Amalfi Coast Day 3: Pontechito

Yesterday was our last day in the Amalfi coast. We hiked every day we spent there because it is just too beautiful not to. The hiking really is some of the best we’ve experienced. On our last day and last hike, we decided we needed to get to the top of something. We had seen a sign on our hike in The Valley of the Ironworks that pointed to “Pontechito” which we thought was a nearby mountain.  We asked one of the staff of our BnB where Pontechito is, and he answered by pointing up to the top of the mountain behind the building.  So, we set off in the morning to summit Pontechito!

We stopped on top of a ridge because we couldn’t resist the view. What a perfect place for…a cannolo!! (The singular of cannoli is cannolo.) Cannoli are Veronica’s favorite dessert (or one of…I think), so Monisha said we had to have one in Italy. She didn’t actually understand what all the fuss about them was (having only tried one or two that she wasn’t that stoked on), but boy did this change her perspective. They are really delicious!

It ended up being quite a task finding a trail that led to the top of a mountain.

Determined to succeed, we bushwacked / scrambled along a somewhat sketchy logging path, but all we found was a giant horse!

There was a man nearby, and we asked if there were any trails leading to the top of the nearby mountains.  Sadly, he didn’t speak any English, so we couldn’t really get a good answer.  We asked where “Pontechito” is, and upon hearing “Pontechito” he pointed back down the path we had just come, and made some circle motions with his hands. He also mentioned a “casa” meaning “house.” We weren’t really sure what he was trying to tell us, but we had passed a house earlier on the same trail.  So we headed back down the path.  A bit past the house we came to a large clear-cut area that seemed to lead up to the top of the mountain.  There definitely wasn’t a trail here, but at this point we just wanted to make it to the top of something, Pontechito or no.  We scrambled up it until we finally came to the summit. The view was honestly one of the worst we had seen. There was a whole line of trees blocking the direction that would have looked out over the gorgeous cliffside by the sea. Still, we ate a nice snack while enjoying our success.

 Fortunately, just as we were getting ready to head back down, we walked out a little further towards the direction we wanted to see, going a little down the mountainside, but also around the trees. Suddenly, the gorgeous coastline opened up, and we were rewarded with the stunning view we had been hoping for.

On the way back we ran into a more sheep than people!

How many goats?

And in this one?

We returned from our hike ready for lunch around 3pm.  Unfortunately, we walked through almost the whole town and couldn’t find any lunch place that was ready for us! i.e. everything was closed, including the fresh cheese shop Monisha was really hoping to get burrata from.. Luckily, we found an open bar and asked if they knew of anywhere in town that was open for lunch then. Some of the customers pointed us down the road to a place called GastronoMikey’s. It was very inexpensive, and had things each of us were very much in the mood for: gnocchi with tomato sauce and mozzarella for Nolan, and eggplant parmesan for Monisha. Monisha asked if her eggplant parmesan could be a little more heated up (it was homemade there but it was a sort of fast food-esque place, so it was just reheated in the microwave). He said of course, and said that he thought he knew he should have heated it up more for me because I’m American. He informed us that American tourists always want things very hot; cappuccinos, for example, he said locals wouldn’t want very hot if it’s hot outside, but Americans want it piping hot regardless. We thought about it and remembered that we had indeed received a very lukewarm cappuccino earlier in Italy that totally surprised us. The owner also gave us each a shot of meloncello to try. It was thick and sweet and creamy, and tasted very much like melon. We enjoyed it quite a bit (more than we liked limoncello, though we only tried it at one place in Rome). An excellent find.

  

For dinner we went to yet another bed and breakfast in town known for its food.  We were delighted by the terrace with kiwis growing on a trellis overhead. Dinner turned out to be a story too! They don't have a menu. The woman came and asked "antipasti?" Monisha asked her what the antipasti were and she started listing some things that sounded all yummy. M then asked what is good, trying to include some spanitalian: "que es bene?" She spoke very few words of English. She looked back at the chef, who said "Bene, bene! Sí!" Patting his chest and indicating he would choose, we figured. We affirmed, "Bene! Perfecto!" And gave an A okay sign. We felt very happy with them choosing our appetizer.

She returned in 5 minutes with a platter of mozzarella, ricotta, and meats. It looked delicious and seemed perfect to us. "Good job us!", we thought. But before we knew it, she came back out with three more antipastis. "Grazie," we told her, and then looked at each other questioning what we indicated to them. Did they think we were saying "bene" to everything on the menu..? Were we supposed to tell her yes or no when she brought the dishes? Are we supposed to just eat whichever we want and they will take back the others? But they were all prepared and clearly dished out in servings, so they definitely seemed intended for us. While we were still whispering to each other and wondering, she brought out two more antipastis still. Oh boy.

  

  

With one more week in Europe, who cares! Let's just eat what we want, maybe we pay for a few extras antipastis, that's okay. They were wonderful. The ricotta was the most delicious of all, and these little puffy soft fried spinach dough balls were delightful. While we were enjoying our antipastis, another couple came in and we're asked if they wanted antipastis. They said yes. We eagerly awaited what was going to happen. We grinned when they were then brought the same feast as we had been. We exchanged a smile and chuckle with them, and the man said, "it's an adventure!" Hah! Anyway, we ordered one spaghetti dish with tomato and bacon as well. It was plenty. Oh and a liter of house wine. Sparkle sparkle :)