Up Vesuvius!

Another long, winding bus ride, another steep climb, this time to reach the heart of this province: the volcano Vesuvius. On the way, we stop to hear the tale of the last 50 years from a resident of Torre del Greco, a village on its western shore. Antonio has seen everything, running from the great eruption of 1944, working the funiculare until it closed in 1970, and now working a tourist booth on its shoulder.

A new funiculare was started in the 90's, but ecologists halted it to prevent damage to the cone. Yet the chimney is frozen solid, implying that the next eruption could be on the scale of the largest in history, the 79AD blast that smothered Torre del Greco and Herculaneum under 25 metres of ash and as far as Pompei under 5 metres. Damage indeed. I think this hill can take care of itself.

I reach the top, get taken for the 10-minute English version of the guided tour and circumnavigate the path around 2/3 of the rim. It is still smoking and the guide tells me there are on average 2 "events" per day.


I wonder what the evacuation plan for 600 000 in the Napoli area looks like with striking trains, an airport the size of Kamloops' and roads narrower than alleys in other countries ...