To Herculaneum

Back on the 9:37 commuter train, this time to Herculaneum. This is a much smaller place than Pompeii, it was basically a residential town for about 20,000 people. This city was covered in lava, not volcanic ash like Pompeii. Lots of small shops, not much grandiosity, lots of homes with their peristyles and frescoed chambers. The saddest thing was the old boat huts down by what used to the beach. Many people rushed to take cover there, and the skeletons are left just as they were found. We enjoyed it very much, and this time had thought to bring fruit and nuts, yoghurt, oranges, and some chocolate (which is what I always carry on the camino, coincidentally!). Of course, wouldn’t you know it, this time there was a little cafe right there, but no way was I going to lug the food back to the hotel.

Since Herculaneum is so much smaller, we had seen about everything after about 3 1/2 hours and decided to get the 3:15 train back to Sorrento. Clever travelers that we are, we had no idea that more than one line ran on those tracks, and sure enough, we got on the wrong train. I noticed the mistake about three stops later, and learned that we would have to get off and go back. No big deal, except that for some reason, the next train was cancelled, but we finally rolled into Sorrento around 6 pm instead of our hoped-for 4 pm! But hey, it’s not every day that you can stand and wait in dusk with Vesuvius in the background! Luckily, I had my book, Americanah (loving it), to keep me occupied!

Well, that will just make for a late dinner, and since tomorrow is a “rest day” (another familiar camino technique) we can sleep in and lollygag around Sorrento.Read more