HOLIDAY JOTTINGS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20389, 21 April 1928, Page 23

HOLIDAY JOTTINGS.

Written for the Otago Daily Times. By the Rev. G. 11. Ginn, B.A. IN AND ABOUT NAPLES. Napoli, as the Italians call it, is a largo pity of obouc 1,000,000 inhabitants situated on the northern arm of the bay of the same name. It is an important port cl cal! in tho Mediterranean, and inside the breakwater arc usually to be found ships hying the flags of all the great maritime Powers of the world. Jn former days Naples had an unenviable reputation for dirtiness, but, since the Fascist broom lias been at work clearing up tho debris of the centuries, we were told that in cleanliness it had greatly improved. That may bo true enough, but it is hard to change tho ingrained habits of a people, and we found from bitter experience that when you heard a Neapolitan clearing his throat it'was a wise precaution to get out of range. The habit of spitting anywhere and everywhere is a disgusting one, and Mussolini, with ah his despotic powers, has been yet unable to rectify this defect in tho manner? of tho inhabitants of this city. The esplanade, which runs for miles along the waterfront, and on which stand many of tho fashionable hotels, forms tliQ most striking feature of this Italian city. Here it is that tho inhabitants gather to gossip with one another and to bask in tho sunshine. On a bright morning the esplanade is thronged with peeople of all classes and conditions. Hero are the tour, ist-s, American and British; here are tho carriages of the wealthier classes, for tho motor has not in Italy ousted the horse as a means of locomotion; hero are those persistent posts of Italy, the itinerant vendors of quack curios and faked antiquities ; here are the beggars who drape themselves in artistic curves of indolence at convenient corners and plead for alms; here are the fishermen who with thdr women folk haul in the gloat nets lotion with the shining harvest of the sea; hero are the nurses who with their infant charges take lull advantage of the morning hours of sunshine. And about these nurses, I must say a little more. Dismiss from your minds at once any picture you have formed of nursemaids clad in trim pvoy or black frocks, of tho type? one sees in ‘Kensington Gardens or in Hyde Park . These women arc in charge of the children of well-to-do people as are tho nursemaids in those London parks, bu. their dress reflects the southern e • ..eminent in which they live. No drab colours here, but bright and oven startling shades which blend harmoniously into the warm tinting of an Italian landscape. They wear low bodices with u kind of waistcoat I a cod across the bosom, but the glory of the costume is the skirt. This is surrounded by bands of brilliant shades of green and orange and red and blue. Their heads are bare or covered by a coloured handaor. chief, and from their oars hang heaw earrings, while round their necks are looped strings of brilliant beads. Most picturesque group? do those nursemaids make, <u gathered together on the esplanade at Naples, they laugh and gossip under the genial rays of the Mediterranean aim. The pension at which we stayed was situated on the esplanade about two miles from the centre of the town. We therefore used the electric tramsars frequently when iourneyi’g to and from the cuy. These cars were efficient and speedy, but we eoon became, aware of the curious tact that wo were rarely charged the same fare for travelling the same distance i was told that there was a universal tare o£ CO cents. That means that you pay the 60 cents whether you travel one section or half a dozen. When the conductor came through the tram I theicfore offered him 120 cents for the two of us. This he quickly slipped mto his cash bag, and then to my surprise alter he had given me the tickets beamed upon me most affectionately and gave me a salute. “This,” said I to myself, is manners. These Italian conductors aie gentlemen.” Under that delightful illusion I remained until I discovered that the correct fare for the distance travelled was 30 cents each. My friend the conductor, had taken from me just 100 per cent, more than I should have paid. No wonder that ho felt cordial y disposed towards mo. Doubtless he could afford to smile- But such a practice does not, on the Continent, carry the nefarious intcrenee that it would bear amongst ua bore in New Zealand. Tram conductors by visitors from abroad are tipped quite frequently. Later X often saw a passenger give the conductor his Fniall chiinge b' wav of a tip, and the manner in which it was pocketed indicated quite clearly that the recipient looked upon such trifles a? his rightful perquisites. After all, these sums amount usually only to fractipna of a penny, but the custom is on a par with the generally accepted Gontiental practice of “No tips, no service,’ and is one to be sternly discouraged by all who desire to keep their land free from the tipping curse. ; „ ... . , . Visitors to Naples are well advised not to omit a visit to Mount Vesuvius and to Pompeii, and last, but by no means least, to the Blue Grotto on tho island ot Capri. The excursion to the Blue Grotto is rather difficult Jo make, not because the island of Capri is far away from the city of Naples, but because, when the sea is rough, it is impossible to enter the grotto. On the occasion of our visit we were fortunate. For a week previously, the excursion steamers had made their journeys to and from the island, bringing back with them disappointed and disconsolate parties of tourists who had been prevented from entering Nie grotto on account of the size of the waves. But when we sailed out from tho Buy of Naples, bound for Capri and its famous cave, the sea was like glass, and tIA sun shone warmly from a sky of gorgeous blue, across which fleecy clouds ambled leisurely, in the upper readies of the atmosphere. Astern, upon the starboard side, Naples glinted brightly in the morning air, and away to port tlie ragged hump of Mount Vesuvius sent up its eternal jet of steam which, on this occasion, ascending like a fine white pencil, gradually thinned hway to nothingness. The sail from the quay at Naples to the entrance to the grotto occupies between two and three hours. The ship steams close up to tho steep and inhospitable cliffs which girdle the island, and on several occasions we were so near that f thought we must surely strike the rocks. The approach to the entrance ot the grotto is indicated by the presence m H score or two ot small rowing boats, each in charge 'ot a Hwartny-lonking pirate, and here the vessel puts out a little from the land and lots go her anchors. Those who are entering the grotto tranship to the rowing boats, and then the fuu begins. No boat is permitted to carry more than two passengers, and, once these are safely on board, away the owners raee for the entrance to the grotto, for those who arrive first are first to enter the mysterious gave. Its entrance not more than St*t high, and this passage must be shot between the surges of tho sea. The request is made that we lie down upon the bottom ot the boat benoath the seats. Then, if any sea is running, the passengers are covered with a canvas rug, for water is otten shipped as the boats are swept beneath the tiny portal. A chain lias been attached to the inside of the grotto, and has been carried' through the opening to the cliffs outside, against which the swells arc breaking. The rower ships his oars, then be firmly grasps the chain, and watching his chance between two waves gives one hefty pull, at the same time throwing himself fiat across the bow. You feel the little craft rise upon the following wave, there is a grinding sound as the gunwales scrape the rocky entrance, a little splashing of water and swish of tlu sea, and then suddenly you pass from the most brilliant sunshine to what for tho moment seems the pvofoundest gloom. You do not see the blueness of the cavern until your eyes have become accustomed to the dim mysterious light, and as you adjust yourself to your new environment you realise that you are in a dome-shaped cave about 170£t long by 00ft wide, and 40ft high. The world and daylight have disappeared, and you sail through the blue twilight of electric lire ; The effect is mysterious and most pleasing, and just as you are appreciating this rare experience at its full value suddenly the grotto echoes to the most dismal and nerve-shat-tering howling. The boatmen have broken into song. Each eeems to consider himself a born Caruso, and by the heartiness of his hollowing seeks to drown his neighbour’s voice. And remember that by this time there are 40 or 50 boats within the cave, so that the combined efforts of your self-appointed entertainers ring with increasing reverberations around the narrow confines of the cave. But there is method in their madness, as you discover on the return trip to tho steamer. At the tourist agency where you take your tickets for this journey you pay "down a lump sura, which covers all fares, all guide fees, ’and all boatmen’s tips. But nothing is said about an impromptu concert, which the boatmen in their goodness of heart provide