30/09/2018
dear(travel)diary,
we went straight to Vesuvius twice. But only because the Vesuvio National Park was closed the first time. It was too windy at the top of the crater. But the trip wasn't completely unnecessary! Instead, we went to Pompeii and explored the ancient city. The cool wind was perfect for our visit to Pompeii, as we spent hours walking around there. The ancient city was buried in an eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. We just found it so interesting to learn more about the amazing history. Pompeii is so well preserved thanks to the ongoing restoration work. We could picture how people lived here hundreds of years ago!
On our second visit, we did manage to climb Mount Vesuvius, which is responsible for the fate of Pompeii and the towns of Herculaneum, Stabiae and Oplontis. This time we had checked the weather conditions on the official website of the national park beforehand! I really wanted to visit Vesuvius because I'd never been to a volcano before. In the end, however, it wasn't really all that interesting. The entrance fee to see the crater wasn't really worth it... Well, we did have a wonderful view of the Gulf of Naples from up there!
The Phlegraean Fields would probably have been a bit more interesting than Vesuvius. This area to the west of Naples has a high level of volcanic activity and is considered Europe's supervolcano. Gas emissions can occur again and again. As a result, the ground can become very hot. What's more, the soil is sometimes yellow in color due to the volcanic activity! And there is even a campsite in the Solfatara volcanic crater! We'll just pitch our tent there next time... if there isn't a major eruption by then.
xx Chiara