Pompei Scavi

Our aim today was to drive the Amalfi Coast road. We zipped up the motorway to the start of this famously stunning peninsula and set out on the route that would lead us around its perimeter.

From this point onwards driving became extremely difficult, the road was of a width that we could pass cars most of the time if we slowed right down and breathed in. Sometimes it wasn't wide enough, so required constant forward planning about possible places to stop in order that we might fit. Towns were worse due to bad parking and people wandering into the roadway without looking or simply using it as a convenient place to stand and chat with their group of amici. Another complicating factor were the overhanging balconies or rockfaces that meant we couldn't pull over to the side of the road because the top of the van would collide with them. Not that the oncoming cars took consideration of this.

Other places have been difficult to drive and forced us to go slow, but there seemed a real impatience and rush about the other drivers here that wasn't just directed towards us, but any vehicle in front of them that was moving at a pace slower than they thought they could go. As soon as they came up behind they would toot their horns and continue doing it until they could pass- not the easiest of things to do when the angle of the bends often necessitated us to use the other side of the road so as not to scrape the van.

It wasn't just the car drivers that were bad, bus drivers were very stressed and were often worse at blasting their loud horns, demanding that we pull over at some bend and allow them to overtake. Convex mirrors were everywhere in an attempt to give people advance notice of what was around the bend, but many had been involved in collisions and were either smashed or skewed at such an angle they weren't much use to anyone. One town we came across had a dodgems ride which we sarcastically suggested might be a training facility for local teenagers in preparation for the real thing!

Poor Will was at the wheel and didn't really get to admire the incredible scenery. The precipitous bare faced cliffs rose dramatically from the sea and civilisation had often been carved out of the rock. Lemon tree plantations, most of them covered in black nets, grew on sharp terraces that stepped up the slopes. Towns huddled in the bays created by narrow rivers cutting a deep course through hundreds of meters of rock until they reached the Tyrrenian. On the seaward side, a vast expanse of rich blue spread out until it encountered a mist (possibly pollution) that shrouded the base of the distant peaks, viewed only in grey silhouette. There was a unique beauty about the area that we were wowed with, despite the white knuckle driving.

In the end, we were pulled over by the Carabinieri who informed us that motorhomes weren't allowed on the main road between 6am and midnight. They could tell by our pale, overstressed faces that we didn't know this and said they wouldn't fine us, but would escort us to an exit where we could escape the madness (our words, not theirs).

Climbing up the cliff, the road became gradually wider and quieter and we were very grateful to the police! We stopped off so Will could buy an espresso, then found a pizzarria that did takeout for lunch. Sitting in the van eating a Neopolitan each, we calmed down enough to drive the 30km to Pompeii, where we planned to spend the night. Yet another stopover was closed down so we returned to a site called Camping Zeus, that we'd seen advertised near the entrance to the Pompeii ruins. Being so close to this historic place we were worried they would charge exorbitant prices and be overcrowded and noisy, but found that €18 was an acceptable price and were pleasantly surprised when we were able to park up on grass in an orange grove with no near neighbours. We got the chairs and Poppy's bed out and relaxed in the dappled shade until the sun went down, listening to the evening chorus as the blackbirds hopped about looking for worms and a mate. The good news is that after enforced rest, Poppy is feeling a lot better and able to get about without falling.Read more