Epic Hikes of the World ( PDFDrive )

© Danita Delimont | Getty
famed Amalfi lemons
Far below, the white pumice-stone houses of Praiano are stacked on the slopes.
There are trails that detour down there, but I continue over the rock crags, relishing
occasional forest shade but largely at the mercy of the Mediterranean sun. There
are plenty of other walkers – families, route-marchers, red-faced tourists in
inappropriate footwear. We’re all equally bewitched by the view.
I pause in Nocelle for my picnic, gazing out to sea just as the coastguards once
did. At around 1312ft (400m), the village was an ideal vantage point for spotting
pirate ships. Today it passes its time in sleepy fashion; there’s little more here than
a family trattoria and a muss of broom bushes, vineyards and lemon groves
growing the Amalfi citruses craved by chefs worldwide.
Nocelle is technically the end of the Sentiero degli Dei, and you can catch a bus
from here to Positano. But, feeling some loyalty to the hardy forebears who had no
choice, I walk down instead, a thigh-jellying descent of 1,700 steps to reach the
Mediterranean.
Standing in the harbour, I turn to look back at the houses of Positano,
themselves rippling wave-like down the cliffs in a palette of lemon-yellow, pale
peach and bold terracotta. I shift my gaze further up to pick out the path whence I
came. And I raise my eyes higher still, to where the mountaintops meet the sky, and
where the gods surely must be smiling down on this walk. SB
WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS
The Amalfi lemon (Sfusato Amalfitano) has Protected Geographical Indication
status and is known for its flavoursome rind, lack of bitterness and sweet aroma.
When scurvy-beating lemons became compulsory for sailors in the late 18th century,
Amalfi farmers hacked out cliff terraces to cope with demand. Now, with a decline
in the skilled farmers who maintain the groves, the landscape’s integrity is at risk.
ORIENTATION