My time in Ravello was incredible but the rain poured and poured. Sadly this caused a huge landslide which stopped the buses from running. I had to do a long and impromptu walk back to my hotel in Maiori. I really wasn’t prepared for this, but in hindsight I am glad it happened.
My hike began next to Villa Rufolo, with a gentle slope out of the town. Naively, I believed most of the hike would be this way …. then I turned a corner to be greeted by a steep staircase. Some of the reviews of this hike call it steepish and stepped. Maybe it is my short legs, but it is insanely steep at some points, I believe you go down around 3000 steps in total. I was amazed at how many Italians live on this path and walk up and down it with bags of shopping.
The first 10-15 minutes of my hike wasn’t scenic at all, huge walls surrounded me of either side. Feeling rather deflated that my adventure was proving difficult and rather boring to look at I decided to speed up with my walking. Winding down the steps which were, not only getting steeper, but also narrower, I could see a flat path. Something to aim for to have a break. I had stumbled across a church, Santa Maria delle Grazie, which only opens once a year. I was able to have a moment of peace and quiet to enjoy the view for the first time since leaving Ravello.
Leaving the church and crossing a road (which involved getting slightly lost because I missed the sign) I headed on towards Minori. At this point the path became less steep, but more like a wind tunnel where I fell over (several times, visit my Instagram for the embarrassing photos!).
Leaving the last few houses of Ravello behind, my walk entered into the lemon and olive groves. A great place to breathe in the fresh mountain air, whilst wandering down the winding path towards the coast.
The last few steps into Minori turned out to be a race against the clock, because the thunder started to rumble around the valley and I could see the waves crashing into the beach.
Luckily I made it back to Minori and was able to hide in a cake shop (YAYYY!!!!!) until the rain subsided. This cake shop turned out to be Sal De Riso, one of the best cake shops in Italy.
All filled up with cake and a break in the clouds, I made it back to the Pietra di Luna Hotel, just in time to curl up on the balcony and watch a beautiful display of thunder and lightning around the bay.
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“It is not down in any map; true places never are.” – Herman Melville
Disclaimer: Please do not attempt this hike if you aren’t so physically able. Team Veganosaurus are quite fit and experienced hikers who found this an incredibly challenging 5km hike. The air can get quite thin and some areas have no shade, so if you’re up for this really rewarding challenge get up early before the heat of the midday sun, take lots of water, a camera and of course (lots and lots of) snacks.
Rex the Veganosaurus 
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