Taking in the Beauty

I love the shore. No, I don’t mean Jersey shore or those overcrowded beaches where it’s hard to take two steps without bumping into the person next to you. I love shores around islands, where you can hop on one boat and merely glide to the next. My favorite part has to be parking your boat on a pier and merely climbing off to explore some of the most famous tourist attraction sites that people pay thousands to experience.

I think back to a hot summer day in August. It was beautiful outside, but we needed to get out. So my friends and I decided to go to a trip down to the Naples bay area. Why not rent a boat? Now when I say boat I mean one of those small engine, four people boats that you always try to fit more in than possible. I was surprised the thing didn’t topple over when we congregated all on one side.

Our day started off just cruising around the coat of the Naples area. We were surrounded by islands and rocky caves that called out our names to explore. The biggest islands surrounding us were Capri and Ischia, two of Italy's most popular island destinations. To us, they were a challenge. We made eye contact with a fellow Italians cruising by us, and the race was on!  Who could get to Ischia first? I cannot even begin to explain the exhilarating feeling of racing through those waters. The boat hit the waves, and for a couple seconds it felt as though we were sailing through the air.

After grabbing a traditional “pizza napoletana” we decided to explore the enticing caves. No scrapped hands or bloody feet stopped us. As if we were small children again, we screamed out to the top of our lungs “helloooooo!” Just to hear the echo.

We did not find treasure. We did not spend a fortune to rent one of those high powered engines either. We simply enjoyed the beautiful scenery and company of everything around us. To me, that si something money can never buy.