Sony CyberShot deathwatch

The island of Capri is supposedly becoming hip again. It's been a luxurious vacation spot since Roman times, but it's appeal waned somewhat in the seventies, with the rise in popularity of places like Mykonos and Ibiza. Though more downmarket than it was in the fifties and sixties, it still has cache, and the beautiful people are beginning to return.

One of Capri’s most famous locales is the Blue Grotto, a large cave accessible only by rowboat from the sea. At high tide we had to lie way back in the boat as if it were a recumbent bike, in order to squeeze through the small entrance. The cave has a limestone bottom, and the water glows a bright blue from the reflected sunlight below. The effect is similar to a lit swimming pool at night; it's quite beautiful. Here are some photos I found online, and here's the Wikipedia entry.

We don't have any photos of our own, because... well, the camera and I went underwater, sort of. Yeah I know, I know, I was probably being reckless, bringing the camera on the rowboat and all. But I had a Ziploc at the ready, and my, ah, "contact" with the water was a freak accident, coming at a time I fully expected to remain dry. Just outside the opening, our rowboat guide pulled on the chain to get us inside (wave rises... wait... wave subsides, pull!) and the wake of the previous boat completely covered me (and only me). I was entirely underwater for a moment. I spit out saltwater even as I protectively clutched the wet wet camera. Jacqueline was seated in front of me, facing forward, and she hadn't noticed the wave that hit the back half of the boat. Inside the luminous cave she was in awe, whispering to me "Wow! This is amazing!"...after a minute or so she turned around to ask why I wasn't taking any pictures. I was sitting in 3 inches of water, and she was completely dry. (In fact everyone who had entered the grotto that morning was completely dry. Lucky me.)

The camera was non-functional for about 45 minutes... eventually we got it to turn on again (it had dried, perhaps). At the moment, thankfully, it's working. We've put the camera on a death watch, to see if salt corrosion might kill it in the coming days or weeks.

Given the duration of our trip, we had worried our camera might need to be replaced at some point. The logistics of getting a good (and reasonably priced) camera is tricky; overnight shipping from Amazon doesn't seem feasible, what with all our moving around (oh yeah and it would be painfully expensive too). We're not keen on buying a new one in a tourist town and paying for it in Euros. We're hoping it will last a while longer, at least until we hit Hong Kong...