IF IT'S TUESDAY: Isola di Capri [Anacapri]

[unaltered image - only frame and text added]

If it's Tuesday, this must be Capri

'Isola di Capri'. Island of the Sirens, playground to Zues and Neptune and inspiration to many an artist, the likes of John Singer Sargent and Claude Debussy.

This time it is 1993 and I have just arrived at the Island of Capri courtesy of an organized tour. Not the optimal way to travel but certainly a good choice for a first time visit to Europe alone. However, being a tour, time and options are limited, so one has to decide how to best spend a small fraction of their lives in one of the most glorious and ethereal places on earth.

Choices

Choices! I've never really been good with them. Life never presents a choice of Apples and Apples does it? No.. always some odd mix of the crisp crunchy apple, as tempting as that infamous first bight, or .... the big juicy orange, requires a bit more effort, is going to get messy, but promises to quench your thirst for the sweetness of life. Which to choose?

Well my choices on this day were... take a small boat to the Blue Grotto, then followup with either; A] lull around and be enticed by the glamourous shops and privileged life of Capri, or B] take the chairlift [seggiovia] to the peak of Anacapri and enjoy the magnificent view, as ancient and mysterious as old man time himself. I am usually a 'luller' [I find people watching fascinating] but this day I chose to see Anacapri .. and am ever thankful I did.

The view was indescribable.

So... good thing I took photos to share with you!!!!

I stood for ages waiting to get this shot above..

[this one is original version - no alterations other than text]

Waiting for the buzzing swarm of tourists to realise their tummies were crying for lunch. Finally, when enough had departed, and at risk of missing my own departure time, I snapped away furiously and was happy to get that one shot 'sans le pesky people'. Mind you it was two months before I arrived home and developed my film.. So this shot was one of my very happy surprises.

Standing looking out over the endless blue sea, you can see the Faraglioni rock formations. Apart from the small boats zipping in and out, one can imagine they have stepped through a timewarp and any minute now the waters will churn and ripple as Neptune arises to laugh at us miniature humans as we attempt to absorb the beauty of this island. The feeling of awe is hard to contain. I have only had this overwhelming feeling a few times... that feeling that is usually inspired by the sheer beauty and grand scale of nature... A feeling that alerts you to how small and insignificant we humans are, yet at the same time allowing us to feel part of something so vast it is unfathomable.

Mother nature is an accomplished artist!

If you let your mind wander, you can imagine the white wash is not from speedboats but the mermaids and sirens playfully enjoying their paradise. Those of you who know [Ethel] will understand she is painfully sorry she could not guest author this post... prior commitment ..]

[tiled map of Anacapri - from the Mariorita Boutique - photo by me]

More Choices

So today's post presented me with another choice dilemma. Yesterday I finally tried Photoshop for the first time.... As you can imagine, this resulted in 20 or so variations of the same photos!!! I hope you don't mind repetition. As you can see I couldn't decide which images to put up... Some have been altered using my usual 'Ruby' method, some are originals and some are courtesy of my new found Photoshop addiction. It's only been one day and it's an addiction already!!!

Thanks for popping over today to view my addiction ..

and as always... Thank you for your lovely comments..

Now that I have escaped from the jaws of photoshop...

I'll be round to visit all your lovely blogs

IMAGE SOURCE: ALL Photography, text and photo editing by me - [Being Ruby©]