April 30 - Woke up in Naples

Drizzling rain but that didn't dampen my enthusiasm for the excursion to Pompeii. The slum hovels along the road, with piles of garbage were a sad, sad sight - homes made out of scraps of metal, wood, plastic - anything to provide some shelter.
First stop before entering the Pompeii ruins was the cameo workshop where they continue to teach the craft of sculpting on shell. The skill level from student, to teacher, to Master was all in the detail. Saw some exquisite pieces but out of my price range though I did splurge on a ring to remember the trip.
Pompeii excavations are huge and fascinating. Our guide was very good at explaining the historic significance and really brought the ruins to life. You could just picture the sailors on shore leave looking for the penis symbols inscribed on rocks in the road or on walls, pointing to the local whorehouse. The bordello itself had paintings on the walls of various sex acts (a sort of menu) that ensured language differences did not impede business. Slaves were the workers who had to deliver the goods.
There were also a couple of examples of skeletal remains where archeologists reconstructed the bodies by filling in the cavity with plaster around the remaining bones. A man, a slave by the belt that held him to the bed, is cast for eternity with his hands up, probably to hold a cloth over his head as the ash and falling debris and gases killed and entombed him. The cast of the dog, twisting on a chain was also very sad.
I learned it wasn't lava that covered Pompeii but debris as about a third of the mountain (Samsoa I think the guide called it) was blown off and the rock and ash layered over everything some 20 feet deep. Vesuvius was created as the lava came up through the crater created on the original mountain when it blew.
It was a long, wet and slippery walk around the maze of the ruins.  I was ready for a hot coffee and the return to the ship. Our guide ensured us we were lucky as the site was not as crowded as usual and it was easier going then in the heat and humidity of a sunny day.
It was definitely interesting and huge...you could get lost very easily in the numerous streets and on-going excavations...or break a leg if you don't watch your footing on the slippery stone streets.