One of the fun things about this trip is getting to spend time in and around places that have been in my thoughts and dreams since I was a little girl. Pompeii was one of those places. Vesuvius, by default, is another. Today, I climbed Vesuvius, looked it in the eye... and saw a god looking back at me.
A bit of a travel story on this one first. Before I left the states, I'd spent a lot of time doing research on how to get from point A to point B for the least amount of money, time, and energy. Then I balanced which was more important, and settled on a way forward. Usually, energy got the short end of the stick because that's an easily renewable item. Plus, I love to walk, as has been established, so money and time usually won, in that order.
The problem with a 26-day trip in 7+ cities is that it's easy to forget what you've learned if you can't book it at the time that you're doing the research. And most of the stuff that one books in the Naples area can't be - or shouldn't be - booked in advance. Most of the tickets require cash, ie Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Vesuvius. Train and bus tickets could be bought in advance, but doing so locks you into an itinerary that may have to change due to weather, physical limitations, or any number of other things. The path to most of these places from the train can be walked in a minimal amount of time, Vesuvius being the one where that's not the case, and where a bus is required to get to.
So, despite careful research and planning, it's not hard to drop the ball and forget minor details. Plus I really didn't want to have an itemized plan for every moment or every day, having to remember exactly which bus or train to take when. That's my day job, and damnit, I'm on vacation. As you'll see, sometimes, that comes at a price. Sometimes, that price is worth it.
Today, I took the train from Naples to Pompeii, which is the gateway to Vesuvius. Easiest way to get there, cheapest, etc. Then I made a rookie mistake. Walking off the train, I stopped into the little shop attached to the station - where there is a booth set up obviously for tourists - and asked for the bus to Vesuvius.
Two things wrong with doing this: 1.) It's a tourist trap meant for those who would rather pay money than do their own research, and so they pay a lot of extra money; and 2.) No way anyone in that little shop is going to point me toward the city bus that also goes up to the volcano parking area, which is a bit further down than the tourist bus but only by about 50 meters, and costs ~$3. I knew both of these things and yet...
Twenty euros later, I'm sitting in the tourist trap extravaganza shop waiting for a bus to pick me up to take me up a mountain. Once on the bus, I'll be expected to pay the 10 euros to get into the park to the driver when he stops to pick up last couple of riders. My head screamed scam, but a bit of research while I'm waiting says that no, the tickets really are 10 euros cash at the top of the mountain. My best guess is that this tourist group buys them in bulk at a slight discount, and then sells them to us at full price to make a little extra. And honestly, I'm okay with that.
Oh, so we're on this bus, going up this mountain on ridiculously narrow roads, and for the first time I'm actually damn glad that I messed up. This driver is a freaking pro. He's careful, safe, and he's conscientious over the other drivers on the road. Every time we came up on a hairpin turn - which was often - he honked lightly to let anyone else coming know that hey, we're here! He was generous to motorcycles careening down the mountain, giving them as much space as he would a car. And overall, he made me feel completely safe in his bus.
I know, I know. All the tropes about Italian drivers, and I'm saying that this guy made me feel safe. I'm not kidding, though. He truly was a genius going up that volcano, and given my fear of heights, I appreciated every dime I paid to him and his company.
Once at the drop off, we trudged up a steep, winding path to the rim of the volcano. I'd had two full nights sleep in a row, and while I'd walked a lot the day before, it had been more meandering than power-walking. So my legs were good! But that hill... it was steep. And it was quite a ways up. I mean, not Montserrat distance, but you know... still a lot. And I once again thanked dumb me for stepping into that tourist shop and getting that bus, because that extra 50 meters at that incline would not have been fun. Call me a wimp, but I still had to climb down that mountain and planned to go to Herculaneum after! (Which I did, and I'll post about that next.)
Okay, so up the mountain I went, walking off-and-on with a nice young guy from Delaware named Lance who had been on the bus with me and, like me, had planned a European trip for his (29th) birthday. I'd be proud to say that I made it up much easier than he did, except that he's a smoker, so... meh. Shallow victory. As I said, the path was steep, of course it was rocky (by default, right? active volcano and all), and there were parts of it that had actually washed away because you know, steep. I never felt unsafe, but it did mean that there were times that I needed to maneuver a bit differently.
The rim, though? That view... that scenery... that freaking massive hole in the top of that mountain? So. Worth. It.
I'd thought I'd feel like I was on Mars or the Moon, but I didn't. I felt like I was on a mountain that didn't have a top, with really bumpy rocks. It wasn't surreal like I thought it would be. It was interesting, awe-inspiring, and beautiful. And very, very earthy. Well, until I saw the face on the inside of the volcano, but I'll let you find it yourself in the pictures below. See if you can find Vulcan himself.
If you find yourself on this side of the world, make this trek. It wasn't a horrible climb, and most people can do it without much trouble, though stopping to catch ones breath happens to the bulk of them. It's lovely. Truly. And spoil yourself if you have the extra money by stopping in the little shop at the Pompeii train station and hiring their bus service. Definitely worth it.
A bit of a travel story on this one first. Before I left the states, I'd spent a lot of time doing research on how to get from point A to point B for the least amount of money, time, and energy. Then I balanced which was more important, and settled on a way forward. Usually, energy got the short end of the stick because that's an easily renewable item. Plus, I love to walk, as has been established, so money and time usually won, in that order.
The problem with a 26-day trip in 7+ cities is that it's easy to forget what you've learned if you can't book it at the time that you're doing the research. And most of the stuff that one books in the Naples area can't be - or shouldn't be - booked in advance. Most of the tickets require cash, ie Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Vesuvius. Train and bus tickets could be bought in advance, but doing so locks you into an itinerary that may have to change due to weather, physical limitations, or any number of other things. The path to most of these places from the train can be walked in a minimal amount of time, Vesuvius being the one where that's not the case, and where a bus is required to get to.
So, despite careful research and planning, it's not hard to drop the ball and forget minor details. Plus I really didn't want to have an itemized plan for every moment or every day, having to remember exactly which bus or train to take when. That's my day job, and damnit, I'm on vacation. As you'll see, sometimes, that comes at a price. Sometimes, that price is worth it.
Today, I took the train from Naples to Pompeii, which is the gateway to Vesuvius. Easiest way to get there, cheapest, etc. Then I made a rookie mistake. Walking off the train, I stopped into the little shop attached to the station - where there is a booth set up obviously for tourists - and asked for the bus to Vesuvius.
Two things wrong with doing this: 1.) It's a tourist trap meant for those who would rather pay money than do their own research, and so they pay a lot of extra money; and 2.) No way anyone in that little shop is going to point me toward the city bus that also goes up to the volcano parking area, which is a bit further down than the tourist bus but only by about 50 meters, and costs ~$3. I knew both of these things and yet...
Twenty euros later, I'm sitting in the tourist trap extravaganza shop waiting for a bus to pick me up to take me up a mountain. Once on the bus, I'll be expected to pay the 10 euros to get into the park to the driver when he stops to pick up last couple of riders. My head screamed scam, but a bit of research while I'm waiting says that no, the tickets really are 10 euros cash at the top of the mountain. My best guess is that this tourist group buys them in bulk at a slight discount, and then sells them to us at full price to make a little extra. And honestly, I'm okay with that.
Oh, so we're on this bus, going up this mountain on ridiculously narrow roads, and for the first time I'm actually damn glad that I messed up. This driver is a freaking pro. He's careful, safe, and he's conscientious over the other drivers on the road. Every time we came up on a hairpin turn - which was often - he honked lightly to let anyone else coming know that hey, we're here! He was generous to motorcycles careening down the mountain, giving them as much space as he would a car. And overall, he made me feel completely safe in his bus.
I know, I know. All the tropes about Italian drivers, and I'm saying that this guy made me feel safe. I'm not kidding, though. He truly was a genius going up that volcano, and given my fear of heights, I appreciated every dime I paid to him and his company.
Once at the drop off, we trudged up a steep, winding path to the rim of the volcano. I'd had two full nights sleep in a row, and while I'd walked a lot the day before, it had been more meandering than power-walking. So my legs were good! But that hill... it was steep. And it was quite a ways up. I mean, not Montserrat distance, but you know... still a lot. And I once again thanked dumb me for stepping into that tourist shop and getting that bus, because that extra 50 meters at that incline would not have been fun. Call me a wimp, but I still had to climb down that mountain and planned to go to Herculaneum after! (Which I did, and I'll post about that next.)
Okay, so up the mountain I went, walking off-and-on with a nice young guy from Delaware named Lance who had been on the bus with me and, like me, had planned a European trip for his (29th) birthday. I'd be proud to say that I made it up much easier than he did, except that he's a smoker, so... meh. Shallow victory. As I said, the path was steep, of course it was rocky (by default, right? active volcano and all), and there were parts of it that had actually washed away because you know, steep. I never felt unsafe, but it did mean that there were times that I needed to maneuver a bit differently.
The rim, though? That view... that scenery... that freaking massive hole in the top of that mountain? So. Worth. It.
I'd thought I'd feel like I was on Mars or the Moon, but I didn't. I felt like I was on a mountain that didn't have a top, with really bumpy rocks. It wasn't surreal like I thought it would be. It was interesting, awe-inspiring, and beautiful. And very, very earthy. Well, until I saw the face on the inside of the volcano, but I'll let you find it yourself in the pictures below. See if you can find Vulcan himself.
If you find yourself on this side of the world, make this trek. It wasn't a horrible climb, and most people can do it without much trouble, though stopping to catch ones breath happens to the bulk of them. It's lovely. Truly. And spoil yourself if you have the extra money by stopping in the little shop at the Pompeii train station and hiring their bus service. Definitely worth it.
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