Category: Italy Page 2 of 3

Today Bomerano is shrouded in mist and rain is forecast. Severiano wisely changed the order of our itinerary so that we had the best weather and visibility for Vesuvius and The Path of The Gods. Originally there was a choice of visiting Capri or Herculaneum today. Capri is now off the agenda as the weather is too poor.

It seems that the decision to visit Herculaneum today is a good one. As we descend to the coast we find ourselves below the clouds with reasonable visibility. Rain threatens but never actually materialises and the sun peeps out on a couple of occasions.

Herculaneum is very different to Pompeii. Pompeii was engulfed by a pyroclastic flow of billowing clouds of 700°C gas, ash, and rock travelling at up to 725 kilo-meters per hour. This incinerated and demolished almost everything in its path. The pumice rained down destroying the second floors of virtually every building. As a result few of the buildings in Pompeii remain intact. By contrast, Herculaneum escaped the initial eruption but was buried by the second phase where rivers of ash and mud poured down the volcano. The town was buried under 25 metres of mud and ash which preserved and sealed it beautifully. Consequently, the houses are largely intact, paintings and murals still have vibrant colours and bodies were well preserved. It is definitely worth visiting both sites if you have the time. Pompeii is vast; Herculaneum is much smaller but it makes sense of Pompeii.

I was surprised by my first view of Herculaneum. When you look down on it and can see the whole town and can tell how deeply it was buried. As we entered the town our first view was of the old harbour and merchants stores. People were buried alive here with little or no warning of the impending catastrophe. The bodies shown below are plaster casts of the originals but their posture and placement is identical.

Next we crossed the waterway to stand above the shops and look down across the harbour. We could see excavations taking place and wanted to know what had been discovered. I was a long way off but pretty impressed by the zoom on the iphone. I was astonished to see the ribs of a boat and also, perfectly preserved, the hip, spine and femur of an unfortunate victim. Quite something to be one of the first people to see this after nearly 2000 years.

Below is a taste of the treasures of Herculaneum. Particularly impressive are the numerous mosaics on the floor and vibrant colours on walls and paintings.

Damage to windows from the mud slide…

Below are photos of the well preserved male and female baths.

Particularly well-preserved is the College of Augustals shown below.

The mosaics in Neptune and Amphitrite House shown below.

Some street scenes….

Although Herculaneum was smaller than Pompeii we felt we could have spent longer here. All too soon we had to leave and make our way back to the hotel. The drive back up the mountain was scary. A thick fog had descended and it was very hard to see the road ahead.

Exodus Travels have changed the itinerary today as the weather tomorrow looks poor. So today we will walk The Path of The Gods which has reputedly absolutely spectacular views. The walk from Bomerano to Positano is about 9 km and will take between 3-5 hours. Our group is not the quickest – we like to chat at lunch and stop for photos so I think it will be nearer 5 hours for us. The walk from our hotel is through the centre of Bomerano and then uphill along a little used road. Cyclamen abound and are in full bloom in the woodlands and it is a beautiful walk.

Here we are at the start of the Path. There is a plaque on the cliffside with quotes from DH Lawrence and Italo Calvino, which translate as:-

“Is this the view that from on high along the Path of the Gods, opens to our sight: it is the picture of the great loop of the Amalfi coastline that looks towards the west, towards the Island of Capri, that precipitous coast, steamy, hot, with the crystalline mountains where the gods of today are forsaken and you find a lost self again. Mediterranean, before you.”

D.H.Lawrence

“A journey is on occasion which can be renewed as a choice and a measure of an interior wish: in a sense it is right to restore the fantasy again, starting from the Path of the Gods, that road suspended above the magic bay of the Sirens, furrowed again today by memory and myth.”

Italo Calvino

We set off along the ancient mule tracks and the views are stunning.

What I didn’t expect to see were mules carrying washing machines. Apparently the trails are still in use and are the only way to access the remote houses on this part of the coastline.

We look back at the route behind us and are surprised to see how far we have already travelled. The mules have followed us along the path and are now accompanied by a sheepdog and pigs.

In places the path is very rough and it would be no good at all if you suffered from vertigo. We admire the view. You can see the path ahead winding along the cliffs in the left-hand photo below.

Our guide Severiano leads us to a spot where he says we must take photos. One by one we clamber onto a strategic rock with the best view behind it. It feels very precarious and I daren’t look down. I do think the photo was worth it though!

We stop for lunch at a quaint hillside taverna. We buy refreshments and sit on the verandah eating our picnic lunch and admiring the view. Severiano opens i-tunes on his phone and plays Dean Martin singing “Amore”. We all sway and sing along. This then turns into a full singing session and a ”Name That Tune” competition. Great fun. The group has bonded very well and we are having the best time. This is a very special place indeed. Our guide then plays a classic ballad – the hairs on my neck stand up and we all have tears in our eyes. It feels like The Gods are close. A truly magical experience.

We reluctantly setoff again on the path down to Positano which we can gaze down on as we leave the taverna.

Along our route is a mini statue of Christ The Redeemer.

An hour later and we are high above Positano. There is a choice of hundreds of steps or the bus. We opt for the bus. Included in the bus fare is a wonderfully cool and refreshing iced lemon drink.

I absolutely love Positano. There are wonderful shops to browse and they are not all the normal tacky tourist variety, although of course there are some of those. We meet at a bar on the sea-front for well-earned sundowners.

Finally we board the boat back along the coast to Amalfi. We gaze up at the cliffs which we have now walked the whole way along. We all have a well-justified sense of achievement.

In Amalfi, the coach is waiting to take us back up the winding cliff road to Bomerano. It is absolutely astonishing that coaches can traverse these roads. They are so narrow with extremely sharp hairpin bends. I would not want to drive here. Every car has scars!

This morning we shall be climbing Mt Vesuvius. We have booked a specialist guide and volcanologist which means we shall be able to climb to the very top of the volcano and walk around the rim of the crater. The weather is perfect – clear blue skies and not too hot so the views should be magnificent.

The coach trip takes about an hour and 1/2. We drive up to the car park on the lower slopes and dig out covid vaccination and negative test paperwork together with a copy of our passports. All documentation is thoroughly checked and then we walk up the winding path to the viewing station. The path is wide and easy underfoot but there seems to be no end to it. We walk uphill for 40 minutes and I really wish I was fitter.

Eventually we reach the rest station where we can have a drink and take a loo break. From this point there are unguided paths around the crater. Some of the party opt for this as we are told the final ascent is not easy. Jane and I are determined to attempt the ascent but as the guide unclips the rope at the start we look at the first stage in horror. It is steep, narrow, very slippery with loose ash. We are told to make sure to put our feet in the footsteps of the person in front and to be sure of grip before each step. I ask if the whole ascent is like this and our guide assures me it is only the first 100 yards or so that is difficult and then it becomes easier. We trust him and cautiously follow his tracks.

He was true to his word and eventually we emerge onto more friendly terrain. The ascent is still steep but not as intimidating though a wrong step would still have you sliding down the mountainside.

As we near the top there are vents letting out steam. We are told to put our hands in one that has cooled and is just very warm. Amazing to put your hand inside a volcano!

We carry on up to the summit. Wow! What an absolutely amazing view

We walked the whole way around the crater rim. I am happy to say that the descent was much easier via a different and less steep route. We stop by the refreshment station for a well earned beer and eat our picnic lunch. The sun is hot but it is cool in the shade – we are after all at 4000 ft.

After lunch we drive down to Pompeii, which was buried in ash from the eruption in 79AD. We have a guide, which is essential. Without him you would not know what you were looking at. He was a wealth of knowledge.

My initial site of Pompeii takes my breath away. It is so much bigger than I had expected. I probably do not need to say much – the photos largely speak for themselves. Below is the Great Theatre and Casa di Octavius Quartio.

Photos below show way to the brothel, bed and very descriptive painting.

Pompeii treasures and plaster casts of the victims.

Street sign, Temple of Apollo and final views

Hearing the groans and the agony this morning form my group is hilarious. Nobody can make it down the stairs without looking like a geriatric. The plan today is that we ascend the 500m from Bomerano to the top of Monte Tre Calli (10.5 km round trip). The group is split – some want to do it and some of us want to recover from yesterday. Jane & I join the group for the first mile or so of the walk to see the view over Bomerano.

Tomorrow we are meant to be climbing Vesuvius and we want to have recovered from yesterday and be able to enjoy it. We sensibly decide to take the bus into Amalfi and have a lazy day sitting in a bar, people watching and just exploring the town.

We enjoy a snack and beer before exploring the town

We explore the back streets and discover a wonderful speciality food shop which overloaded us with food samples of scrumptious confectionery. It was a good sales technique as we purchased quite a few items – many containing chocolate! We made our way down to the seafront before catching the return bus.

This morning we are going to walk down to Amalfi. However, first we will see how mozzarella is made. The little cheese factory is situated on the farside of Bomerano and it’s probably a 15 minute walk from the hotel, mainly uphill. Bomerano is very poor and when we arrive at the farmstead we are greeted by ancient, slightly mangy dogs and led into the rather shabby buildings. Personally, I was not a fan of the hot milk smell mixed with farm-yardy odours. I quite liked mozzarella before this experience but having seen it boiled, stretched and plaited, it may take a while before I eat it again. We were able to sample it – I declined!

We then set off on a walk back through town to commence the 13km trek down to Amalfi.

Bomerano is 723 metres above sea level and the descent is down a combination of old mule trails and derelict steps of assorted shapes and sizes. Unbeknown to us our guide wants us to see another village high up on the cliffs. This means we walk downhill on loose gravelly trails for an hour and then uphill for 45 minutes (it seemed longer!). The sun was shining and it was hot for October. I don’t know how people do this in the summer. Eventually we reach the village and settle at a cafe in the main square for a well deserved coffee.

After our short break we commence the descent down to Amalfi. Initially it is easy going along rustic paths and even more rustic steps. We occasionally cross the road which traverses the steep cliff face and is peppered with numerous sharp hairpin bends. The hike is brutal – 2800+ steps and we’ve already walked at least 10km up and down steep slopes. Every so often the terrain flattens out but then to our horror there are more steps. It is relentless. However it goes from bad to worse. Our guide takes us down a steep path, on which a section has suffered a landslide. We had to side-slip down it; putting our poles ahead of our feet to stop an uncontrolled descent on the loose surface. Having survived that we didn’t think it could get worse…. How wrong can you be? The path was blocked for repairs. We had to climb onto a wall over a precipitous drop and manaouvre ourselves around the barrier. It actually was very funny, particularly watching Tim – not the most athletic of us and the person who had fallen earlier.

Walking poles helped but by the time we finally reach Amalfi, everyone’s legs had turned to jelly. I tried at one stage to dart across the road when I saw a car coming. My legs were like lead. Actually quite scary! I cannot imagine how Exodus Travel consider this easy to moderate. It has taken us so long to descend to Amalfi that there is no time for even a drink at a bar. We clamber willingly onto the waiting coach and plonk our weary bodies onto the seats.

We meet in the bar for pre-dinner drinks. They are good – ridiculously cheap and very large. Exactly what is required after such a gruelling day.

One of the couples in our group start complaining to our tour leader that the trip was not what they expected. They thought it was a private tour and were clearly not happy. The husband had really struggled on the walk. Over dinner the situation escalated. Suddenly there were raised voices at the far end of the table, chairs were flung backwards, fingers pointed and the difficult couple stormed out of dinner. The husband clearly had some issues and had been seen with a well depleted bottle of whiskey before dinner. Their room was above mine, with thin walls and floors. At 5 in the morning suitcases were being wheeled around and the husband was saying “But Caroline, you don’t understand. I had to take the higher moral ground”. They flew back to the UK in the morning, which seems pretty extreme behaviour.

“And what was the argument about?”, I hear you ask? Apparently, someone had said they couldn’t stand Boris Johnson! Surely not a reason to cancel your holiday! 🙂