23rd July Manfredonia to Pompeii

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Last night was a fish meal – tiny fish, squid & octopus; not my cup of tea but filled a hole.



Got away at a decent time, a quick stop at the supermarket & off to cross the country. The land on the way over for the first half of the journey up the mountains was arable with just hundreds of wind turbines – many of which were either idle or just turning. On the way down the other side were acres & acres of trees – every square inch was trees. When we looked closer, the lower parts were actually terraced & the trees were nut trees, almond & walnut. Vesuvius came into view & we could see steam coming up & out of these forests – fissures venting off the pressure.



Pompeii is bizarre; the motorway stops right next to the old city, you turn a corner & it's cobbled streets. It's an odd place with the old city visible from the road – the new town right next to it. There are a few camp sites on this stretch & space is at a premium so they're all pretty cramped. We managed to grab a corner pitch so aren't too bad in Camping Spartacus. We had a wander into town & found a family run pizzeria. The lady spoke very good English; she had worked for the BBC for 20 years as the main contact & organiser for this part of Italy. Her role became redundant with the onset of computers & the internet but she makes a good pizza!

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