My World of Islands by Leslie Thomas
Author:Leslie Thomas [Thomas, Leslie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House
Published: 1995-10-15T23:00:00+00:00
ENGLISH CHANNEL ISLANDS situated between latitudes 48°52’–49°43’N and longitudes 1°49’–2°35’W; total area 75 sq. m (194 sq. km); approx. population: Jersey 82,000, Guernsey 55,000, Alderney 2,000, Sark 600, Herm 37, Jethou 8; Britain. Chausey, approx. population 110; France
Capri
An Island in Autumn
Only by coming back to the island people can understand what rewards life grants to those who stay.
EDWIN CERIO, On Capri
October morning came to the Bay of Naples with a soft brush of sunshine touching Sorrento, the great mountains hung with cloud, Naples itself still wet from an overnight thunderstorm, and the islands calm and composed in the pale sea. Ischia and little Procida blinked in the new sun and on Capri I opened my windows, stepped out on to the terrace and, looking around, knew at once that all that is said about Capri is true. It is one of the world’s beautiful places.
I had arrived on the previous black night in the very clutch of the thunderstorm – Wagner rather than the expected Rossini. The ferry from Naples plunged and jumped through the surprising waves, lightning smacked the sea and heaven rolled horribly. It was impossible to remain on deck and stay dry, so, with my fellow travellers and sufferers, I sat stoically trying to watch an ancient cowboy film on the saloon television. It was so old even Gabby Hayes looked young. To see him do his famous monosyllable-and-spitting act in dubbed Italian might have been engrossing had not the small ship been going up and down like a rocking horse. The Italians have an apt way with words for useful things – the vomitario on the vessel was well patronized.
All through the bumpy voyage of an hour and twenty minutes the land was never far away. Sorrento’s stationary lights seemed within grabbing distance and Capri itself, upon hopeful investigation, appeared only a couple of cable lengths ahead of the ship. What could we be doing out on that bumpy sea for so long?
Eventually, in the full sense of the word, the pitching eased and our little vessel emitted a relieved toot, high like a hunting horn. Stepping out onto the deck I experienced that incomparable feeling once more, that sensation known to those chosen people who love islands and can go to them. There it was directly ahead of us, 10,000 lights climbing the black form of a hillside. The mole of the harbour slipped by, the waves quietened at once like chastened children, the air felt warm, the scent of pasta drifted from the port. All was well.
Twice happy now, for being there and for escaping the ill-temper of the sea, the passengers hustled ashore. I had made no definite plans, but my immediate future was fixed for me by fate and a young man with a pencil moustache and a peaked cap sporting the legend Savoy Hotel. I am, as I have previously confessed, a traveller who can stand anything but discomfort and the name on the cap was the reassurance I needed. I handed him my bags and we set off at a good gait along the quayside.
Download
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.
Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan(3974)
Bloody Times by James L. Swanson(3969)
I'm Still Scared by Tomie dePaola(3906)
Pocahontas by Joseph Bruchac(3709)
Little Author in the Big Woods by Yona Zeldis McDonough(3114)
Seriously... I'm Kidding by Ellen DeGeneres(3087)
Earthrise by Edgar Mitchell(2751)
The Science Book (Big Ideas Simply Explained) by DK(2731)
The President Has Been Shot!": The Assassination of John F. Kennedy by Swanson James L(2725)
Hello, America by Livia Bitton-Jackson(2709)
The Extraordinary Suzy Wright by Teri Kanefield(2337)
Ben Franklin's Almanac by Candace Fleming(2040)
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson(2012)
Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff(1926)
Birds, Beasts and Relatives by Gerald Durrell(1848)
The Audition by Maddie Ziegler(1804)
I Will Always Write Back by Martin Ganda(1756)
Bloody Times: The Funeral of Abraham Lincoln and the Manhunt for Jefferson Davis by James L. Swanson(1715)
The Complete Adventures of Curious George by H. A. Rey(1676)