Ischia life: We’re finally here…now what? Our Ischian apartment is everything we had hoped for in terms of space, location and view, but will we be able to set up the work environment necessary to make this digital nomad thing work?
Digital Panic
Dan had ordered a monitor that our host had brought to the island and upon arrival Dan immediately started setting it up and trying out the WiFi. It was really sketchy…on for a minute then out for three, and so on. Not tenable. After staying up past 4 am the first night trying to get work done, he went to bed worried we would not be able to stay here and work.
But in the morning remembered we had an Ethernet adapter and connected the computer by wire. It worked fine! Now he was able to use one of his laptops (he had brought both his work and personal ones) as a WiFi router and informed the host that the router was really faulty and Vodaphone would have to test and replace it. Trying time but somehow it all was in working order in less than 24 hours (well the new router took over a week but we were in business before the 24 hour mark).
In the meantime, the time difference allowed us to do things during the day, and Dan would work in the late afternoons until midnight or 1. He also works a lot with a team in India, so us being here really helps when they need help from him and saves a ton of time.
Our Little Corner in Paradise
So first we started exploring our immediate surroundings. We’re in an area called Cartaromana, uphill from Ischia Ponte (this is the area with the long causeway bridge to the Aragonese Castle that we see from our terrace).
Our first night we discovered a great restaurant about a 15 minute walk (slow Latha walk time) and walked down to Ischia Ponte and back up a foot path. Our place is also just across the street from several beach clubs and hotels, so we just have to walk down steps to water level for beaches and some great cafes. One of these is attached to a 16th century palace known as Torre di Michelangelo, now often booked for weddings and corporate events. We can hear live bands and wedding festivities from our terrace on occasion.
Our general routine is for me to wake up to watch the sun rise over Mount Vesuvius, usually being so moved by it that I make Dan get up to see it too, then breakfast at home on the terrace, and lunches out while we check out different parts of Ischia. We didn’t have a car our first four days, so we got to know what was walkable and what wasn’t, used the buses (stop just outside our gate) a couple of times, and used a taxi once or twice. We decided to rent a car for the weekend and then we really explored the island!
Now We’re Cruising
As soon as we got our little Fiat Panda, we circled the whole island, starting with a coastal drive counter clockwise from Ischia Porto (near us), through Cassamicciola and Lacco Ameno on the north coast, to Forio on the west coast, then south to Sant’Angelo, a beautiful fishing town that’s been made famous by movies like Cleopatra, and also happens to be Angela Merkel’s favorite getaway. We continued circling the island, around Mt. Epomeo, the volcano that formed Ischia, back to our Cartaromana neighborhood.
The roads are narrow, but in good repair, and the driving very Italian, just the way Dan likes it. It is very advisable to be good with a stick shift and get a nimble car if you want to drive here. That being said, no one drives too fast and drivers are generally courteous and patient while still taking every opportunity afforded them.
Our first Saturday was spent seeing Giardino la Mortella, a private garden created by Susana Walton, the Argentinian wife of British composer William Walton, at their home in Ischia. It covers the whole side of a mountain and involves many steps and multiple mini ecosystems. Afterwards, we partook of one of Ischia’s finest thermal spas, Negombo. Must get to as many of these as we can!
