A volcano that covered a city

We arrived in Naples on Friday 16th. Since we've been on the ship we've not had a lot of access to the internet except when we stop at a port and go hunting for wifi. I rely on being connected so much that it's weird to not be, and that also means I have no idea what day of the week it is let alone the date. I actually have to refer to the daily program the steward leaves at our cabin door every evening to know what's coming up next.



So we got into Napoli early Friday and we had a full day in store. First off we wanted to find the tourist information centre to find out the best options for our day excursion. We wandered around looking for it, and after our second go around we located it in a building that was under repair - hence why we had difficulty. The building itself is pretty spectacular.





Seems like we talked to someone who was fairly new to this job as she sent us on what seemed like a wild goose chase. After realising the plan wasn't going too well we abandoned it and went back to port to try and pick up a bus tour to Mt Vesuvius and Pompeii, only to find out at the ticket office that the first bus of the day at 10:00 was the only bus going to both, and we had missed it by half an hour. So we could only get to Pompeii, which was highly disappointing since we set out early to ensure we could see both. Off we went to Pompeii.

This place is amazing! Covered in ash 2000 odd years ago by Mt Vesuvius, the city is so well preserved. This place is over 150 years older than the Colosseum, which is extraordinary to me.



















We spent ages here, leisurely going at our own pace since we didn't have anywhere else to go and our bus wasn't until 14:30.















We then went back to the pickup area, and just as we arrived Jef overheard a lady guiding a few people to the tram-bus that was to take them to Vesuvio! He ran after them asking to join, but she said we were not part of that party. Hey, we will pay to be part of your party, he said. So 20 euros was handed over and we were on our way to Mt Vesuvius, and back to Napoli by six was what they said. Oh, we were cutting it real fine, as all aboard was 18:30.



The tram-bus drove us part way up the mountain to where the ticket office was, and we had to hand over some more euros if we wanted to walk up to the crater. Hell, yes!







What an experience. We walked up to the crater of one of the worlds most famous active volcano, and the view over Napoli and the surrounding area is breathtaking.













What a day! Ciao, Italy. See you again soon.