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 Amalfi environments
Emeraldo
Grotto
The Emerald Grotto is nearby and is reached by steps or lift
and then by rowing through exceptionally clear water in
this marine cave is illuminated indirectly by rays of
sunlight giving it a beautiful emerald color of
extraordinary depth. Reflected in the water are the
marvelous golden colored stalactites which are
suspended from the cave roof. The road winds on towards
a sight that suddenly bursts into view as you emerge
from a tunnel gouged through a cliff. It is unbelievably
pretty; tall, white houses, churches and towers perch
atop rocky precipices in the Molini Valley facing a bay
of azure blue with a backdrop of rugged mountains. Three
miles of Praiano, the grotto is reached from the coastal
road via a descent by elevator, which costs 3 Euro,
including the boat ride. Then you board a boat that
traverses the eerie world of the grotto. The stalagmites
are unique in that some are underwater. You can visit
daily 10 am to 4pm. Take the Sita bus in Praiano going
toward Amalfi. The best way to go is by boat from Amalfi
or Praiano, leaving from the docks and costing 6 Euro
round trip, plus the 3 Euro entry fee.
Furore
 A corner of Norway, cut in the Mediterranean rock, that is Furore
valley, a fiord, a deep wound in the territory of the Coast, along
which the stream roaming downwards from the Agerola mountain flows,
calm in summer, but rumbling and terrible in winter. All
around, clinging to the fiord precipices, the houses and the small
terraced gardens which make up the village. Below, where the
fiord encounters the sea, a small sandy beach, framed by the steep
valley walls and high, up there, the bridge of the state road which
crosses the narrow gorge. Here it is possible to leave the
asphalt strip and, from step to step, from garden to terrace, you
can go up to the woods of Agerola, walking between the sea and the
sky, the earth and perhaps Paradise. At Furore Greta Garbo
stayed during her romantic involvement towards Ravello.
On Ravello, undoubtedly one of the most suggestive places of the
whole Coast, Alfonso Gatto wrote a splendid rhymed card the meaning
of which is as follows: "the calm houses dreaming of the rosy charm
of the hillocks, go down towards the sea, as isles, as villas, near
the churches".
Courtesy of Hotel Onda Verde - Amalfi Coast
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