Path of the Gods & Italian Kindness

We have a list of ~30 questions we ask the boys to answer for each country, which includes “share one act of kindness you experienced in this country.” As we flew from Naples, Italy to Heraklion, Crete, we all unanimously agreed that the most impactful act of kindness happened on the Path of the Gods.

For our last full day in Italy, we scrapped the idea of going to Capri in favor of doing the Path of the Gods. The 8km trail begins in Bomerano and descends about 500 meters into Positano. It’s stunningly gorgeous and while it’s not that difficult, there are quite a few places that made the over-protective parent in me very nervous as the boys rock hopped precariously close to a 500m drop to the sea.

Getting to Bomerano proved to be more challenging on public transit than we expected. What would have been a 5 hour walk, required 2.5hrs of one train and two buses, one of which takes over an hour on hairpin turn roads and is usually standing room only. Due to some delays and our inability to fully understand Italian road signs, we arrived at the trailhead about two hours later than planned and all a little hangry, so we stopped for lunch in Bomerano before heading out.

Esp. for those who have hiked with me, you may know I’m a bit of a water nazi. We usually have 100oz of water for a short hike in the blue hills, as well as some snacks, a headlamp & pocket knife…just in case! However, given the delay and eating lunch, we forgot to refill our water bladder and started the trail with only ~75oz instead of the 150oz as planned. We had been told there were numerous water stops along the trail, which turned out to be true at the beginning, when we weren’t thinking about water, but not true after the halfway mark, when we were.

About 45 minutes from Positano, we got to the point where Rob and I stopped drinking and started monitoring the boys’ intake. An Italian couple heading in the other direction overhead us discussing water and very generously insisted on giving us one of their extra water bottles. We were all very grateful for the extra water and each downed two full water bottles when we arrived. Despite being a bit thirsty, it was one of the most beautiful hikes we had ever done and that Italian couple’s generosity will stay with us for a long time!Read more