Pathway of the Gods and Pompeii

Pathway of the Gods and Pompeii   - Steve

Our family takes a break while hiking the Pathway of the Gods

We are a full two weeks into our life in Italy, and I have yet to hear, "when are we going back home to our house" from either of the girls.  I'll count that as a small victory.  Certainly, they miss their grandmother, their two cousins (whom they are very close to), and their friends, but both seem to have adjusted quite well to life here in Positano.  On a typical weekday, they wake up on their own, have breakfast, and then settle in for whatever school lessons Jo Anne and I have cooked up for the day.  The focus has been on reading, math, writing, and a little Italian.  (I'm teaching them Italian, and since I don't speak it myself, God only knows what they will be speaking by the end of the trip.)  We are typically able to cover the bulk of their lessons by mid-day, and so after lunch we can wander out and explore the town.  The weather has been awesome and the Mediterranean warm, so many afternoons we've found ourselves on the beach soaking it all in.  At first, I wondered if this routine would get a little monotonous (the downfall of so many routines), but each day as I pack up from the beach and the lights in Positano begin to blink on, I find that I have thoroughly enjoyed the day.

Infused into our first couple of weeks have been two full-day excursions.  The first one was a hike along the cliffs that line the Almalfi coast.  Known locally as the Pathway of the Gods, this hike winds it's way from the rocky ledges above Positano down towards Almalfi (and possibly beyond for all I know.)  The kids provided us with a great excuse to take a bus to the town of Nocelle, allowing us to bypass the myriad of stairs that form the beginning of the trail.  From Nocelle, the hike is less strenuous and more breathtaking, and both girls romped through the four plus hours that it took to get to the neighboring town of Praiano.  My sister and brother-in-law are here to visit, so they joined us for the hike.  (Robert, my brother-in-law, is a great photographer, and captured some of the more amazing views along the trail, which I have posted here.)  When we finally arrived in Praiano, we found a great ristorante with a panoramic view of the coast.  We spent the rest of the afternoon rewarding ourselves for the effort it took to get there.  (Note: This hike is no walk in the park, especially coming down.  Kudos to the girls for handling the whole thing with so few complaints.)

The second excursion was a sort of field trip to the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum, two towns wiped out by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD.  It is truly amazing.  The site gives you this great sense of what life was like 2000 years ago in a thriving Roman city, as well as a feeling of awe when you think about how quickly mother nature erased the whole thing (changing the coastline in  process.)  We had a rough start, with Samantha succumbing to car sickness just before we reached Pompeii.  However, after a trip to the bathroom and a new t-shirt, we were off and running.  We hired a guide, which was well worth the cost, given that the site is so large you could easily wander through it for hours and still miss some of the most interesting parts of the excavation.  Our guide also really helped us to understand hows similar Pompeiian society was to our own, and how advanced their culture actually was.  After lunch we rallied for a quick visit to Herculaneum, a Roman seaside settlement that is quite a bit better preserved than the majority of the ruins in Pompeii.  Even some of the original wood structures remain, although thoroughly charred.  While both girls were ready to call it a day by 4pm, they each seemed to enjoy their time in the ruins.  Ella was especially engaged with what she saw and the story of the eruption, trying to fathom how an entire city could be buried and the effort it would take to uncover it all.  I have high hopes that she will remember this, although our conversation at the end of the day suggested otherwise.  When my sister asked her what she had learned over the course of the day, she replied, "I learned that Samantha gets car sick."  As with most of us, our personal dramas trump historical ones every time.

A couple of surly shopkeepers at an ancient storefront in Pompeii.

Robert captures a nice shot of the day's end from our favorite beach.