Day 3: Vesuvius, Pompeii, and Praiano
After only roughly 20 hours in Ischia, we returned to Naples via the ferry to begin our trek to Praiano on the Amalfi Coast. We found out that Italians do not like to get up early. The 7:30 ferry was empty, making it an infinitely more pleasant trip than yesterday’s.
Our driver, Francesco, picked us up from the ferry dock and drove us to the Mt. Vesuvius for our first activity for the day. Mt Vesuvius is the 4,000 ft. active volcano that shadows both Pompeii and Naples,
putting nearly 3 million people at risk for another eruption. The eruption that buried Pompeii occurred in 79 a.d., but there have been many other eruptions before and after. The latest major eruption occurred in 1944, shortly after the Allies invaded Italy. It was responsible for destroying more than 80 Allied aircraft that were stationed at a base in Pompeii.
Starting the hike early was a great idea since temps soared into the high 80s later in the morning and there was virtually no shade on the entire hike. The hike is on a beautiful path that extends from the parking area to the rim of the caldera, about 2.5 miles each way. Round trip was about 2 hours.
On the trail we passed relatively fresh lava from the 1944 eruption
We also saw what we thought was a tiny hummingbird, but later discovered (thanks to Google ID) it was a hummingbird hawk mouth.
ter finishing the hike, Francesco brought us to Pompeii for lunch before we visited the Pompeii ruins. Lunch turned out to be another winery visit with wine tasting and a multi-course meal. The winery, Bosco di Medici, had beautiful grounds which we got to tour via golf cart before lunch (with a private guide).
The land was owned several centuries before by the powerful Medici family (thus the name).
The property consisted of vineyards, a riding stable with 150n horses),
a winery,
We had serious doubts we would stay awake for our visit to Pompeii.
Fortunately, the trip to the ruins from lunch was only 5 minutes, not enough time for any of us to fall into deep sleep. Here, we met our guide, who promised us a tour of Pompeii that would hit all the highlights without boring us.
In 79 a.d., Pompeii had a population of about 20,000 and was a very wealthy Roman city with a prosperous coliseum, 100s of merchants, and large, splendid homes. There had been a significant earthquake that had caused a lot of damage back 17 years before in 62 a.d., and when the eruption began most inhabitants fled the city. Over 1000 unlucky stragglers, though, were buried in up to 20 feet of ash and pumice that rained down over 2 days.
Because of the ash and pumice build up, the entire city is impeccably preserved.
The forum (city square) with beautifully tiled street,
Public baths with hollow walls and floors that warm air was pumped through(radiant heat)
A brothel
A variety of shops including a bakery
And a “fast food” restaurant (thermopolia) that had counters with warming stations to keep food hot (nothing worse than cold food at Golden Corral), serving stews and soups.
We stopped to cool off at the local water fountain before leaving the park. Very refreshing when the temps were well into the 90s
Our guide was great, and though we only spent 2 hours in the park, we really felt as if we got the essentials without rushing. We then had the better part of 2 hours in the car to nap (if Dave were here there would have been a picture of him out like a light, but alas, no Dave, and I promised everyone no pictures in compromising positions).
We finally got to our hotel about 6:30 and had a dinner reservation about 2 miles away (or a $60 round-trip taxi ride!) for 7. We elected to cancel the reservation and instead, ate at the hotel which was fantastic. As it was, we just made our reservation.
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| Grilled Octopus |
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| Eggplan Parmesan Stuffed Ravioli |
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| Delizia al Limone (classic Amalfi lemon dessert) |
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