Vesuvius
On Thursday 6 January we went to Mount Vesuvius, this is a volcano with a large crater near Naples. We have reserved tickets for this in advance. You can order this online via Vivaticket. You really have to do this, because on the mountain you have no range with your mobile and no ‘loose’ tickets are sold at the box office. You reserve a date and time online. You can enter half an hour before your time, up to an hour and a half after your reserved time. Arriving at the parking lot, which is free if we are there, it is looking for a place. The parking spaces are located along a road. Parking with your camper is not recommended, it is a narrow road along which you park and it is busy. But you do see some who just do it. From there you can choose to walk up to the entrance (45 minutes), or take a shuttle bus. First we want to walk because of Misty (our Duite dog), but after walking a bit we go back for the shuttle bus. Cost €3,- per person round trip. We also pay for Misty, because she can't be on her lap.
At the entrance it is busy, there happens to be a group of riders with horses, souvenirs are sold and visitors discover that they should have bought a ticket online. At the entrance you also imagine yourself right on the volcano. The soil consists of rocks and grit and is brown in colour. From the entrance it is another 45 minutes of climbing to the top where you can see the crater. At the top itself you can still walk 1 km around the crater with or without a tour guide (of course you have to pay extra for this). For me (Lianne) it goes up a little less smoothly. Here I notice all the more that due to the CFS I have no condition at all. Rudolf even took my backpack with her (so he now wears 2 backpacks and also holds Misty on a leash) and I still have to stand still every few metres. My heart rate is continuously around 150 per minute, with outliers reaching 160 to 170. I see small children walking up faster than I do. Confrontational, but I still persevere. Actually not good to use reserves if you are still in your reserve. Just below the top is a cottage with a snack point. Here I rest, have a cup of tea, dextro energy and some food. Rudolf continues, the top would still be a small part, but I really can't anymore. The food does me good and decides to buffalo for a while and I am also rewarded with the view of the crater. How special, a large gaping hole in the mountain, and it also vaporises/smokes. On a clear day you even have a view of Capri and of course also of Naples. Wonderful to make this walking tour. We decide not to walk around the crater, because this is quite a task for me to walk up alone.
Going down is a little easier, seems simple, but this requires strength on the thighs and knees. Fortunately, we can take the shuttle bus further down, where the car is waiting for us in the parking lot. And Misty? Misty regained all the attention during the walking tour and accomplished it with ease.
Salernitana 1919
Salernitana? Never heard of it? (Neither do we haha) This is Salerno's football club. Surely every city or village has that? True, but Salernitana even plays football in Italy's series A. ( Stadium for 37000 spectators) This football club trains opposite the campsite where we are and it is nice to see how the fans stand waiting at the gate for an autograph and photo of one of the players. There is a lot of security involved. Probably also because it's still Christmas holidays now.
I manage to take a selfie with Argentine footballer Federico Fazi (google it). Frank Ribery has also played there and Dutchman Tonny Vilhena is currently playing there and he has even scored last weekend.
What's even more fun is that the footballers have lunch at the campsite. The restaurant on the campsite looks a bit bare. But good meals will be served when the footballers eat there. That's right, we experienced the various types of spaghetti are fresh and tasty ourselves.
Paestum
How pleasantly surprised we are by Paestum, what a surprise. An archeological city about 40 km south of Salerno where three well-preserved temples (Basilica / Hera, Neptune and Athens) can be seen. Even better than in Agrigento in Sicily. Paestum is a UNESCO World Heritage Site for a reason The temples are particularly large and we continue to wonder how they were built. It is wonderfully quiet and the sun is shining. This makes it all even more beautiful. Unfortunately Misty is not allowed into the museum, but walking outside is already very nice. The museum seems to be highly recommended, with finds of the city on display. Paestum Park invites you to sit down in one of the many places and imagine what the city was like at the time, in all its vibrancy. With all the shops, even a swimming pool (which is unique for the time), or just to enjoy in peace under one of the beautiful trees. In any case, we enjoyed this week again. We actually wanted to take a scooter along the Amalfi Coast. But it didn't happen. On the day we planned it, the weather became bad with a lot of rain and strong gusts of wind. So this remains on our list for next time. Now we continue to the south of Italy........
Ciao vanuit Salerno
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