(Day 6: Naples) Our Trip Of A Lifetime: Cruising the Mediterranean

As I first looked out our porthole at 6:00 a.m. this morning... a hint of colorful daylight began to creep over, and outline, the rocky Italian shoreline. We are on our way to Naples!

Daylight slowly brightens the small islands along the Italian coast...making them more defined.

Sunrise finally erupts over the Lattari Mountains south of Naples as we sail closer to port.

Enroute to the Port of Naples, Kathy fixes her morning coffee outside at the Topsider.

Little does she know, but the volcano passing directly behind her is the infamous Mount Vesuvius!

The same Italian volcano that brought a horrible death to tens of thousands of villagers in Pompeii and Herculaneum when it erupted 2,000 years ago!

The lighthouse at the sea wall entrance to the Port of Naples. Fishermen are already out fishing on the far left of this point of land.

Sitting on a schnazzy new Disney Magic carved bench, Kathy waits patiently for our excursion meeting time.

We have a long and exciting day ahead: first to the Italian coastal city of Sorrento... and then on to the excavated, tragic village of Pompeii!

(I have wanted to see Pompeii since I was 12 years old! That's when I first read about Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Mount Vesuvius in my "Book of Knowledge" illustrated encyclopedia set!)

Cargo, luxury, transport, and military ships all share the waters in this gorgeous Port of Naples.

A wooden, leisure sailboat sits quietly docked next to 3 Italian Navy ships anchored in port.

Finally, at 8:45 we meet at the "Rockin' Bar D" lounge and become tour bus Group 8. We load up and meet Enzo... he is a dark-haired, short, friendly "Neopolitan" who will be our guide today.

Yep, that's right... I said "Neopolitan"... that's what people and things from Naples, Italy are often called! (It's not just the 3-flavored ice cream to me any more.)

The drive from Naples to Sorrento along the amazing Amalfi Coast took about an hour.

Passing through typical Italian neighborhoods, we often saw a mixture of modern buildings, 1960's style houses, small church chapels... and even a few World War II era, bombed-out and overgrown ruins of buildings!

The buildings along the coast of Naples were colorful and breathtaking in the morning sunlight.

The neighborhoods were often wedged in along the base of the steep, rocky Naples shoreline.

Laundry and plants often hung from the balconies of the colorful high rise apartments.

(Did you notice the Italian gentleman relaxing on the balcony... 2nd floor from the top?)

The monster volcano, Mount Vesuvius, quietly dominates the whole panorama and looms over the sprawling city of Naples near its base.

High on a hill, we saw this large, old church surrounded by tall "Umbrella Pines"... they DO kinda look like umbrellas, don't they? (This picture is a little blurry... we were on the move and going almost 90 kph!)

This is the famous "Bikini Resort" and beach situated right on the Amalfi Coast... it must be a nice life, eh?

South of the Gulf of Naples... and peeking from behind the massive cliffs near Sorrento, Italy... the world famous Isle of Capri can be seen far off in the distance.

This was a very scenic and winding road along the coast... (almost as winding as the always-curving "Road to Hana" on Maui, Hawaii).

Enzo let us stop at a scenic overlook and it was hundreds of feet straight down the cliffs to the cool, blue water of the Gulf of Naples!

Can you spot the guy way down there kayaking along this deep, rocky shoreline?

Pretty cool, eh? This overlook was a great photo stop!

Then we were off again to wind the rest of the way along the coast to Sorrento.

Sorrento was a colorful city on top of the cliffs with many expensive, exotic, and otherwise "touristy" shops and restaurants.

Lots of old architecture everywhere you look... you can just feel the history of this place all around you!

Narrow, cramped city streets are the norm here... and you better watch out for the motorcycles and scooters!

These crazy scooter drivers go wherever they feel like it here... on the roads, on the sidewalks, between open-air restaurant chairs... everywhere and anywhere!

This is an open chapel along a busy sidewalk displaying a spectacular fresco painting in its entrance. Just look at the detail in this painting!

This fresco is Renaissance era and several hundred years old... and it's outside for all to enjoy!

The town-center clock tower had a large bell that would ring loudly every half hour... you can see the bell in the archway just under the clock!

There were gorgeous sculptures and statues, like this one, scattered all around the city.

We poked our head in a small church just before services started. Look how ornate and decorative even this small, local church is... amazing and very impressive.

A decorative, tranquil courtyard near the cliffs overlooking the Gulf.

A view from the cliffs at Sorrento show several boats at anchor on the calm waters of the Mediterranean.

Here is a giant, "man-eating" lizard we saw in a courtyard garden in Sorrento... well, maybe it WAS just a little chameleon-like lizard resting on a stump after all.

Another gorgeous bronze statue among the colorful bushes of the City of Sorrento, Italy!

We stopped by that small church again, after the mass, and were able to take a few more-detailed photos of the alter and interior...

it was both awesome and awe-inspiring in its humble elegance.

Kathy heads down a narrow street crowded with shoppers and outdoor vendor displays from the many shops lining this walkway.

The dog relaxing here must like pizza leftovers... he looks pretty content to lay right where he is!

What in the world am I gonna do with a short, Italian cheerleader statue?

Advertise pizza... of course!
Gimme a "P"... gimme an "I"... gimme a "ZZA"... what's that spell? "PIZZA"!

There were trolleys that navigated visitors through the main, narrow streets... much safer than walking along the streets and dodging the motorcycles, cars, and scooters zipping by!

Kathy shopped her way back to the town center... where the crowd of tourists was busiest.

She bought herself a polka-dot, silk scarf... a pirate t-shirt for me... some dancing Pinocchio toys for the grandkids, and a few other souvenirs... a pretty good day's shopping, I'd say!

Here are a couple examples of the scooters the locals use to get quickly around their town.
Just "look out" if you are in their way... because they are NOT slowing down for the tourists!

Also... the local taxis, cars, and even bicycle riders are notorious for not slowing down, not staying in their lanes, and not obeying street signs when near pedestrians!

As Brent (our cruise director on the Disney Magic) told us before our excursion...
"be careful when walking because the locals often regard traffic signals, signs, and road markings as 'minor suggestions' rather than real rules of the road"!!!

After shopping, we went to the "Pizzeria Aurora Ristorante" for, what else, PIZZA!

They are supposedly the BEST pizza joint in all of the Naples area!
Now that is a pretty big boast, I must say!

We had two of their individual pizzas, an iced tea for Kathy, and a beer for me.

The pizzas were brought by a waiter to our outdoor cafe table.

They tasted great, but the crusts were a bit too scorched for me... maybe I'm just not used to them being cooked in an authentic, vintage-Italian, wood-fired oven!

It was a bit pricey for just a lunch... about 38 Euros plus a tip... making it over $50 American!

But, it was the REAL deal... authentic Italian pizzas... eaten and enjoyed by us in Sorrento, Italy!

We rendezvoused at 1 p.m. with Enzo and the rest of our group at this luxurious gift shop... it was one of the few shops in all of Sorrento that offered public, "non-pay" restrooms for tour groups and individuals!

We quickly loaded on the bus and we were off to explore Pompeii, the 0nce-buried city!

It was a 30 minute drive to Pompeii... following back along some of the same winding coastline.

(This photo is super-blurry because our bus is flying down hill at break-neck speed, trying to make up some time.)

The photo above shows (if you can use your imagination) a green "mesh hammock" of sorts that is unrolled and placed beneath each olive tree in the farmer's orchard.

As the olives ripen and naturally fall from the tree, they are caught and gently collected in these "mesh hammocks"!

Pretty clever, these Italians are!

When we arrived in the modern portion of Pompeii, we offloaded the bus and got a drink or used the restroom before the lengthy tour began.

Another swanky gift shop with great, high-quality (and high-priced) local, Italian souvenirs.

Enzo checked our tour group through the entrance to the ruins of old Pompeii.

I was immediately surprised to see the 3 or 4-story tall structure pictured above... Enzo described it as part of the original wall surrounding old Pompeii !

I was amazed!
I always thought of Pompeii as a medium-sized village that was rediscovered and excavated from under the tons of volcanic ash layers spewed out by Mount Vesuvius.

I thought the buildings and things found were mostly on ground level or even below... how wrong I was!

As you can see from all the pictures that follow...

Pompeii was a vast, wide-spread city with whole citizen neighborhoods and complexes of huge, temple-like structures!

There were giant stone and brick columns everywhere, large public gathering areas, plus hundreds of individual and family apartment dwellings along row-after-row of Roman paved and manicured streets!

I am totally in "shock and awe" at the size of these ruins in Pompeii !

Enzo reminded us how over 20,000 Pompeiians died in 79 A.D. when Mount Vesuvius erupted violently.

The volcano continually showered layer after layer of volcanic ash, pumice, and hot stones on the terrified residents.

The final blow came when extremely hot, poison-gas clouds rolled down the volcano and consumed anyone left alive and trapped in Pompeii.

You can see the fine, gray ash and small pumice rocks everywhere in the city... it has even colored, and is embedded in, many of the columns, walls, and statues of Pompeii.

The level of preservation of the walkways, alleys, and roads is remarkable!

Pompeii was encased in, and buried beneath, over 50 feet of fine ash, stones, and pumice... tightly sealing the city and everything in it just as it was that day... until first found in 1740 and more extensively cleared in the mid 1800's!

This is a large, public meeting area where citizens could be entertained by artisans or come to hear local and visiting orators give speeches.

Some of the hundreds of family "apartment" dwelling ruins along a cobblestone thoroughfare.

The streets were paved Roman-style... made with large, flat, tight-fitting, Basalt cobblestones.

In the picture above, you can see the amazing grooves or "ruts" worn into the hard Basalt pavers by Roman chariots as they repeatedly drove between the "road block stones" when driving through town.

These huge "road block stones" were built into the roadway to keep "unauthorized" civilian wagons off the roads and out of the way of the elite Roman chariots and other foot traffic.

Roman archways and architecture is evident everywhere... with the mixed use of masonry bricks, stones, mortar and even cement to build their "apartments".

Another extremely well-preserved cobblestone street complete with curbs and small sidewalks.

Many rooms still show the once-colorful, but faded, murals that decorated their inner walls.

Large open areas designate where markets, street vendors, small shops and public gathering places were located. Very well laid out and planned by the original Pompeiians.

The colonnades above outline a massive open area for public displays and gatherings and often held canvas or cloth coverings... from the shop buildings on the right... to shade citizens shopping along this immense walkway.

Kathy stands near the edge of this huge, Central Market area to give it perspective and scale.

It is simply mind-blowing to think of the large scale of this once-thriving public area in Pompeii !

Of course, the worst tragedy was the loss of the 20,000 residents who suffered horrible deaths and were then buried for 1,800 years!

Many bodies of Pompeiians... with some of their pets and farm animals... were discovered during the excavation.

An early archeologist perfected a method whereby a body could be preserved exactly as found... while still buried in volcanic ash:

The scientist used large syringes to inject thin, watery "Plaster of Paris" into the small air-space between the victim's actual body and the first layer of ash that covered them.

Once the plaster hardened, the ash could be cleared away, and it would reveal a near-exact "plaster shell" encasing the human remains.

The victims (human and animal) were found, of course, in many agonizing positions... buried by the ash as they died... where they sat, lay, or fell.

Thankfully, only a few of these plaster-shelled corpses were displayed for us to see.

The one above is REAL... it is not just a plaster copy put in a display case!

Everyone was respectful as they viewed the corpses... but, it still seemed a bit callous and eerie to display these old Pompeiians as they died.

It was heart-wrenching to look at this man's face and imagine such a horrible end to his life.

More original paintings on the inner walls near where this male victim was found buried.

A wide cobblestone avenue runs alongside the Central Market and large temple ruins.

There were many proprietor "shingles" on the fronts of several buildings... advertising what business was conducted there... this one is of either "water-bearers" or "olive oil salesmen".

We visited the ruins of a preserved Roman bathing chamber. It was very elaborate with murals and dozens of carved stone statuettes lining the walls above the bath water.

It was said that the bath houses could be used by guys, girls, mixed couples, or any "other pairings" they felt like! (Remember, these were pre-Christian pagans... so anything goes.)

A large hand-washing basin in the baths was made of solid, ornately carved marble.

It is now guarded by this ferocious, "man-killer" dog! Watch your step!

Speaking of vicious dogs... this large floor-tile mosaic of a mean dog was located in the main foyer of a house and actually was a visual "Beware Of Dog" sign for anyone visiting or breaking in!

This was another plaster-encased corpse... found seated with his head in his hands... probably trying to cover his mouth from the poison gas as he died.

If you click on the picture, it will enlarge and you can see that tourists have thrown many coins into the bird-bath next to him...

probably in a sense of offering to help maintain and protect his final resting place here in the ruins of Pompeii.

We prepare to leave these amazing ruins after a long day.

I am awestruck at what I've seen here today...
and flabbergasted at how much I thought I knew... but, definitely DID NOT... about this magnificent and tragic Roman city of Pompeii.

A last look at the immense, protective wall surrounding old Pompeii.

It is nearly impossible to imagine... until you actually see it and walk among the ruins!

A new, small-cobblestone walkway near the old Pompeii gift shop... patterned after an original walkway found in ancient Rome!

An hour bus ride and we were back onboard ship by 6:45 PM.

My bum knee was swollen and killing me from hiking all day over the big cobblestones, and the stopping and starting of dodging the other tourists.

I told Kathy I wouldn't make it to dinner tonight at 8:30, so she should just go without me.

She said she would bring a big fruit plate back to the room for me after dinner; at about 10:30.

So, Kathy got dressed up and went to dinner... (all decked out and trolling for a date?)... at the "Animator's Palate".

I soaked my knee in our small bathtub for a little while... until I heard a light knock on our stateroom door... and then I heard the door opening.

It was our room steward, Komang, coming in to turn down our bed, leave chocolates, and make a towel-animal!

I quietly continued to soak, not alerting him to me being there... but... he tried to open the locked bathroom door to check for dirty towels!

He was surprised when I answered and he started apologizing, over and over and over again. I told him it was okay and he could just finish his chores.

After more apologizing, he finished and left the room.

I threw on some shorts and a t-shirt and laid on the bed to rest my knee and watch TV.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door again.

When I opened the door, it was Dogan... the head-honcho Maitre D' at our restaurants!
He was carrying a large tray with a full-course, roast beef medallions w/veggies meal for me from Animator's Palate!

I was shocked and pleasantly surprised... and I thanked him repeatedly!

He wished me well, then left to go back to his work.
Hard to believe, isn't it?

Kathy returned about an hour later. I thanked her for arranging that dinner and let her polish off the chocolate-something dessert they sent with my great "room service" meal.

We laughed at the Brontosaurus-style, "towel-dinosaur" waiting at the foot of our bed tonight!
Does the cleverness ever end? How cute it is!

After this big day, we were in bed by midnight!

We have an even bigger day planned tomorrow in Rome!