Vesuveus AND Ercolano

Friday morning we caught the northbound train and got off at Ercolano, the modern city surrounding the ancient Roman site of Herculaneum. First on our list was a half hour bus ride up the side of Mt. Vesuvius to a point about 1000 feet from the very top of the mountain, Over the course of the next hour and a half we hoofed it until we reached the edge of the crater. Unlike the volcanoes I have tackled in Nicaragua this one is, essentially plugged so there is no steam or lave escaping from the actual cone. Down below, on the sides of the volcano, steam can be seen billowing out of various cracks. It was very coudy when we arrived at the top but just before we descended the clouds cleared, offering some impressive views of the surrounding  towns some several thousand feet below. Upon returning to the town it was only a short jaunt before we reached Herculaneum. Most of the site is well below the natural ground level of the modern city so one almost gets a bird's eye view before entering the site. While Pompeii is a staggering 170 acres in total this site is tiny by comparison, roughly rectangular and perhaps 1/4 of a mile across. Laid our in grid form it consists of some 30 odd streets with about 40 buildings that were accessible. Many of the interiors had been preserved or restored giving a good idea of what life must have been like before the eruption. We spent probably close to 3 and 1/2 hours in total before returning to Pompeii around 6:45pm. After a reasonable recuperation period we spent the balance of Saturday night mostly people watching near the main Piazza. It seemed as if the locals were all out celebrating the fact that the tourists had all gone home and they finally had their town to themselves. A pizza for dinner accompanied by a glass of house wine that must have held at least  half a bottle, so for me, sleep was the top item on my agenda when we reached our B & B.