Next we hiked up to the crater of Mt. Vesuvius, the villain and hero of the piece, and saw hazy views across Naples and the Mediterranean. The lazy smoke rising from the crater made us think of insurance for acts of God, which was ironic considering the news we heard later (below).
It took us a very long time to get home. We were on board a coach, and the tortuous winding roads along the cliffs of the Amalfi coast were surely made with carts and Vespas in mind. Several times we came to a complete grinding halt for tens of minutes while large vehicles strategized a way past each other. During these episodes we were struck by how friendly and cooperative the Italians were with each other, and the absence of bloody-minded machismo which might have rendered the whole thing (at best) unpleasant.
For our whole trip we had sunshine and ideal temperatures, but we soon learned that this was not true the world around; on arriving back at our hotel we saw television footage of the hurricane which had just swept the eastern seaboard of the States, caused massive destruction, and closed the Federal Govt. for two days. We didn't let this put us off our yummy dinner and pleasant view across the bay.
 44_positano_pati... |
 45_pompeii_forum... |
 46_pompeii_plast... |
 47_pompeii_stree... |
 48_pompeii_forum... |
 49_pompeii_forum... |
 50_pompeii_hse_a... |
 51_pompeii_hse_g... |
 52_vesuvius.jpg |
 53_amalfi_coast_... |
 54_amalfi_coast_... |