Mediterranean — 2010

Porta Marina Entrance

We visited with the Australians at breakfast again this morning and also talked to a man from New Zealand.  We left for the train station about 9:30 and arrived in Pompeii about 10:30.  It started raining when we got on the train and didn’t stop until about 1:00.  Admission was free today and in spite of the rain there were a lot of people visiting.  We had planned to follow Rick Steves’ self-guided tour, but the rain made it difficult to manage an umbrella, a guide book and a camera all at the same time.  We were able to see most of the fascinating ruins of Pompeii.  Mt.  Vesuvius erupted on August 24th, 79 A.D.  and buried the city in 30 feet of hot volcanic ash.  Pompeii was rediscovered in the 1600s and excavations began in 1748.  The city has yet to be completely excavated.  We visited the Fish and Produce Market, where plaster casts of some of the victims have been made from cavities found in the ruins.  The roads, where chariots traveled within the city, were built to precise measurements.  There were stepping stones across the streets where rain and sewage flowed.  One-way streets had one stepping stone, two-way streets had two stepping stones and other major thoroughfares had three or four stepping stones across the road.  We stopped for lunch at a fast-food sort of place and ate pizza.  Since pizza originated in the Naples area, it seemed appropriate.  We bought a few souvenirs on our way out and were back in Sorrento by about 3:30.  We had thought about going to the top of Mt.  Vesuvius, but the top of the mountain was in the clouds, so it didn’t seem that we would have any views of Naples or Pompeii.  We worked on our blog for a few hours and then walked down to the marina for dinner.  We had prawns and steak at La Kambusa restaurant, which is owned by the family that also owns the B & B where we are staying.  We drank a liter of wine tonight, and when we finished that they brought us a sample of the limoncello liquor that is made by the family.  Yikes!  The bus we thought would take us up the hill was not in service, so we walked about 1 and 1/2 miles back home--almost 10 miles in all today.  We’re not sure we packed enough ibuprofen.

© Jay 2020