Rain on Capri

No Rain on Capri? Making the Most of Terrible Weather
By Sharon Miller, Staff Writer

February 2007

Watching the clouds gather over the port town of Sorrento in S The clouds parted just long enough to provide a spectacular sunset. outhwestern Italy, we decided to move all of our backpacks up to a small restaurant on the dock to enjoy a beer while we waited for the next ferry. Rain had plagued the last week of our travels through Italy and we were all looking forward to my sister’s wedding and three sun filled days on the island of Capri.

As the raindrops began to fall we thought we were safe underneath the canopy of the restaurant. We had over an hour to wait and we imagined the afternoon storm would move on long before we had to. How wrong we were. The rain continued to come down much longer than we expected and it had turned into a torrential downpour. Our beers had just arrived when we heard a loud splash right behind us. Looking back, we discovered that the canopy that was protecting us from the elements was collapsing under the weight of the water and it was moving towards our table at an alarming rate.

We had a critical choice to make, save the beer or save our bags? The beer won out and we quickly moved everything on the table to one closer to the restaurant. Braving the rain, we grabbed the rest of our stuff and managed to get everything under a more secure roof.

Foolishly, we continued to hope the weather would clear before the time came to board our ferry. It didn’t. The skies continued to dump buckets of water on us as we all stood in line, looking pathetically liked drowned rats. The only thing keeping us going was the thought that it would be sunny on Capri.

Little did we know that for the last several days, Capri had been experiencing its worst “storms in over 100 years,” at least according to the concierge at our hotel, the Cesar Augustus. In fact, the storms had been so catastrophic that all the power at been knocked out at the hotel and ha Looking back at Capri, under a clear blue sky, was a gorgeous yet frustrating sight. d only been restored a few hours before our arrival. Unfortunately, the air conditioning had not been restored and we found ourselves checking into an extremely hot and humid room. This did not bode well for my sister’s outdoor wedding, slated to take place the day after next.

The rain continued for the next two days, destroying any chance we had of taking a boat tour into the Blue Grotto. Every now and then, the clouds would part to expose a brilliant blue sky, but they would close just as quickly to another crash of thunder.

The day of my sister’s wedding began with the sun creeping over the horizon, spreading its orange glow across an only slightly cloudy sky, giving us all a false sense of hope that the rain had departed just in time. Despite intermittent showers throughout the afternoon, it seemed as though the major storms had finally passed. The wedding was set-up outside. The time came and my sister looked beautiful walking down the aisle, overlooking the Mediterranean in her cream and champagne wedding gown. The guests, all dressed in burgundy, completed the scene.

Then, as the vows were spoken, the rains came again with a sudden fury. Raindrops lashed at people’s faces as we all ran for cover. We ended up inside the hotel lounge, where instead of sitting in rows, the friends and family encircled the bride and groom for the rest of the ceremony.

Unfortunately, the rain continued throughout the night, however, that did not stop the celebration.

The next morning, it was time to leave Capri. Some of the guests were heading home, some were continuing on to other parts of Italy and of course the bride and groom were leaving for their honeymoon. As the ferry pulled out of port, we looked back to see the island as we had been hoping to see it, under a cloudless sky.

**All Photos by Sharon Miller

If You Go

Caesar Augustus

www.ceasar-augustus.com

info@caesar-augustus.com

Phone: 39 081 8373395