The bus from Praiano

Jo Anne

A few days ago we took the afternoon bus from Praiano (the next town south down the coast) back to Positano.  It had been a beautiful but long day of hiking on "The Path of the Gods" trail.  We were ready for some public transportation.  When the bus arrived it was full but we all still piled in pushing to the back of the bus and standing in the aisle.  The last people to get on, right behind us, had to stand in the door well.  We started the climb up, up, up, to wind along the cliffs between the two towns.  Traveling on a bus along this road can be a bit nerve wracking and standing while traveling it well,... it is something else.  Samantha was hanging onto Steve's legs for dear life.  I heard Ella say "This is crazy!" and then to confirm it asked "Mom, is this crazy?". Yes, it was.  The bus was navigating the hairpin turns along the mountain, beeping before entering every bend as a sort of warning to the cars and motorcycles coming the opposite way.  It was crowded but people were still in a friendly mood with most being vacationers.  Someone turned on a radio with dance music.  Looking out the window at the blue sky day with the sun glistening off of the Mediterranean, I thought just for a second, if we do go barreling off the edge it wouldn't be a bad moment to go out on.

Of course, I snapped out of that fast.  I went back to gripping the back of the seat nearby and holding onto Ella.  I thought about how choosing the perfect Amalfi Coast bus driver is a little like choosing a surgeon.  You don't want them to be so young that they lack experience but not too old that they may have lost those quick reflexes.  This guy looked about right.  I envisioned the lot of us in a scene from the movie Speed, minus Keanu and Sandra Bullock. I heard the bus driver ask the people in the door well to lean back so that he could see out of the right side of the bus. I said a little prayer.  I watched every big mirror that was posted on the blind curves for the purpose of being able to see cars on the other side as if I was going to warn the bus driver of impending doom.  And then we arrived.  The bus pulled into the stop with all of us still in one piece, as it appears they always do.