From San Lazzaro to Mt. Faito

     After our touring day in Amalfi, we said goodbye to the wonderful cooking at our B&B and hit the trails again from San Lazzaro enroute to Mt. Faito.  After our experience of the first 2 days, we had lost confidence in the trail guidance and time estimates from our organizing company so Heather and Shelagh purchased a local trail map in Amalfi, planned out an alternative route and we used that to start our day.  Instead of backtracking 2 hours to the starting point, we had our B&B hosts drop us off at the top of our village where we could then use a local trail to connect to the main Alta Via ridge trail.  This worked perfectly for us and instead of rolling into our hotel late for dinner, we arrived mid-afternoon.  
We only had one major ascent today, early in the morning and the rest of the day we were hiking along ridges on the Naples side of the mountains or walking directly along the top of the ridge with views to both the Salerno and Naples sides of the peninsula.  After climbing the ridges to the Church of San Michele where we had lunch and a cold beer on the steps (how civilized for a church to serve cold Peroni at the top of a mountain) we hiked the rest of the way to the top of Mt. Faito and on to our hotel.  The hotel is pretty basic for tonight . . .  but at the top of a mountain you don't have a lot of choice.  Lots of drinks and food will make everything fine.


 After reaching the top of the ridge, our first view of the other side of the mountain and the Bay of Naples 

Hiking up to the Ridge


Naples in the distance.  The humidity level was high today with the Mediterranean sometimes disappearing in the haze.


Shelagh, hiking up the switchbacks along the ridge


View of Naples again from the ridge


And the other side of the ridge


OH......we're going there???  And is that a Church?


Well, as you can see, we have arrived at the Church.


The facade of the church of San Michele.


And yet one more view of the Bay of Naples


One of the many paintings inside the church

Solid wood hand carved Alter



The Mediterranean blending into the haze of a hot summer day


And our triumphant hikers arriving at their hotel bar for celebratory beers and G&T's



The view from the terrace of our hotel room tonight at the top of Mt. Faito.  Looking out on the rest of the Sorrento peninsula that we still have to hike with the island of Capri at the end. 




And a beautiful sunset over the bay of Naples.




GOODNIGHT!

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