Ancient Pompeii!

Sunday, July 15th

The Vittoria offered a rather nice breakfast which we enjoyed before setting out for today's tour.  We walked up to the tour office and seamlessly acquired our tickets.  We were soon following our guide, Charlotte (and her pink umbrella) past the gathering lines waiting to enter the site.  It was about 9am when we started out and already we could feel the temperature rising!  We met an interesting fellow in our group, Tom.  Tom is a sailor.  He is on year 8 of a 10 year around the world sailing adventure.

  He was sailing solo at this time as 4 years ago while sailing around Australia and New Zealand, his wife became ill and passed away.  I'd peg Tom to be in his early to mid 70's.  He said he had a 50' ketch (a two masted sail boat) and was moored in Naples right now.  He would be sailing around the Mediterranean a while longer before then head across the Atlantic and spend a year or so in the Caribbean.  Then through the Canal and back up to San Francisco.  He said he had a home in the Bay area.  He wasn't sure how long he would stay put there, that was too far in the future for him to make

solid plans!  I believe we met an in the flesh, real life, modern day adventurer! Our friend Max (our sailing expert) would have really enjoyed talking to Tom.  Max would appreciate the significance of sailing a 2 masted 50 footer solo!  And Max, all of his rigging is manual, no electric assists!
On to the ancient city!  Our guide, Charlotte, (who was 7 months pregnant!) had a great personality and was very knowledgeable about the history of the city.  She toured us through the highlights of the site and her descriptions and narratives helped you let your imagination paint wonderful pictures of how the city would have looked before the eruption.  About 170 acres of the old city have been excavated.  At it zenith, ancient Pompeii was home to an estimated 20,000 people.  The modern city of Pompeii has a population of about 25,000.  The excavations have uncovered 1,150 victims of the eruption.  Archaeologists estimate there were about 2,000 total lost in the city of Pompeii.  The majority of the population fled during the early stages of the eruption.  In ancient times, the area surrounding Vesuvius was heavily populated.  It is estimated
there could have been up to 30,000 casualties of the eruption of 79.  When Vesuvius blew that August day in AD 79, it turned day to night and rained about 15 cm (6") per hour of ash, pumice and

pyroclastic materials onto the city.  When it was over, the ancient city of Pompeii lay beneath about 5 meters (17feet) of volcanic ash.  It wasn't until the late 1700s that it was "rediscovered".  According to site archaeologists there is evidence of looter activity prior to the time of "discovery".  Nearly all of the ancient city has been excavated now.  Walking along the streets among the crowds of tourists taking in the sights, probably gives a fairly close representation of the activity of the ancient city.  For me it was not difficult to let my mind drift and imagine the hustle and bustle of the sight-seers to be a normal day 2000 years ago!  The main street, lined with shops, the multiple water fountains, with people gathered around to have a cool refreshing drink to relieve the heat of the day.  The stone streets and buildings had witnessed this thousands of years ago, and although in "ruins", Pompeii lives again through the millions of visitors who, for a brief moment,  make the journey back in time.

For me, seeing these ancient cities and history in "real life", gives you a sort of new perspective on what we were taught and have read about.  To walk around those spots I have only read about truly enhanced my understanding of what the books had described to me.
I won't bother giving you a description of the excavation.  I'm sure you can find a much better and comprehensive narrative of Pompeii on Google!  But what I will say is; seeing these things in person gives you and your imagination a wonderful experience and when you are in Italy don't pass up the opportunity to see them!
Italy in July does take its toll and this day was no exception!  After the official tour ended (about 3

hours), we walked over to one have a look at one last mosaic.  The "guard dog" warning.  It is a tile mosaic at the entrance to a home showing a large snarling dog.  A beware of dog sign! 
We returned to the Vittoria after the tour to "freshen up" and get ready for our evening meal. 
These excursions in the heat and humidity really take a lot out of you and our heads often hit the pillow a bit sooner than normal!


Monday, the Amalfi coast by boat, which meant another early morning!