Not just Santa comes down our Chimney in Positano!

It was early in the morning. As I heaved myself onto the white domed roof, a cat scuffled with the dog next door, letting out a menacing yowl. I walked across the roof edging cautiously to the border, afraid that the sight of the sudden drop would make me dizzy.
I took the photo that I was after and made my way back.


A scrabbling noise funneled up from one of the chimney openings. Stopping to listen, I imagined that it must be a large lizard that had lost it's grip as it was silent again.

Later, at lunch time, as I opened a can of tuna in the kitchen ( I had not been to do the shopping yet) , a plaintive cry came from a room in the distance. Again, it seemed to be the sound of a cat. I opened the door to the living room and was just in time to see two grey legs and a tail shoot into the fireplace and disappear up the chimney.

Remembering the episode on my return from last summer's holiday, when I found the window edging gnawed and a dead squirrel under a blanket on the sofa in our living room in Luxembourg, I decided to take no chances and left the door wide open for the cat to exit into the garden.

An hour passed and there was no sign of the cat. I took a broom into the opening of the fireplace and pushed it into the deep ledge inside. "Hiss, hiss , spit." It was definitely still there and I couldn't brush it out.

I tried coaxing this time, leaving the empty tuna can in the fireplace. It came down while I was out of the room but shot in again to hide itself when it saw me. A trail of pasta dipped in tuna oil leading to the garden did the trick, so as soon as the kitten was safely outside I closed the door.

Meowing pitifully, the kitten called its mother, terrified that I would hurt it. It finally left our gardens jumping down off a wall into the property below.

Mare Monnezza a Positano

Last year was a good season at Positano. The sea was relatively clean, and jelly fish were not a big problem. Waking up in the early morning, the sea would be crystal clear, as it was on the day that I took these photos, this past week.

But by the time 10/10.30 am arrived, and I am very very sorry to have to say this, the sea resembled an industrial area in the outskirts of Naples.

This unfortunately is not uncommon. This is the harsh reality of a place that does little to defend it's natural beauty. Do you know what the Municipality's response to this problem is?



It's this meagre motorized paddle boat with two poor men unable to cope with the extent of the floating rubbish and the area (three main beaches) which they are supposed to keep clean. They come to Fornillo beach every other day around midday. By this time, the debris has extended right along the shore and is impossible to clean.



The tourists visiting, look on incredulous and have their photo's taken wading in the garbage.



The owners of the private beach establishments do their best to fish out refuse close to the shore with nets; meticulously clean the beach of anything washed up during the night and when questioned about the situation confess that they are embarrassed and ashamed -'Signora, mi vergogno' that such a sight should befall their shores.

The locals are different. They are philosophical and resigned to this phenomenon.

'Sono le corrente' - 'It's the tide's fault'- currents in the water bring the rubbish in from nearby is the excuse that I hear often.

It's come from a dumping in a local river; it is dumped by the yachts; people are trying to sabotage the tourist industry in Positano; are other reasons that are bandied about.

Whatever the reason, locals are determined to have their swim in the place that they consider the most beautiful on earth. To admit that there is a problem would be admitting that there are faults in the system. They let their children play in the water, waving away the rubbish or swimming beyond the tide of plastic, reasoning that the debris is superficial and that Positano has obtained the Blue Flag for micro biologically clean water again this year.

And again the tourists look on along the shore line.

As for myself , I don't even bother to go down. I would be too embarrassed to show my face and be associated with such a dump.

What would you do ?

Fruit galore

Look at what was waiting for me at Positano.

I went into the kitchen and pulled open the fridge door. Three more trays of ripe apricots perfumed the fridge ! I picked out the best ones for myself and got to work making nine jars of jam with the rest.

When I got back to Luxembourg yesterday, the garden was burgeoning with ripe soft fruit of all types.

To reward the family for their generosity in letting me have such a wonderful break, there will be homemade pizza for dinner followed by Vanilla icecream in a bed of quatre fruits rouges (cherries, strawberries, mulberries and red currents for garnish) topped with a colis aux framboises (raspberry sauce). Mmm... I'm for seconds !

Positano Beach Day

You know you are having a typical day on a Positano beach if:

1. In the morning, you hear the scraping of rakes across the pebbles, as the people working for the private beaches level the shore.


2. You hear the occasional plop as the larger rocks are thrown back in.


3. You can only beach lounge sardine style in summer.


4. You are so close to your neighbour, that you can tell whether they shaved their legs that morning.



5. People walking into the water look like clumsy tightrope walkers, arms- a -flailing.



6. You can wade in the water over rocks for only two metres before suddenly hitting a ledge and going under. You pretend you did it on purpose.



7. You get into the habit of checking the water for jellyfish before going in (and listen attentively for cries of Medusa along the beach).



8. When the boy comes to ask you for the payment of the sun loungers, you tell him you'll pay at the bar later (because you know that the boss will give you a discount).



9. You install your self on the lounge, placing your bag underneath.
10. The ten a.m ferry to Capri goes past and five minutes later causes a mini tidal wave wetting anything you have placed under the sun lounge.



11. You go to the bar for lunch al fresco and order arancini and a panino with a delicious parmigiana di melanzane which Luciano makes for you.



12. You decide to get the umbrella because the heat is unbearable at midday.
13. At midday, the wind picks up and the bagnino tells you that either you close the umbrella or hold it, to keep it from spearing the sunbather two rows behind you.



14. You sit there looking stupid with an umbrella billowing in your hands.


15. A Chinese lady comes up to you and asks if you want a massaggio. (A massage ! What? On the beach!)
    
16. You decline and have to watch while she plummets your beach neighbour's legs and arms.



17. You hear the familiar cry of Cocco Bello Cocco Fresco in a sing song voice. A very deeply tanned man in a straw hat arrives holding a tempting ice cold basket of coconut pieces. The cry "Cocco bello, cocco fresco" is the Positanesi equivalent of a Mr. Whippy ice-cream van. Children clamour to have a fresh piece of coconut.


18. Your son begs you to buy some (2 euros for three small pieces!) and when he bites into it he promptly breaks the braces on his teeth.


19. You close the umbrella, take the lilo and float out to the deep waters.


20. Your teenage son's friends in the water all say 'hello'. He pretends he doesn't see you.




21. You elegantly struggle back out of the water and with your lilo, narrowly avoid hitting the 90 year old lady in bikini, who is sitting on the water's edge talking to the (younger) old man in a Speedo.



22. You decide not to tell her that she has tiny black stones sticking to her bottom, and then you check yours.



23. The only thought at the end of a day when the shadow lengthens on the beach, is whether to chase the sun across to the other side, or else to lap up the relaxing atmosphere at the bar by having a gelato or iced tea with friends before heading home.
    
    

Thanks to the rubbish crisis in Naples, I've found a last minute flight from Luxembourg to Naples direct - and I'm going for a holiday to Positano on my own !!!! Leave my husband to cope with the rest of them for a week - I'm chilling.

See you after the 29th !

Love Thursday - Love Reading

Look carefully - there's a heart shaped pebble from Fornillo Beach !

I LOVE reading. There is nothing more comforting than a good book to get lost in.

See these books ? I picked them up at the second-hand book stand at the European School Fair on Saturday, here in Luxembourg.

More importantly, do you know what they mean to me? Holidays !

My book shelves at Positano are bursting with light (trashy) beach reading that I pick up at the stands for 1 euro per book. It doesn't matter if they get thrown in the beach bag with the wet towels, have suntan cream squished on them, or have stracciatella gelati drips on one side.

They are there to soak in the sun and atmosphere with me under the umbrella.

As soon as I buy them I'm on a high because the summer is not far away.

They are also useful if you want to avoid talking to the person next to you!

(sorry for the late posting- my camera wouldn't work)

They made it!

Last night between 8.30pm and 10.45pm, there was not a car on the road in Luxembourg. They were all in front of the TV watching the expected victory of the French team over Italy in the European Cup.
Ha ha - we beat them!

You know you're in Positano if...

There are some things which are peculiar to Positano.

Living with beautiful scenery has it's ups and downs. Simple life can become involved and maddening.

And it's not just the stairs that get in the way!

Over the coming weeks, I will be posting a series of 'You know you're in Positano if...' taken from the Facebook group of the same name.

You know that you're in Positano if:

1. Locals tell you that the stairs at Fornillo beach are a short cut and then they take the elevator.. your calf muscles are killing you the next day... you overtake tourists with high heeled sandals going down the stairs to the beach... your legs feel like jelly when you arrive.



2. You post a letter from Positano to someone in Positano and it takes a month to get there...
   


3. The village cemetery has a view to die for... (sorry)



4. You are about to yell at the kids to sweep up the sand they spilt and you realize it is moving...you invest in about seven cans of insecticide and spend half your holidays plastering cracks with adhesive tape in order to keep the ants at bay.



5. As soon as you leave you just want to go back...
   


6. Work goes on in houses unofficially without anyone seeming to notice...You can't buy everything in Positano but you can buy (almost) everyone.
   


7. The highlight of a day trip to Capri by boat, is returning and seeing Positano nestled in a backdrop of sunlit mountains.



8. The post office is so disorganized that it runs out of stamps.



9. After 6 months of mayhem in the postal services at Positano, the director is promoted... to another town!



10. Due to the lack of things to do in winter, some Positanesi go to the local council meetings for what they call 'circus entertainment'.



11. In winter you have to stand aside on the stairs to let burdened donkeys go past on their way to a building site.



12. The council effort to clean the water of floating rubbish has resulted in a modified paddle boat with a netted scooper on the front.



13. You learn to live with nature: You have a close encounter with a baby gecko in the shower and don't bat an eye lid; A well camouflaged lizard watches you perkily from the garlic basket while you wash the dishes and you don't run screaming for a broom; You learn to stomp down the stairs leading to the garden to allow lounging snakes to slither away before you see them.



14. Crisp air, soft evening light and the smell of wood smoke accompany you through the alleys on your way home from a deserted beach in winter.



15. Ninety- year- olds sit casually on the beach in their bikinis.
    

If you have a Facebook account, you can have a sneak preview of the rest of the entries and of course join the group and add your own !

Naturally you can add your own quirks here too...