What a day...in Pompeii

This morning at 7:00 am our ship docked at Naples, Italy. Our group disembarked at 8:00 am to meet our private tour guide for our trip to Pompeii and Sorrento. The first thing I noticed when I got off the ship was Mt. Vesuvius rising up in the background of Naples. Then we boarded our bus to begin our trip to Pompeii.

Our tour guide was Gino and he gave us a wonderful history or Naples and Pompeii for the 45 minute ride to Pompeii. All along the way we got closer and closer to Mt. Vesuvius and it was such an impressive site. Upon arriving at Pompeii, Gino gave us all maps of the city and we began our tour. Pompeii is such a surreal experience. The volcano erupted so suddenly and so violently in 79 AD that it basically froze Pompeii in time. Mt. Vesuvius actually erupted for 3 days and 3 nights eventually covering the city in over 15 meters of volcanic ash and stone. Once discovered, Pompeii became a sort of portal into the past. About 3/5 of Pompeii has been uncovered and it is such a sight to see. I'll give you a brief overview of the highlights of Pompeii. Probably the most beautiful thing about Pompeii is that all the artwork, designs and intricacies of the city were preserved. The beautiful colors, detailed designs and minute details of every column and home are so impressive. The second thing that strikes you is the level of technology this city had. They had running water. Now, the water ran through lead pipes but since the average lifespan was about 35 years old that probably wasn't an issue. They had a whole shopping district, beautiful temples to various gods, two story homes with their own running water and sewage system and an industrial area that made cement and other construction materials.

There are numerous casts of persons who were buried in the eruption. I say casts because when these persons were buried everything excepts their bones was burned to ash. When archeologists began discovering these spaces and realized they were the 'remains' of people they filled these spaces with plaster to create a cast of the person complete with their skeleton. In truth, only about 2,000 to 2,500 people were killed in the eruption. That may seem like a lot but Pompeii was a city of 50,000 people. The persons who were killed were the slaves that their owners left behind to protect their belongings. Pompeii is something everyone should see at least once in their life.

After Pompeii we took a beautiful 45 minute bus ride along the Bay of Naples to the city of Sorrento. The beauty of the ocean and Mt. Vesuvius as a backdrop was something I cannot put into words. Sorrento is a city built on the side of a set of cliffs. It is mostly a shopping city. We spent 2 hours in the city shopping (they shopped while I explored the city). Sorrento is known for a liquor called limoncello which is a sipping liquor made from lemons. Lemons and olives are the two major crops grown in the area.

After Sorrento, we returned to the ship. We set sail again at 7:00 pm and are on our way to Dubrovnik, Croatia. Our trip to Croatia is a two day journey so we are at sea all day tomorrow. So, I will likely post my next entry the day after tomorrow when we have finished our day in Croatia. Until next time...God bless.

posted by: crossman at 20:08 | link | comments |
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