Naples

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Geo: 40.84, 14.2529

Today we were awakened by the sound of thunder. There was no rain at the time but there were clouds and noise. We arrived in Naples shortly after we got out of bed.

We met in Cabanas again before our excursion. Then off to the Walt Disney Theater for our meeting time.

We then boarded our bus and rode to the base of Mt Vesuvius where we switched to 4 wheel drive vehicles that took us up a bumpy, windy dirt road to 1000 feet where we hiked an additional 1000 feet up a 40% grade to the summit of the volcano.

While we were exploring the caldera the clouds rolled in and a thunder storm started. The lighting actually struck near enough that some people were knocked off their feet. The rain started as we were walking down. Part way down the path one of the park operators came up and told us you need to get down as quickly as possible since was not safe.

We made it to the bus meeting spot but there were no vehicles to take us down so we waited in the rain until they arrived. Then we rode down the mountain to find our bus. There was one family from our group that had been held at the top because of the storm so the rest of us waited at the transfer point for them.

Then, one we were all together we headed to lunch at a vineyard where we were served breads, dry sausage, cheese, spaghetti and pastiera.

After our delicious lunch we boarded the bus to Pompeii. In 75 BC Mt Vesuvius erupted sending many feet of ash onto this city of almost 200,000 people. Many people lost their lives and the town was buried under the ash. In about 1749 people started excavating the city to reveal what life was like at the time.

It is a huge city and was incredibly modern with one exception and that was that there was no drainage so all the waste would run through the streets.

After spending a couple of hours in Pompeii we boarded the bus back to the ship.

Nikki went to the medical center to have her sutures removed and then we went to dinner.

After dinner we took our nightly walk and then hung out on deck until bedtime.

Dinner
Ric: Beef and Pork Tortellini, salad, Gnocchi and Italian donuts
Nikki: Caprese Salad, Chef Salad and Italian donuts
Regan: Eggplant, Minestrone, Spaghetti and Meatballs and cannelloni
Kelsie: Caprese Salad, salad, Spaghetti and Meatballs and cannelloni

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