We woke up to more rain which postponed our scheduled sunrise shoot and mini cruise along the Amalfi Coast.  Instead we had a tour of Maiori  with our tour guide Corrado.  Our tour guide appeared from time to time to give us short lectures about the area.  For example he would say things like "what means mini cruise Corrado?  There are three ways to see Amalfi Coast, by foot, by road and by mini-cruise".    Today we ended up following him in the morning as he gave a lecture on the town and its history which was actually quite interesting for those of us who could hear him.  We all met up again around 3 to take the bus to Positano.   Doug, our local weatherman said it was very difficult  to get weather reports in this area as radar reports were not available so we didn't actually know if the rain would stop or not.  It really didn't  look like it was clearing but perhaps it would be nicer where we were heading.   As we drove along the coast, the skies grew pretty dark and the rain started and got worse and worse.  We passed the town of Amalfi as the water began to form rivers on the road.   Finally with about five kilometres until our destination,  the bus driver  pulled the bus over to the side of the  narrow road to wait out the rain.   He said it was just too dangerous to go on- no kidding!   We noticed other cars and motorcycles  doing the same thing.  The rain did not let up- I had visions of us having to hike to Positano in order to avoid drowning.   Believe me you would not want to even attempt to walk in the downpour.    All I could remember was Corrado telling us in the morning  about the big flood in Maiori where hundreds of people died.  I picked a great time  to actually remember what was said in a lecture but I could understand how the town had got flooded out!   One woman on the bus got shall we say got a little anxious.     However, the rain finally died down enough for the bus driver to get the bus turned around on this narrow little road and head back to the hotel.   We were all amazed at his driving skills.  Three hours after we left the hotel  we arrived safely and I'm sure we will all remember our adventure.    After a terrific dinner- one of the best pizzas I have ever had- we headed back to the hotel.  As we were about to leave the restaurant,   it  started to rain heavily again and we could hear the lightening and thunder.  The staff at the restaurant actually advised us to  stay put until the rain subsided (did I mention how great the Italians were).  Will it ever stop raining in the Amalfi Coast?

We started the walking our on the main street in town.  As you can see the roads were wet but the skies were clearing up.  Coraddo told us that Maiori was founded at the mouth of the Reginna Maior River.  The river overflowed in 1954 killing many people, so most  of the town had to be rebuilt.  This gives the town a modern, unique  look compared to  the other villages along the coast.  We also learnt that because the area is so popular in the summer months that many locals leave and rent out their apartments to tourists.  

Here is a picture of Coraddo (on the left).  He was very passionate about his work.

We hiked up past the church and had quite a nice view of the hills.  

Eventually the group dispersed and a few of us wandered over to the local market which is held every Friday.  

It was really interesting checking out all of the food.  

Irene posing with one of the sellers.  Everyone was so friendly and seemed to enjoy having their photo taken.

A merchant  showing the grapes to a prospective buyer.  

After lunch, I walked over to the beach to get some stormy beach scenes.  

You can see how rough the waters were.  Good thing we didn't attempt the mini-cruise today.  

It was starting to get really dark over the mountains.  Of course the beach was almost deserted.

This shot was taken across the street from the hotel.  It was just starting to rain again.

We were now on our way to Positano.  The further we got the more it rained.  Alfio has the bus driver stop at this spot where we could look down at all the rain gathering which is a bit difficult to see in this photo.   Trust me, there was a lot of water everywhere.  The bus made it just a little bit further before  the driver was forced to pull over.  

This shot was taken from the bus with the raining pouring against the windows.  You can see just how narrow the road is and how close it is to the cliffs.  

Finally the bus driver was able to turn around and we made a stop at a local ceramics shop for a short break(mostly for the bus driver).  I walked across the road to get this shot.