pretty good headache. Since the motion of a car doesn't go over very well right now and the fact that Ricky and Nicole are getting married on a boat, the doctor advised that I didn't go on the trip.

I am very disappointed that I will miss this trip and the celebration on the boat. I am also disappointed because this isn't the way I would have liked to have spent my birthday. However, the dizziness cannot be ignored so, here I am - on the couch, watching Season 1 of "Glee" on DVD (my birthday present from Brad- thanks honey!) and catching up my blog for as long as my head will allow. It is somewhat fitting that this week's events have revolved around not feeling well and a boat... I bring you the blog about an island off Italy, a boat and the single worst travel experience of my life...

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When Brad and I were researching the tours and their excursions, we would Google the locations and activities. Hands down, the images we saw of Capri were one of the THE top reasons we made our final tour selection. Not only did it look beautiful but there was a chair lift that looked awesome, but more on that later! So, needless to say, we were SUPER excited when this day finally arrived. I wish I could tell you that the day was wonderful, however, sadly it began horribly. Ugh... so I begin...

We left the hotel and headed to the port of Sorrento where we would catch our ferry to Capri., an island off the Amalfi coast of Italy. The weather was a little rainy so we really hoped it would get better. We were, after all, going to a beautiful island!! We got our tickets and the anticipation of the day ahead began building!

We met our guide for the day, a man named Luigi (can you get more Italian?). He explained to us that the ferry we would be taking was quite large but it was known for not handling rough water very well. He said that some people don't feel well. I began wishing I had been told that sooner since I would have taken the Dramamine I brought with me- but it was too late now. I am hit or miss with motion sickness. I absolutely can't read while in a moving car and sometimes riding the in the backseat of some cars bother me. I got VERY sea sick once as a child when we were deep sea fishing in Hawaii. I was only slightly bothered by the motion of the ship while on a cruise to Cozumel. Despite those things, I have spent quite a bit of time on the water and have done very well. So, while I was aware of his cautionary words, I didn't worry about it too much...

We boarded the ship and within minutes of departure, the worse 40 minutes of my life began. For me that 40 minutes might have been 4 hours of torture. I decided that I had better find the bathroom after us only being underway for a couple of minutes. Let's just say... it was a good thing I did. It wasn't pretty folks. And to make things worse, the ride got rougher the farther out to sea we got. I felt like I was riding an angry bull in the rodeo and I couldn't get off. After being the bathroom for a while, I realized that since there was only one in that area of boat, other people may be waiting... I managed to steady myself despite the ship jumping up and down and was amazed at what I saw when I opened the door... two of my fellow tour mates standing there as white as a sheet and the crew members PASSING OUT BAGS to numerous other passengers. It was like Sea Sickness Armageddon.

I tried to walk back to my seat and Brad but couldn't. I was afraid to go too far from the bathroom but mainly because the ship was moving so violently and I was so dizzy, I couldn't move. So, I found part of the ship that I could hold on to and that is where I stayed for the remainder of the trip. Then I became painfully aware that there weren't any windows for me to get some fresh air (what kind of a boat designer does that!?!). This lead me into the next wonderful part of my ride... the panic attack. Seriously... crying, hyperventilating and your basic freak out session. I just needed to get off that torture machine, have my husband hold me while I stood on solid ground and breathe some fresh air... none of which I could do. One of the older men from our group (and husband of one of the other very sick people) tried to comfort me. He said that he had been a sailor in Australian Navy for 20 years so he knew how bad it could be. He kept trying to tell me to take deep breaths. It was very sweet of him... and completely useless by that point! Oh, and did I mention that all of the passengers on that side of the boat just sat there staring at me like I was nuts? That REALLY helped me feel better!! These were no doubt locals that were just accustomed the the boat. I hated them.

The boat finally began to slow down and people took this cue to get up and begin making there way to the doors. I was frozen. I couldn't pry my hands off enough to move. Then through the crowd, I finally saw Brad and when he saw me, he immediately came to me and helped me. He had thought I had been in the bathroom the whole time and felt horrible that he hadn't been with me. Unfortunately, I couldn't tell him it was okay and I understood... you can't really talk when you are crying so hard you can't breathe. As we made our way down the narrow stairs, I experienced the closest thing I have ever felt to Claustrophobia. I seriously HAD to get some fresh air and began hyperventilating again. I couldn't get out of there fast enough and I think I even tried to talk to Brad... but all I heard was a panicked, crying. I remember at one point almost screaming, "I just have to get out of here!" Not my best moment.

When we finally reached the dock, I thought I was going to kiss the ground. I soon realized that about 5 other people (out of our 30) we also in bad shape. It had not been a good day for tourists on the Capri ferry. After taking a bit to calm down, drink some Sprite and stop feeling to world move, it was time to venture on. Thankfully I would feel fine within the next 30 minutes and I was able to enjoy the rest of the day. And it really was an amazing day. So, now with memories of my floating torture chamber behind me, we move on to the beautiful Island of Capri!

The port in Capri... it is beautiful except that ferry boat that I hope to never see again!

Capri is a small island and its main industry is tourism. In fact, the population of the island double every day just from the tourists. It is a jam-packed island with very narrow streets. There are fewer than 1,000 motor vehicles on the entire island. A large portion of those are cabs and small buses. We boarded one of those small buses to make our way up the island some. The drivers are very good at what they do. The streets are so tight and windy, we held our breath every time we would approach another vehicle!