Sunday morning found us all racked out in our respective bunk beds (I sleeping especially soundly on the top bunk, with Garcia as a quiet, immobile bunk buddy below me and a blessed lack of snorers in the room!), roused earlier than expected by the ever impatient and insomniac Jordy.
After feasting on another breakfast of Nutella with a side of toast, we hopped onto the Metro and then to the train that would take us up to Mount Vesuvius, I being the stubborn one wanting to hike to the top of it. (Having hiked an active volcano in Guatemala some years ago, I can attest that both the view and the thrill of volcanoes is decidedly addictive.) Upon arrival at the station we found the taxi cab company that was recommended to us, that for 10 Euro a head would take us up the mountain and back. We had been warned by previous groups that the final leg, the actual National Park, was intermittently closed due to the foul weather. The taxi driver said he could not guarantee if it would be open or not. I, being the ever-optimist, hoped and believed in the sunshine outside currently keeping the rainclouds at bay and that the summit would be open, allowing us to hike the final 30 minutes to the crater on top. The rest of my group, it would seem, KNEW that the summit would be closed, for if it had been open the taxi driver would have said so willingly.
I remained in stubborn ignorance of this fact, and the rest of the troupe claimed they'd want to take the ride up to the top regardless. After a 20-minute dizzying ride along tiny wet roads with stunning views of the city of Naples and the bay below us we arrived at the entrance to the summit--only to find it CLOSED, due to the freezing temperatures and whipping wind. :(
View down the side of the mountain from the entrance to the National Park. That gray stuff slithering down the hill is the old lava from the last blast; in the distance, the city of Naples around the bay.
Those mountains there mark the edges of the original crater.
All's well, though, I suppose, because the view really was incredible and we were able to see the actual original crater of the blast that downed Pompeii and Ercolano--a huge, vast oval in which the current crater and park now sits. One can still see the lava that flowed down the mountainside during the last eruption in 1944. At any rate, we took a few pictures and then enthusiastiaclly climbed back into the van with frozen fingers and numb lips. It wouldn't have been an enjoyable climb to the top, that's for sure.
Where I Stand: as close to "atop Mount Vesuvius" as we could get, amid reddish-orange volcanic gravel.
As the day wore on, being eaten up by travel time, we decided we would make a dash to BOTH the archeological sites we were interested in: Ercolano (Herculaneum, in English) in the town we were already in, and Pompeii, a quick ride away. Ercolano had come highly recommended to me by multiple sources, saying that while it was the smaller of the two, it was vastly more well-preserved and prettier.
They were right! Ercolano was a small beachside town for the wealthy, and was actually the first of the two towns destroyed. (We learned the majority of this in a BBC docudrama watched a few days prior in my room called simply Pompeii: The Last Day--you can find it on Netflix and YouTube.) By my rough estimate it's about one-fifth the size of Pompeii, but was sparsely populated by tourists even on a free day, and was deliciously unfettered by gates and ropes keeping us out of the ruins. Garcia, Marshmallow, Kansas, Richie and I found ourselves as little children being permitted to run wild in an amusement park. A historical amusement park, making us feel transported in time and bringing ancient history to life in a way I have never experienced.
As I mentioned, many of the houses and ruins are open for exploration, and the sight of one fresco on one of the walls ignited a "treasure hunt" feel amongst us as we competed to find the most beautiful, the most well preserved. When you step back and think about the fact that you're looking at a nearly 2,000 year-old mosaic, or fresco, just sitting there right in front of you--suddenly the rest of the scene comes to life. To say it was stunning is an understatement, and that 1.5 hours was the highlight of the Naples trip for me.
A panorama of the ruins of Ercolano. It begins at the wall on the far right, and extends down only a short way to the retaining wall on the bottom along the left.
Where I Stand: on 2,000 year old marble ruins, entrance to a doorway.
No big deal...just a 2,000 year old painting of a bird eating cherries on a wall...
Mosaic--not painted. Mosaic. Wee, tiny stones.
We were consistently surprised that we were allowed to walk on the original mosaic tile floors, where the ancients trod, just so lah-dee-dah!
This was one of the best preserved art pieces we found, absolutely beautiful. The two sides separated and shown in more detail below.
May we interest you in something from the snack bar? Yes, in fact--according to Rick Steves, these corner buildings, which we suspected had something to do with cooking based on the stovetop-like design with pots underneath to hold burning coals--were snack bars. Buon appetito indeed.
My highly active imagination nearly spied a gladiator rushing around the corner of that courtyard, to training.
Octo-man...type...thing...
Ancient Roman selfie before departing Ercolano for Pompeii!
Part 3, detailing Pompeii, coming soon!
Disclaimer: Please note that all photos are mine, and are not to be used for any purpose, commercial or otherwise, without my express written consent.
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