We started in the village of Termini where we found a group of school children enjoying a puppet show in the square, bambini belli! We descended gradually on a trail above the sea with beautiful wildflowers to the Punto Campanella with its Saracen tower, built in 1334, at the tip of the Sorrento Peninsula with views of Capri and back along the Amalfi coast. A system of towers was established along the coast to guard against raiders from North Africa. From there we ascended steeply up a lightly used, rocky trail through intensely flowered meadows, seemingly burning with the bright yellow of the broom flowers. Reaching a communications facility at the summit, the views on the Amalfi coast side were particularly dramatic with the incredibly vibrant, blue-green sea. From there, we crossed a saddle to the Chapel of St Constanzo where we rested, ate lunch, and enjoyed the views. We started down from there and after a short descent, I stepped off an ancient stone step, fell, and twisted my ankle. After a short rest, I was able to continue the long descent with little pain, but by the time I reached the beach and café at Cantone, my ankle was painful and stiff. When I took off my boot to soak my ankle in the sea, it was swollen to the size of a softball.

The bus dropped me, Karen and our English hiking leader at the emergency room at the hospital in Sorrento. No one spoke English and all appeared to us to be chaos with no procedures or organization. Suddenly an orderly appeared with a wheel chair who took me for X-Rays. This was done quickly, and in a short time, the doctor told me there were no broken bones, gave us printed instructions in Italian and told Karen to go across the street for crutches.