Pompeii - In the Shadow of Mt. Vesuvius

When I was in grade 10, I took Ancient history. I had this teacher, bless her soul, she was obsessed, completely and totally obsessed with Pompeii. She had gone there twice and she just could not get over how amazing the place was. So for days upon days during our Roman Empire unit we listened to her spout off at the mount about Pompeii. As boring as it was, it made me really want to visit there, so when I found out the Italy trip included Pompeii I was jumping with joy ready to get er done! Although the day started off crappy, because my friend got coned by one of the people selling souvenirs, and she took way too much inner emotional beatings for it, it was a great experience. The temperature was nice enough to wear just jeans and a t-shirt and the weather went from being completely horrible, to sunny and minimal clouds. I do have to say, because I hate tours, the tour killed me, but it was nice because we didn't necessarily have to stay with our group guides, so we just kind of wandered around. My favorite fact of the day was about how they only found one remain of a dog in the lava because this one was tied up and the others had a sixth sense and knew something was up, so they all ran away before the volcano erupted, pretty cool I think.

More to add later.

So considering that neither my sister, nor I had slept much on the flight you would think we would have slept well that first night, and you would be wrong.  Sleep did not come easy or for long, but we were still up and at it like champs for day 2.  We had a train scheduled to leave at 745am for Napoli (Naples) so we got up at about 615am.  Early enough to pack up because we had to check out of the hotel as we would be staying somewhere else for the next 2 nights.   There was no drama involved and we managed to scarf down some breakfast (croissants and jam) and throw back some coffee.  The hotel was kind enough to let us leave our bags there and we were off to the train station.  We got to the train station to discover our train was delayed 10 minutes, which was really 20 minutes.  Daggone it, I could have eaten more food.  The train arrived and we found our seats.  This would be our only journey on the IC Plus, and I'm kind of glad.  It's neat the compartments, but it's a little to close to 4 strangers.  During the train ride I filled out postcards writing as much as I could in Italian...I'm sure everyone appreciated that :)  I also listened to an audio guide for Naples, Pompeii, Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast.  The audio guide had me good and scared of the Naples train station.  I let my sister listen to it as well, so she could be suitably frightened too.  All that fear ended up being for nothing, because we were never approached by anybody trying to hustle us.  Maybe we just looked like two women not to be messed with!  Still with no drama we got on the Circumvesuviana to Pompeii.  For some reason this train ride was excruciating to me.  It could be that I was standing, or that I was hot, or I was so on guard, but for whatever the reason we could not get to Pompeii soon enough.  Once at Pompeii we get two audio guides and a map.  Now I have to say, as it turned out, the audio guide seemed to be more trouble than it was worth for several reasons.  One, it doesn't just play, you have to push a number and play it.  This is a pain in the ass because you have to get the map and try to figure out where you are. Two, too many of the things are closed in real life, so you can't quite figure out what the thing is talking about.  Three, even with headphones, it's just a pain to carry around with the map.  So it was kind of a waste of 6 euros.  Though we did get to hear about what we would have seen had things been open.  So my overall impression of Pompeii is overwhelming.  The place is too darn big, you wanna see everything, but it all starts to look the same, but you are afraid that if you stop you will be missing something.  So around and around we wandered for many hours sometimes listening to the audio guide and sometime just marveling at it all.  Somethings I found interesting.  First, this city was around before 79 AD, now being from the USA, that concept is inconceivable.  Just walking around these ruins, which maintained a lot of structure and thinking of life back that far is mind boggling.  Second, these people were some dirty birds... listening to the descriptions of what the frescoes depicted was an eye-opener.  They were clearly much more sexually free.  Third, just the massiveness of this place is amazing and it was basically just a vacation spot!  My favorite thing was the large theater.  It is still pretty much intact and you can really just imagine it in use. 

"Come here Ms. Texas.  Touch this wall.  It is 2600 years old.  There are no walls like this in your country."  Guido, the tour guide.

Our day began with breakfast at the hotel: warm french bread, cheese, salami, cereal, red (?!) orange juice and lemon poundcake.  Next we head out to meet a bus for a day long tour of Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvius.  Quick history lesson: in August 79 AD, Mt. Vesuvius erupted sending toxic gas fumes, mud and ash into the air.  In 150 seconds, the town of Pompeii (with a population of 20,000) was covered in 2 stories of the mud and ash.  The city was to remain covered for the next 1700 years until archaeologists discovered it in the 19th century.  When they did discover the ruins, the bodies of the inhabitants had long ago decomposed, but they were still able to make plaster molds of them because the mud had kept their forms so well-preserved.  Needless to say, Pompeii is an amazing place. 

We were impressed with the sophistication of a city that is 2000 years old.  Some of the highlights included a handmade sewer system, sliding front doors, hitching posts, indoor saunas, walk-up fast food counters and bars, crown mouldings and traffic barricades.  We got to tour their forum, basilica and some homes.  One home caught our eye.  It's entryway featured a mosaic of a black dog and the Latin words "Cave Canium" or "Beware of Dog."  Apparently even the Romans were worried about potential lawsuits.  Another house (the governor's) featured a mosaic floor of Alexander the Great defeating the Persians that contained more than a 1.5 million small stones in it.  More sobering was the preserved body plasters that archaeologists have created.  There was a man curled up in the fetal position, a pregnant woman clutching her belly and a helpless dog tied to a chain. 

From Pompeii, we headed to the culprit herself, Mt. Vesuvius.  Mt. Vesuvius is still an active volcano having last erupted (with less deadly of consequences) in 1944.  (A side note, when it erupted in 79 it was 12,000 feet tall.  Today it is barely over 3,000 feet).  Our guide dropped us off at the bottom and wished us luck as we trekked up the mountain (and then back down again).  It was steep, dusty and very hot.  The trail was made up of gravel and sand (making for very tedious climbing and me in sandals, nonetheless), but after 40 minutes we made it.  The crater is impressive and makes quite an echo.  You can also look back on the city of Naples and its harbor from here. 

After a quick descension, our group stopped for lunch and then headed back to Naples.  We were still feeling jet lagged so we made it an early night and went straight to bed.

This morning we said goodbye to Amy, Mar, and Patrice. They were heading to the airport after breakfast for their flight back home to L.A. Today was also Suzanne and Clay's last day of the tour. However, they would be spending a few more days in Rome and along with Chris and Wendy, would be travelling down to Pompeii with us. Back on the bus for a 2 hour drive down to Pompeii. It was a beautiful and sunny morning made even more spectacular once we starting driving along the coast near the city of Naples.  Driving through Naples, we could easily see Mt. Vesuvius and knew that Pompeii wasn't too far. Pompeii, like Florence and Venice was like Disneyland for tourists. There must have been 30 other coaches parked in the parking lot when we arrived.  I was quite excited to check out these ruins which I've learned so much about growing up. My excitement was made even more once I learned that admission today was free! Gotta love those freebies! Today was by far the warmest day we've had on the trip. It was defenitely shorts weather as the temperature probably hit around 90 degrees. We met up with our tour guide and all I was hoping for was that this guy was half interesting. If I have to endure another guided tour with a boring and disengaging guide, I think i'll go crazy. Once we entered the ruins, it was all downhill from there. Not only was this guide boring but he seemed to rush us through the tour. He gave us way too much information and eventually I just tuned him out and went into my own little world.  Then as if it couldn't get any more disappointing, we learned that the brothels were closed for cleaning. This was the one part of Pompeii that I was really looking forward to. It would have been really cool to see these brothels with all their phallic imagery and depictions of sexual positions. The one highlight of the tour was being able to see the plaster castings of the the people buried in the ash flow. Apparently the ash flow that buried the city ocurred so quickly, that people were instantly buried and entombed forever. When excavators were searching through the ash, they would find voids where bodies had been. By pouring plaster into these voids and letting it solidify, the body shape of the victims would be created. On many of these plaster castings, you could even see their facial expressions. Many of these plaster castings were placed in glass casings for the public to view. It was all very morbid and interesting at the same time. Once the tour was over, we had about a half an hour to grab a bite to eat or souvenir shop. We all walked back to the coach and said our goodbyes to Clay, Suzanne, Chris, and Wendy. They were going to catch the local train back up to Rome while we crossed the Italian peninsula to catch our ferry to Greece.

     Back on the bus, the LA6 had become the LA1. Now by myself, I had to make more of an effort to hang out with some of the others. This would be no problem as I had gotten to know most everyone on the tour. Southern Italy was much poorer and rural compared to the rest of Italy. This was evident on our drive across the peninsula. Towns were few and far between and our rest stops were definetly of a different standard. It was here that I saw the first squatter toilets of the trip. We finally arrived at the port in the early evening. It was here that we also said our goodbyes to Fridge and the Contiki bus. We wouldn't be needing the coach in Corfu and we would be taking a private coach over to Athens. This was Fridge's last tour and he would be driving this coach back up to London. We all boarded the overnight ferry and went in search for our rooms. This was my first night without a roomate so I was wondering if I would be getting a room all to myself or if I would be sharing with one of the single guys. Thankfully, it turned out that I would have my own cabin for the night. The cabin was very small and had 2 bunk bed style beds. Since we were on a Greek ship we had to follow the Greek rules when it comes to plumbing. We were informed that we were not allowed to flush any toilet paper down the toilet. It would have to be placed in the trash bin. I would hate to be the one having to empty these bins. Just the thought of this sounded very disgusting to me. Apparently the plumbing system in Greece is unable to handle toilet paper. My first time using the toilet, I completely forgot and dropped it in the toilet. I was worried that if I flushed, it would cause the toilet to back up and flood the bathroom. I took my chances anyways and flushed.
     For dinner, a few of us met up in the cafeteria. I had a Greek Salad, lasagne, and fries with tzatziki sauce. This sauce made from yogurt and cucumber would become my newest favorite thing once this trip was over. I sat with Rob, Kevin, Sandra,  little Sara, and Canadian Andrea. We ended up killing an hour or two by discussing politics in America. After dinner, there wasn't much else to do. I browsed the shops and walked the decks. The ship had a casino, internet terminals, a few duty free shops, and a huge lounge area. I killed a few hours in the lounge area hanging out with the Aussie Gossip crew doing what else? Catching up on my gossip. We sat there and smoked and had a few drinks while discussing which perfume they were going to buy in the duty free shops. Needing some fresh air, I decided to go for a little walk when I ran into Kevin. He told me that a small group was at the top deck hanging out and that I should join. Before going up there, I checked out the casino and played a few slots before losing 5 euros. I ran into Patrick in here and we both went in search of the group at the top deck. It was a cool chilly evening out on the top deck. Up here Matt, big Dave, Claire, Kevin, Jason, Andria, Mark, Dave, and Mandy were all out enjoying the night air and sipping some wine. Eventually, it became a bit too chilly for my tastes. I excused myself and called it a night. On my way back down, I noticed the Aussie Gossip Crew still hanging out in the lounge. I joined them for one last drink and started having a very deep conversation with Amanda. We started walking up to our rooms where we continued our conversation in my cabin. I wonder what it may have looked like if someone saw her coming into my cabin at this late hour. We ended up chatting for about 20 minutes before she retreated to her cabin and we both called it a night.
     

Pompeii is a ruined and partially buried Roman city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei.

It, along with Herculaneum (its sister city), was destroyed, and completely buried, during a catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning two days on 24 August 79 AD.

The volcano collapsed higher roof-lines and buried Pompeii under many meters of ash and pumice, and it was lost for nearly 1700 years before its accidental rediscovery in 1748. Since then, its excavation has provided an extraordinarily detailed insight into the life of a city at the height of the Roman Empire. Today, it is one of the most popular tourist attractions of Italy and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Early history

The archaeological digs at the site extend to the street level of the 79 AD volcanic event; deeper digs in older parts of Pompeii and core samples of nearby drillings have exposed layers of jumbled sediment that suggest that the city had suffered from the volcano and other seismic events before then. Three sheets of sediment have been found on top of the lava bedrock that lies below the city and, mixed in with the sediment, archaeologists have found bits of animal bone, pottery shards and plants. Using carbon dating, the oldest layer has been dated to the 8th-6th centuries BC, about the time that the city was founded. The other two layers are separated from the other layers by well-developed soil layers or Roman pavement and were laid in the 4th century BC and 2nd century BC. The theory behind the layers of jumbled sediment is large landslides, perhaps triggered by extended rainfall.

The town was founded around the 7th-6th century BC by the Osci or Oscans, a people of central Italy, on what was an important crossroad between Cumae, Nola and Stabiae. It had already been used as a safe port by Greek and Phoenician sailors. According to Strabo, Pompeii was also captured by the Etruscans, and in fact recent excavations have shown the presence of Etruscan inscriptions and a 6th century necropolis. Pompeii was captured a first time by the Greek colony of Cumae, allied with Syracuse, between 525 and 474 BC.

In the 5th century BC, the Samnites conquered it (and all the other towns of Campania); the new rulers imposed their architecture and enlarged the town. After the Samnite Wars (4th century), Pompeii was forced to accept the status of socium of Rome, maintaining however linguistic and administrative autonomy. In the 4th century BC it was fortified. Pompeii remained faithful to Rome during the Second Punic War.

Pompeii took part in the war that the towns of Campania initiated against Rome, but in 89 BC it was besieged by Sulla. Although the troops of the Social League, headed by Lucius Cluentius, helped in resisting the Romans, in 80 BC Pompeii was forced to surrender after the conquest of Nola. It became a Roman colony with the name of Colonia Cornelia Veneria Pompeianorum. The town became an important passage for goods that arrived by sea and had to be sent toward Rome or Southern Italy along the nearby Appian Way. Agriculture, oil and wine production were also important.

It was fed with water by a spur from Aqua Augusta (Naples) built circa 20 BC by Agrippa, the main line supplying several other large towns, and finally the naval base at Misenum. The castellum in Pompeii is well preserved, and includes many interesting details of the distribution network and its controls.


Vesuvius eruption


A computer-generated depiction of the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 which buried Pompeii (from BBC's Pompeii: The Last Day). The depiction of the Temple of Jupiter, facing the forum, and the Temple of Apollo, across the portico to the left, are nonetheless inaccurate, and the shown state of the porticoes around the forum is also at least questionable, as they all appear intact during this recreation of the 79 eruption; it is widely known that at least the Temples of Jupiter and Apollo had been destroyed 17 years before, during the 62 earthquake, and that they had not been rebuilt by the time the city was finally destroyed in the 79 eruption
A computer-generated depiction of the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 which buried Pompeii (from BBC's Pompeii: The Last Day). The depiction of the Temple of Jupiter, facing the forum, and the Temple of Apollo, across the portico to the left, are nonetheless inaccurate, and the shown state of the porticoes around the forum is also at least questionable, as they all appear intact during this recreation of the 79 eruption; it is widely known that at least the Temples of Jupiter and Apollo had been destroyed 17 years before, during the 62 earthquake, and that they had not been rebuilt by the time the city was finally destroyed in the 79 eruption

By the 1st century, Pompeii was one of a number of towns located around the base of Mount Vesuvius. The area had a substantial population which grew prosperous from the region's renowned agricultural fertility. Many of Pompeii's neighbouring communities, most famously Herculaneum, also suffered damage or destruction during the 79 eruption.

The people and buildings of Pompeii were covered in up to twelve different layers of soil. Pliny the Younger provides a first-hand account of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius from his position across the Bay of Naples at Misenum, in a version which was written 25 years after the event. The experience must have been etched on his memory given the trauma of the occasion, and the loss of his uncle, Pliny the Elder, with whom he had a close relationship. His uncle lost his life while attempting to rescue stranded victims. As Admiral of the fleet, he had ordered the ships of the Imperial Navy stationed at Misenum to cross the bay to assist evacuation attempts. Volcanologists have recognised the importance of Pliny the Younger's account of the eruption by calling similar events "Plinian".

Rediscovery

After thick layers of ash covered the two towns, they were abandoned and eventually their names and locations were forgotten. Then Herculaneum was rediscovered in 1738 by workmen working on the foundation of a summer palace for the King of Naples, Charles of Bourbon, and Pompeii in 1748.[citation needed] These towns have since been excavated to reveal many intact buildings and wall paintings. The towns were actually found in 1599 by Domenico Fontana, who was digging a new course for the river Sarno, but it took more than 150 years before a serious campaign was started to unearth them.[citation needed] Charles III took great interest in the findings even after becoming king of Spain.[citation needed]

Karl Weber directed the first real excavations; he was followed in 1764 by military engineer Franscisco la Vega. Franscisco la Vega was succeeded by his brother, Pietro, in 1804.During the French occupation Pietro worked with Christophe Saliceti.

Giuseppe Fiorelli took charge of the excavations in 1860. During early excavations of the site, occasional voids in the ash layer had been found that contained human remains. It was Fiorelli who realised these were spaces left by the decomposed bodies and so devised the technique of injecting plaster into them to perfectly recreate the forms of Vesuvius's victims. What resulted were highly accurate and eerie forms of the doomed Pompeiani who failed to escape, in their last moment of life, with the expression of terror often quite clearly visible. This technique is still in use today, with resin now used instead of plaster because it is more durable.

Some have theorized that Fontana found some of the famous erotic frescoes and, due to the strict modesty prevalent during his time, reburied them in an attempt at archaeological censorship. This view is bolstered by reports of later excavators who felt that sites they were working on had already been visited and reburied. A detailed discussion of the erotic art of Pompeii, with pictures, can be found in a separate article.


A large number of artifacts come from Pompeii are preserved in the Naples National Archaeological Museum.

Pompeii today

Pompeii has become a popular tourist destination for centuries (it was on the Grand Tour); with approximately 2.5 million visitors a year, it is the most popular tourist attraction in Italy.[citation needed] It is now part of a larger Vesuvius National Park and was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997. To combat problems associated with tourism, the governing body for Pompeii, the Soprintendenza Archaeological di Pompei have begun issuing new tickets that allow for tourists to also visit cities such as Herculaneum and Stabiae as well as the Villa Poppaea, to encourage visitors to see these sites and reduce pressure on Pompeii.

Pompeii is also a driving force behind the economy of the nearby town of Pompei. Many residents are employed in the tourism and hospitality business, serving as taxi or bus drivers, waiters or hotel operators. The ruins can be reached by simply walking from the modern town to the various entrances, there are adequate car parks and the entrances are also accessible to tourists through the train line to the modern town, or else a private train line, the Circumvesuviana, that runs directly to the ancient site.


Excavations in the site have generally ceased due to the moratorium imposed by the superintendent of the site, Professor Pietro Giovanni Guzzo. Additionally, the site is generally less accessible to tourists, with less than a third of all buildings open in the 1960s being available for public viewing today. Nevertheless, the sections of the ancient city open to the public are extensive, and tourists can spend many days exploring the whole site.

Issues of conservation


When Pompeii was buried under the ash and rubble of Mount Vesuvius, the objects buried beneath it were remarkably well-preserved for almost two thousand years. The lack of air and moisture allowed for the objects to remain underground with little to no deterioration, which meant that, once excavated, the site had a wealth of sources and evidence for analysis, giving remarkable detail into the lives of the Pompeiians. Unfortunately, once exposed, Pompeii has been subject to both natural and man-made forces which have rapidly increased their rate of deterioration.

Weathering, erosion, light exposure, water damage, poor methods of excavation and reconstruction, introduced plants and animals, tourism, vandalism and theft have all damaged the site in some way. Two-thirds of the city has been excavated, but the remnants of the city are rapidly deteriorating. The concern for conservation has continually troubled archaeologists. Today, funding is mostly directed into conservation of the site; however, due to the expanse of Pompeii and the scale of the problems, this is inadequate in halting the slow decay of the materials. An estimated US$335 million is needed for all necessary work on Pompeii.

As early as we tried to get up we just didnt make it in time. We got all the way to the ruins to find out they had let in the last people 30 min earlier. By the time we made it back to the Naples train station we had enough time for a quick bite and then back to Rome. From the train station Charles and I wandered off to find the ONE Citibank ATM in the city. On the way back we found a neat little place to have a nice dinner and lift our mood a bit. From there we figured we would head over to the ancient rome area and get some night pictures but not much is lit up in the winter! Luckily the Coloseum was nicely lit and we took some time getting some good shots of it with a nice large Christmas tree in view. On the way home we also got a nice shot of the "Wedding Cake" at night.

Here are the post cards I got from while there.  Not my photos, Post Cards!

When planning this trip to Pompeii I thought of just spending 4 hours and then heading to Rome again because I still don’t have any good photos of Rome in my 5 trips there.  Once arriving at Pompeii I was stunned, I had no idea the city was this big; well I ended up spending the whole day here and still did not see it all.

Memory " I remember driving back to Sicily low on fuel and hungry because Italy and most of Europe had a power outage; vaguely remember it started in France.  Anyway no power so no gas although about half way to Sicily I found a restaurant that was using a generator and ate, then drove back in darkness that evening.

There were still some dark clouds about, but as we were leaving tomorrow, today was our only chance to see Pompeii. So we took the dreaded bus ride into Sorrento and stopped in for our morning coffee at a little cafe near the station. Pompeii is about half way between Sorrento and Naples, so 40mins on the train and we (like many others) got off at Pompeii Scavi stop.

The entrance is only a 2 minute walk from the station, however you have to weave past all the street vendors selling postcards, souvenirs and of course umbrellas. We'd overheard some people recommending the audio guide so we grabbed one each as well as the maps and headed in. The map has a couple recommended walks ranging from 1 hour to 6 hours – we picked the 2 hour walk.

The audio guide talks a lot about the age of the buildings, what they were used for, the art but unfortunately nothing about the actual event which created this tourist attraction so that was disappointing. Never the less, we were glad to get the audio guide as it's the only way to get information about the buildings unless you are in a tour group. And there were lots and lots of tour groups.

We did our best at trying to avoid them, by moving onto the next area ahead of them, or staying back, but it didn't quite work as well as we'd hoped because there were so many. The most busiest part of the walk was the brothel which had erotic paintings above the doors. It's only a 30sec walk through but there was about 5 tour groups of 40 each trying to get in. In the end we didn't get to see much of that building because everyone is trying to get through it.

It was about this time we put the map away and walked off in the opposite direction to the tours and found a quiet area to walk around. It was nice to only see a few people at a time instead of 40 and it meant we could walk freely around without people getting in our way to spend minutes taking a single photo.

By the time we left it was quite late and we were damp from the various rain showers during the afternoon. Caught the train back into Sorrento and then ventured out looking for a shop to buy some food to cook for the night. Craig got the bus times wrong for the trip out to the marina (was looking at the other direction) so even though we rushed back to the station to catch the bus, it wasn't going to arrive for another hour.

Eventually we made it back to the camp at about 9pm, quickly cooked and ate our dinner, packed most of the bags and went to sleep.

We got our tickets to the ruins of Pompeii and headed in.  You get a map of the city with numbered sites marked and a corresponding booklet that has a brief description of the room or site you are looking at.  It is well designed, but we had trouble finding a couple spots.  So we started out at number one and were already out of order by number 8.  Then we decided to just skip around and see the sights we wanted to see and any that were nearby. 

I was amazed to see Mount Vesuvius looming in the background of many of the stops (but what did I expect?).  For those who need a history lesson, Pompeiians didn't know they were living at the base of an active volcano when it erupted in A.D. 79.  The town was covered in super-heated ash that buried the citizens and their town before they really knew what hit them.  The victims suffocated under the ash and their body casts were preserved.  Archaeologists noticed air pockets in the ash when they were excavating and pourced plaster into the cavaties.  Out came life sized casts of humans and dogs, many appeared to be writhing in pain.  Some were holding loved ones.  Its quite sad and yet amazing, too.  This is another thing I heard about when I was little (I was infatuated with natural disasters) and I really wanted to see the site someday.  The science museum in St. Paul (Minnesota) recently had an exhibit on Pompeii, but I was determined to see the real thing, and a few months later here I am!  The town of Herculaneum suffered a similar fate, but we didn't go there.

The town is about 80% dug out but many sites need some restoration or are under renovation.   Near the big grassy square are several rooms filled with artifacts including more body casts and lots of amphorae (big pottery).  I was amazed at some of the details that survived the eruption.  Some very intricate carvings were preserved, statues, mosaics and even some color paintings!  Most of the artifacts have been removed and are located in the archaeological museum in Naples, but we didn't have time to go there.

Back in the day, the city was flooded daily to remove waste in the streets.  Large stepping stones allow pedestrians to cross flooded streets.  The number of stones relates to how busy the street was.  A chariot can pass over one stone, so two stones in a road means it is a two way street.  You can even see the ancient wheel grooves in some of the roads. 

We toured the baths, some fast food eateries and a couple of bakeries.  I really wanted to see the bakery but we couldn't find it.  We were headed off to the far northwest area, an area that is supposed to have more bodies and other things.  But we were so tired from climbing up Vesuvius that we decided to re-think our tour here.  Michele wanted to see the colosseum and ampitheater, both of which were about as far away as you could get in the opposite direction.  I sort of wanted to keep going, but didn't really want to do both.  Plus we didn't think we could cover all that ground in the little time we had left.  So we turned around and went the other way, finally finding the bakery.  We also saw some Italians climbing the walls to pick lemons.   Maybe they thought they were eating lemons from the same tree the ancient Pompeiians did, I don't know.

We dragged our feet off to the brothel on the way to the colosseum.  It was interesting, complete with stone beds and pillows (very uncomfortable looking).  Erotic pictures were painted above the doorways, perhaps as a menu for guests.  Eventually we found the little ampitheater, but somehow ended up in the bottom stage area.  We sat to rest as a tour group came through up top, knowing we were probably in a bunch of pictures and not caring.  Then we went off to the colosseum.  Once we got there, we couldn't find the way in, and being a little tired and cranky, we were a little pissed that we walked all the way over here and couldn't see it.  But Michele was deteremined and she set off to find the entrance.  Sure enough, on the opposite side of us was the entrance. 

The colosseum was mostly overgrown with grass, but you still got an idea of how many people could fit there to watch gladiators or whatever they were watching.  We walked across and out the other entrance, near where we first walked up but didn't see it.  And then we decided it was time to head back out since it was near closing time.  We were dragging our feet, which is not the safest way to walk over paving stones.  We were exhausted.  We figured we walked about 5 miles through the city and only saw a small portion of it.  You would need all day to go through the whole thing.  Maybe I will come back again - I could easily spend another day wandering around Pompeii.  But we did climb Mount Vesuvius so I can check that off my list of things to do. 

When we got back to Naples, we set off in search of a restaurant that bears Michele's name.  The city was in the middle of a rubbish strike, so there was trash everywhere.  It was disgusting and dirty.  We went a few blocks and decided we didn't want to be here any more.  Instead we ate a couple slices of pizza at the train station and went home.  Another exhausting day completed.

It's amazing to see where Mt. Vesuvius errupted and changed the lives of people all through Italy. See this and value both your life, and our new technogloy to know when a disaster is about to hit.

11.04.07 - Sunday

I had to be up at 2am for sail duty. My shift was over at 4am, so I went back to bed. Woke up at 11:30am - had sail duty from noon - 4pm. During my shift we had a fire drill. Once everyone was on deck, Bexi came up with a B-day cake for Sarah. We all sang Happy Birthday. After dinner I went to bed.

11.05.07 - Monday

Another day at sea. I woke up and took a cold shoower - for some reason there was no hot water. I guess this is preparation for Africa. There will be no hot water there unless we boil it, but we’ll be so close to the equator that I imagine a cold shower will be refreshing. During my watch 12-4 a military helicopter hovered over the water and attempted a rescue exercise next to our boat. They radioed us. It was cool. They were having fun with us - circling round and round. Everyone on board ran to get there cameras.

After lunch we had a man overboard exercise. Jarod put on a submersion suit and jumped overboard. After we rescued him, several people went swimming. I was still getting over a cold, so I stayed on deck and took photos. Lehman caught a HUGE sun fish with his bare hands. It was bizarre looking. (see photo). We also rescued a styrofoam box that was floating in the ocean. After dinner I watched a movie on my laptop in my bunk … Chicken Run - and of course I thought of Charles.

11.06.07 - Tuesday

I had 2-4am watch, then I went back to bed. We arrived in Italy at 10am. We were not able to find a port in Naples, so we went to a nearby town called Torre Annunziata. After cleaning the ship and lunch, we went to town as a large group. We had two dogs join our group - one was a big male German Shepard; another was a small female mutt. They were our tour guides for the day and led us all over town. We walked for hours. Several other stray dogs started to follow us too. By the time we arrived in the city center we had eight dogs with us. The city was dirty and run down. There was nothing to do - all the stores were closed down, except a gelato shop. We all got treats. This was my first gellato experience. I loved it…. But still managed to share my dessert with the dogs.

Our group split into two. Eight of us (including me) took a cab back to the boat while the others took a train to Pompei. After dinner we had a ship meeting - Lehman informed us that the port officials gave us a ticket and charged us with a fine of 2000 Euros because of some port law we broke unknowingly. We had to hire a port attorney to represent us and attend a hearing tomorrow to see if we can get the charges dropped. We felt like this was spiritual warfare and trusted that God would work through the situation. We spent time in prayer and prayed for Lehman. Afterwards we watched the movie Master and Commander.

11.07.07 - Wednesday

This morning we prayed again for Lehman and for today’s meeting with the Port Authorities. At 2:15pm he returned with good news. We were allowed to stay and the fine had been removed! All charges were dropped… Praise God!

All afternoon we had class. This week’s teacher was Dean Sherman. He looks just like Ned Flanders from the Simpson’s. We found out he is Ned! The creator of the Simpson’s is a friend of Dean’s. He created Ned with Dean in mind. Dean was not able to physically be here, so we watched him on video. His teaching is on Spiritual Warfare. Isn’t it ironic that we were experiencing warfare at the same time as the teaching. That evening we watched the movie, Life is Beautiful. It’s a Italian foreign film about a Nazi concentration camp. It was sad, but meaningful.

11.08.07 - Thursday

Teaching day.. During a break I climbed off the boat and played with two dogs that lived on the dock. Both of them limped on their hind leg. They must have been hit by a car. Italians are the craziest drivers. They fly down the narrow road at extreme speeds. One night Makayla was almost hit by this guy driving backwards. I wasn’t feeling very cheerful today, we were on board all day. Playing fetch with the dogs was the highlight of my day.

11.09.07 - Friday

Today we had a day off. At 9:30am seventeen of us took taxis to Pompei. Several people went through the city ruins left from the volcano. I went to the Cathedral. It was the biggest church I’ve ever been to. Every single wall and ceiling was adorned with gold and beautiful paintings. It was breath-taking! While I was at the Post Office, I met a very nice man in his 50’s. We chatted while waiting in line. His English was fairly good and we managed to understand one another with little difficulty. Then at 2pm the whole town shut down for a siesta. I ate my lunch and wandered around until I ran into Jon Paul. We met up with the others and walked around. Makayla stepped in dog poop. We all were cracking up as she yelled, “Get it off me!”. Meinhard managed to find a paper bag in the street to wipe it off he foot. (see photo -yes I took a pic of it)

We went to one of three internet café’s throughout the whole city. There was no WiFi at all. Then we did some last minute shopping before taking the train back home. Before going back to the boat, we stopped at a shop to get doughnuts. They were incredible! The best doughnut I have ever eaten…

After dinner Matt and I raced through the saloon to see who could get to the shower the quickest.. He did of course, but thankfully we have four showers. We had hot water - it felt amazing. Matt and I snuggled up in the sconcen - a little room in the bow of the boat, to watch the movie, Dannie Darko. It was bizarre. I don’t recommend seeing it.

11.10.07 - Saturday

Today Dan led worship. He created these cool videos of our experiences to go along with the music. That afternoon we had sail training with Cassie. I felt like I learned a lot. At 7:30pm a youth group came on board. Most all of them spoke Italian, so it was hard to communicate. Makayla, Jon Paul, and Dan gave their testimonies and Cassie talked about our Ministry while an interpreter translated. Cathy, Sarah, and Bob returned that evening after being away for a few days. Lydia and I had a meeting to discuss a misunderstanding that happened earlier that afternoon. She and I prayed together before I went to bed.

Today we decided to take our life in our hands and ride the rickety local bus down the mountains to see the ruins at Pompeii.  Pompeii was a major Roman city that was buried under rocks and ash when the volcano Vesuvius erupted on August 24^th, 79AD.  We

have seen a lot of ruins in Greece, but they are just a few walls and columns and a lot of rubble; this is a complete city that was preserved by the ashes, you can almost visualize daily life here.  It was a very large town for it’s time Pompeii was very progressive.  You can see the remains of shops, wide streets, stadiums and theaters. We also saw homes some were very large and luxurious with atriums, and elaborate mosaics on the floor. Some of the larger homes actually had their own latrines, the rest of the people used public latrines that are scattered around the town.  There were also Public baths with warm and cold pools.  The former building that was possible a farmers market is being used as storage for archeological finds, such as large urns tables, chairs and a few plaster casts of the victims, these people were frozen for eternity like statues, when the ashes covered them.  You can see the terror in theirs faces as they try to cover their noses and faces. Pompeii was well worth the trip, it is an unforgettable sight, a must see for anybody that is interested in history, archeology or architecture.