I’ve decided to try and get my posts done in the short but multiple format. So in that vein here is my Mt Vesuvius post/entry. To be followed up by a Pompei post. If I get time before the Con starts.

I flicked a setting on my Nikon 5100 that does it best to stabilise you if you are on a moving object taking a photo. Well it doesn’t stabilise me per se (I doubt there is anything that can do that) but it helps lock the vibrations down to minimal. I’m pretty impressed with the effectiveness of it.

The drive to Mt Vesuvio as the Italians call it was very VERY pretty, the kind of trip where you’d have to be careful not to get to distracted by the scenery.

The guide told us when it blew in 79AD it was over 8000 feet high, today it was only around 4000 feet high since the eruption basically blew the top of it off. This thing would have cast a huge shadow over the underlying regions. Of course back then everyone thought is was just a nice beautiful, if overly large compared to the others, mountain. Sure there were some strange rumblings from time to time and sometimes stuff vibrated off the beds down below but hey the gods are allowed to be grumpy from time to time surely?

We got offered a walking stick before we embarked but we declined. We were going to do this summit with any power except our own two legs and no extra leverage. We did notice one enthusiastic Japanese guy on his honeymoon obviously feeling the need to impress his newlywed or prove his grit because he chose to run up and down it a couple times. I was impressed, she didn’t look too fussed.

When we got to the top we had a good view of the crater at the top of the cone. What I think I found most disturbing about this whole experience was the fact that the guide (a born and bred Roman with a passion for the history of Vesuvius and Pompei) was quite concerned about the people living in the area. Vesuvio is still considered an active volcano although it is sleeping currently – however according to history Vesuvio is due to blow again any time soon. There are 600 thousand people living in this region (despite the government offering them money to move) and they have tried an evacuation drill once. It was apparently an abject failure with no one managing to get to safety due to traffic jams. I’m telling you right now – this area is stunning beautiful, the weather is gorgeous and the scenery just breathtaking. You could not pay me to live here though, holiday? Yes. Live? Absolutely not.

We were lucky. Last week they overtook the ticketing booth and none of the tourists could climb the mountain at all! Imagine missing out on shots like this:

I didn’t Polaroid treat this one because I felt the whole shot in all it’s glory should be displayed! This is the view as we are climbing.

Seriously good cardio workout going up this mountain and a good practice in cushioning your footfall impact on the way down without sliding onto your butt or just going ass over tit as my more blunt side would put it. I preferred jogging down parts of it. A fantastic experience that everyone travelling to Italy should try to get to. Loved every moment of it and the fantastic weather that let us take such great shots.