I woke early today and had eaten breakfast by 6:30 am. I was excited about my trip to Pompeii today.
Naples and Pompeii.
I had breakfast before heading down to the pickup point where the ship was docked. The Costa Cruises rep checked me and several people onto a coach and told me to sit anywhere. Ten minutes later, another Costa rep asked us to get off because the first rep had put us on the wrong coach.
When we got to the correct coach, we were checked onto it and after waiting for some latecomers because they got the leaving time wrong, we were soon on our way. Today's guide was very organized and much more professional than yesterday's guide, and after a 25-minute drive, we arrived at Pompeii and were given 10 minutes to get a drink or use the toilet before we started our tour.
Our guide was excellent, very knowledgeable and gave us a lot of interesting information as she took us around to see the barracks, training area, baths, homes, shops, lupine or brothel, bakers and the Forum of Pompeii. The Forum was very large, and standing at one end, you could see the Temple of Jupiter at the other, with Mount Vesuvius rising into the sky behind it.
Mount Vesuvius, our guide told us, has erupted many times since its ashes covered Pompeii and it is the only volcano on Europe's mainland to have erupted within the last hundred years. Mount Vesuvius is one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world because of the population of over 3,000,000 people living near enough to be affected by an eruption and its tendency towards violently explosive eruptions.
Our guide told us the main difference between Herculaneum and Pompei. Herculaneum had been destroyed and covered in lava, which hardened. Pompeii had only been covered in 13 to 20 feet of volcanic ash and pumice. So much of Pompeii has been uncovered in relatively good condition.
Pompeii was massive. I always wrongly assumed it was small. The amount of streets and buildings that you can walk around is impressive. Some murals, graffiti and decorations are still plainly seen in the uncovered buildings. One of the things that made most of our tour laugh was the large stone penises that we saw attached to some buildings or the floor of the roads. These were there to point sailors from the nearby Port to the lupine or brothels and did point the way through Pompeii to the brothels.
In the museum at Pompeii, we saw some human figures and one of a horse that had been recovered from the ash. The guide explained that these were not the remains of the people there but were casts of the forms of the bodies. When the bodies were covered in tons of ash, they eventually decomposed, leaving perfectly formed moulds of their forms in the ash. As the archaeologists discovered the voids, they poured plaster in, forming perfectly reproduced casts of the bodies that had been there.
After our tour, we are given 15 minutes to look around a small market outside. I buy a typical tourist T-shirt that I like and feel is reasonably good quality for the €25 it costs. I will wear it when I return to see my sister in Pompey in the UK.
We then head back to the coach and head to a nearby hotel to watch a short film about how local craftsmen make jewellery from shells. It is tedious, unnecessary and tacked on in the hope that they can sell overpriced trinkets to foreign tourists. It was unnecessary and the time would have been better spent in Pompeii. To top it off, one of the kids on the trip managed to kick my already painful and swollen leg, making it even worse.
When we return to the ship, I thank our guide and give her a €5 tip. Once again, I'm the only person on the coach who tips the guide. Either I'm easily pleased, or these cruise passengers don't believe in tipping for a good service.
As we go through port security all passengers are asked for passports. Luckily I have my Spanish resident card, which proves I am a European citizen, and I go straight through. The rep from Costa Cruises, Eve, had been on the trip with us and argued for the people who left their ID documents onboard the ship that it wasn't required. She tells us that immigration at Naples is the only port they ever have problems with.
Back on board the ship, I went for dinner with Michael and Lynda, who had also gone on the trip to Pompeii. We have a great restaurant meal before returning to our cabins.
This afternoon, I got a beer before going for dinner in the hope the alcohol will help with the leg pain I have. The meal is good, and Lynda, Michael, Susan, Bryan, and I go to a show afterwards. As the show wasn't on for an hour, we went to another bar for a drink. Unfortunately, this bar only served ice cream. The Ferrari bar only served certain beverages, and the sports bar next to the Ferrari bar closed a month ago and hasn't reopened, according to ship staff. Why have a bar onboard the ship if it isn't open?
We all go for a walk to find an open bar. For such a large ship with thousands of passengers, the bars and restaurants are annoyingly closed more than they are open. I go to find a toilet, which are also very limited in number and well-hidden. When I leave the toilet, I can't find my friends. I went to the Colosseum bar for a good seat for the Leonardo Da Vinci show.
The show was brilliant, and I enjoyed it. The three Kiwi Colada's I had during the show helped ease the pain in my leg. The next show by Ultramarine is on after the show I have just watched, so I get a beer and wait for it to start. Although the music is good it is not for me, so I leave to go to the Leonardo bar.
When I got there, it was not busy, and I got a seat in front of the dance floor and stage. Unfortunately, very few bar staff were working and I still hadn't been served when the group finished. As I was comfortable and a large group of gorgeous Italian women had arrived and sat around me, I stayed where I was. The waitress ignored me and everyone else, and they gave up waiting for her, got their own at another bar or left. Around 40 minutes after arriving, I eventually got served and ordered a pint with my Bahama Mamma cocktail. I enjoyed the music and watching the people dancing. I got myself a final beer, but as the show had finished, I took it with me and finished it in my cabin before going to bed.
My leg was very sore. I was grateful for a sea day tomorrow so that I can rest.
My photos from Naples and Pompeii
After I got home from this cruise, I had forgotten many of the buildings' names in my photos but found this great website all about Pompeii. If you are planning a trip to Pompeii, look at it. It has excellent information about Pompeii and lots of photos. A big thanks to the owners for letting me link to their website and for helping me find details of the buildings in my photos.