Southern Italy: Pompeii and Amalfi the Coast

From Venice it was on to Rome - a full day on the bus. We only stayed overnight as the next morning at 7.45am we commenced a 3 day tour of Southern Italy which was still run by Busabout but was a bit more structured.

Amalfia Coast line

Our first stop was Pompeii which was very much on our ²to do list². It totally lived up to expectations. In AD79 Vesuvio blew its top and buried Pompeii under layers of burning fragments of pumice stone killing around 3,000 people. Because Pompeii was buried by the pumice and not lava, the disaster left behind fascinating ruins that provide an insight into the daily life of ancient Romans. The vast ruins include impressive temples, a forum, an amphitheater, baths and many streets lined with luxurious homes and shops. Some ancient shops where takeaway food was sold had round holes in the stone shop counters to keep food hot or cold! Many of the mosaic decorations and frescos are still intact even though over the years before official excavations began many items were dug up and plundered by the many intervening generations.

Capri - round the island

Then of course there are the Pompeii people. When the excavations began in the 19th century, they found that where a skeleton was, there was a cavity where the body had disintegrated and so a method was devised of forcing plaster of paris into the cavities which then took the form of the persons body around the skeleton in the position they died. Unfortunately for us, most of the people/animals are in an exhibition in Ottawa, Canada and the crazy thing is we were in the museum and at the entry and decided not to go in as we thought we are going to the real Pompeii we don't need to see this!!

From Pompeii it was onto Sorrento, a resort town which gazes out over the Bay of Naples from its steep little perch on the cliffs. We stayed in tents in a campground high on a hill. We all had a meal together in a lovely restaurant down in the centre of town. Some of us went onto a karoke bar and nightclub afterwards which meant we missed the last bus up the hill and had to walk the several kilometres home, not a too difficult task on a warm balmy mediteranian night.

Capri -round the island 2

The next day was spent on the gorgeous island of Capri. A 45 minute ferry ride took us over on a perfectly clear sunny day and on arrival we transferred to a smaller boat for a trip around the islands craggy coast. Then it was on to a funicular railway to go straight up the hill from the marina to the actual town of Capri. There were spectacular views from here but we then caught a bus which took us up a narrow winding road hugging the cliff face (no guard rails!) to Annacapri. Lastly to go to the highest point on the island there was a chair lift which was the absolute highlight of our day. It took about 20 minutes to reach the top in single chairs silently gliding through the sky with the amazing vista below of the bluest Mediteranian seas and the whitest, highest cliffs with colourful houses perched in the most impossible places. We reversed the whole journey and ended back at the marina for a seafood lunch before spending a couple of hours swimming and enjoying the sun on a stony beach(no nice sandy beaches in Europe!). We had another day travelling the impossibly steep and winding Amalfi coast where most villages are in such inaccessible places that the only way to them is on foot, before heading back to Rome.

Capri chairlift

Capri sign

Fast foods Pompeii style

Mt Vesuvio

Pompeii Bakery

Pompeii man

Pompeii ruins

Sorrento Karoke