A short hike to Mount Vesuvius

In my previous post, I mentioned how excited I was about the opportunity to visit a semi-active volcano – Mount Vesuvius – known for erupting every 30 years, and whose last eruption was 1944 – which means it’s definitely due an eruption and it’s going to be a big one!

So, on the morning of Friday May 4th, I just couldn’t wait, got up early, finished a quick breakfast and was off to Circumvesuviana railway station (it’s very close to the main railway station of Naples at Piazza Garibaldi). Luckily, the train towards Sorrento was in just 10 minutes (although, in Italy, just like India, if you ask “Oh, by the way, how long do I have to wait before the train departs?“, the answer is always “Just 5 minutes!”). By the way, I had been warned about pickpockets in trains multiple times, so I made sure my wallet was well-hidden away. Fortunately, the train was quiet empty and I didn’t face any trouble. Apart from the presence of two obnoxious American ladies who were very very loud, made a big fuss about how weird and funny it is to talk to Italian people and provided a full-length discourse of how they would name an apple as Mr Joe and keep it throughout the journey and take photos with it. Oh well.

My destination on this train journey was Ercolano, about 30-40 minutes away from Naples, which is not only the gateway to Mt Vesuvius, but also home to the archeological site of Herculaneum – which is just like Pompeii, much smaller, less famous but better preserved due to being engulfed in a different type of volcanic material at the time of eruption. I had intended to do a full-hike of Mount Vesuvius, but due to time constraints and a general warning by my hostel host that the hike path has been closed (although I don’t believe that to be true), I chose to go for the bus till the tree-line of the mountain followed by a steep 800m hike to the top to see the crater.

Despite all the negative stereotypes associated with such experience in Italy, ‘Vesuvius Express‘ mini-bus turned out to be a good choice considering it saved me a lot of time, it started and came back on the pre-decided times and the driver drove in a perfectly sane manner, something you stop expecting after having a look at the traffic in Naples.

The walk to the top was of medium difficulty, the only hindrance was the continuous stream of traffic jams caused by hordes of German pensioners walking up the volcano. On a more serious note though, I’d recommend wearing shoes with good grip (or even walking boots if you have them) as the path has a lot of gravel, dirt and small rocks and can get a bit slippery. Definitely no heels, although I did see a couple of ladies in spring dresses and well, I guess, that’s how they roll.

View of the surrounding ridges and hills, with the clouds moving in!

I had read in my guidebook that Vesuvius is infamous for being foggy at the top, thus robbing the tourists of a beautiful view of the Bay of Naples. When I started my trip in the morning, I didn’t see any clouds near the mountain, so thought – Bah! Guidebooks and their warnings! But it turned out, just when I started the hike, clouds moved in around the peak and this is the view I saw:

View of Bay of Naples from Vesuvius

A bit disappointing, you know. 😛

But the crater didn’t disappoint. After encountering a few shops selling fake souvenirs apparently made of ‘black-lava-rock’, the crater suddenly came into view and took my breath away. It was quiet deep, and although the main vent was completely covered up during the last eruption, there’s still small plumes of smoke arising from a few tiny vents all around the crater.

First look at the crater of Mt Vesuvius!

Smoke coming out from one of the vents!

You can walk halfway around the top to see the crater from different angles. There’s also a small shop at the top selling really expensive water – so, it might be a good idea to get some water from Ercolano or Naples before you board the bus to the top.

It was also interesting to see the clearly-visible layers of earth around the crater, which I guess must have been deposited every time there’s a new eruption. I am sure it must be a treasure trove of information for actual geologists. 🙂

Another look at the crater – and the layers of volcanic material visible around the crater.

I don’t know about the safety aspects involved, but it might be fun to descend into the crater. Someone should take it up as a business idea to start hikes down into the crater – with the thrill of an eruption which could happen any time – without warning! 😀

Useful Information:

Train to Ercolano from Naples: € 2.5

Mini-bus from Ercolano railway station to Vesuvius (called Vesuvius Express) : € 10
(You can get a 1 Euro discount if you show the map provided at hostels which advertises this company)

Entry fee to Mount Vesuvius: € 8
(I’d recommend buying this along with your ticket at Vesuvius Express saving you queuing time)

What else can you do in Ercolano? Enjoy some tasty pizza, visit Herculaneum (just 200 yards from railway station) or visit Pompeii!

Offbeat tip: If you are flying out of Naples at the end of your trip, try to get a seat on the left hand side of the plane, you’ll get a great view of Mount Vesuvius as the plane flies right next to it in it’s take-off path. Keep your cameras ready too (sadly, I didn’t 😦 )

Once in a blue moon

Do you know what’s the origin of the phrase ‘Once in a blue moon’?

In 1883, a volcano called Mount Krakatoa in Indonesia had one of the most explosive eruptions of all times – (and copying from wiki) it was equivalent to 13,000 times the nuclear yield of the Hiroshima atom bomb. It ejected approximately 21 km³ ,of rock, ash, and pumice. The sky had so much volcanic dust, and that too for months, that the moon appeared blue. Now, such a big eruption does not happen very often. In fact, this one is considered to be the single largest recorded eruption. Hence, the phrase ‘Once in a blue moon‘. An event that happens very rarely.

 

But why I happen to know all this? Because I was crazy about volcanoes when I was a kid. Geography was my favourite subject (No wonder, I ended up loving travel so much) and geology was my primary field of interest. Aconcagua, Cotopaxi, Vesuvius, Krakatoa were names on the tips of my fingers. In those days, when the internet was just a baby (that makes me sound so old!), I read up every possible book on volcanoes and geological phenomenon that I could find in my school library. I had posters about newspaper articles on volcano eruptions and although India doesn’t have much in the name of volcanic activity, I was proud of the fact that India did have one active volcano – Barren Island – in Andaman and Nicobar islands – which was quiet far away and difficult to reach. In those days, getting a chance to visit a volcano would have been a dream come true. Probably more a bucket list thing, though I was not aware of the concept of bucket lists when I was 13!

 

But why am I telling you all this?

 

Because that dream just came true. 🙂

 

On my trip to Naples, I got a chance to visit Mt Vesuvius. In fact, it was probably the main reason I decided to go to Naples. And Senor Vesuvio did not disappoint.  I do not mean that it erupted! That would have been tragic (and no offence Pompeii, but amazing as well) – but I mean, the visit was absolutely worth it – I did a mini-hike to the top and saw the crater! More about it in my next post! 🙂

 

Mount Vesuvius from Castel Nuovo, Naples

Mt Vesuvius from Castel dell’Ovo, Naples

An embarrassed I’m back and off again!

After a particularly harsh scolding on not writing often enough (in fact not writing at all), I’ve decided to make a comeback to the world of blogging. And thus post is being written from my mobile phone while waiting for boarding gate to open for my flight to gibraltar. So, it’ll be a brief one.

There is no good excuse that I can think of for not writing about my travels, and it certainly isn’t lack of travelling. In fact, I’ve travelled more in last three or four months than ever before. So, this post will be a quick list of my recent travels so that I can make a promise to write about them when I get back from gibraltar:

Belgium, Amsterdam
Hiking in Peak District
Rome
Paris
Hiking in Scotland
London
.. and now Gibraltar!

Alright then, am off to the Rock! 🙂

Best of Travel 2011: Because it’s never too late!

One of my favourite travel bloggers, Angela, of Chasing the Unexpected, tagged me on this a couple of weeks back. Of course, I’ve been a bit lazy in completing it – The Best of travel 2011 rules indicate that the series ran through till Jan 16. But, bah, I still want to write this – reminisce in some of my favourite memories of 2011, and plan ahead for 2012.

2011 has been a pretty good year of travel for me – starting from the fact that the definition of ‘home’ changed right on January 1 on the midnight hour (well, not exactly, but sometime during my 10 hour long flight from Bangalore to London) as I moved to work in Nottingham, UK.

You might see a lot of destinations here that I haven’t written much about. Hopefully, this year, I’ll be documenting a lot more of my trips in both 2011 and 2012.

So, I’ll jump right in..

Best Domestic Travel Destination

Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland

It’s a surprisingly forgotten domestic travel destination, considering that very few Britons had even heard about it when I told them about my plans to go to see this Natural Wonder of the World. Giant’s Causeway, a naturally-formed collection of thousands of hexagonal shaped rocks, is located on northern edge of Northern Ireland, about 60-70 miles away from Belfast. Not only is the location itself very beautiful, it is also accompanied by a picturesque rope bridge a few miles of cliff-walks away.

Best Travel Experience

Paragliding in the Alps

When I signed up for the Contiki Eurotrip in early summers, this was one of the optional activities I was dead certain that I’d be signing up for – Paragliding. An unmissable opportunity – the feeling of flying, that too in the middle of the Alps – turned out to be as good as I had expected it to be. The wind fluttering against your face, the icecaps on the peaks of Alps shining on the horizon and the greenery and streams of water below – it was a very beautiful experience.

Also, got the opportunity to take some really nice photographs! 🙂

Paraglider at Hopfgarten

Best International Destination

La Pedrara (The Quarry), Barcelona

A 10-day trip to Barcelona turned out to be one of my best experiences in terms of solo-travel and immersing into the culture of a place. I was fortunate to have timed the trip to happen at the same time as La Merce, the annual festival of the city. So, not only did I get to see the architectural gems by Gaudi but also felt the real vibe of the city through the evening jaunts to cultural performances and carnivals, amidst visiting some classical pieces of art by masters like Picasso and Gaudi.

Watching Messi-magic at Camp Nou

Worst Travel Experience

This was the closest I got to the Colosseum - photo from a taxi rushing me back to our campsite

Although I haven’t had too many bad travel experiences (thank god!), falling ill with fever and unforgiving cough and cold in Rome, during my Eurotrip, was a very tough one to deal with. I didn’t want to miss any of the travelling, but did not want to fall ill further. I completely lost my voice and felt like I had zero stamina to walk. Thankfully, some rest and a cancelled visit to Colosseum helped me recuperate and enjoy the rest of the trip.

Most Embarrassing Travel Moment

Another one from the Eurotrip. Our tour bus made a surprise stop in Verona – the home to the legend of Romeo and Juliet. At the mansion claimed to Juliet’s house, there is a statue of Julietta. You aur supposed to cup her breast for good luck – every tourist does it. So did I. And it was very embarrassing.

I did manage to force through a very sheepish smile.

Best Local Destination

Alley Cafe, image courtesy http://www.alleycafe.co.uk/

Not sure how different this is from the first category, so I chose to talk about a local Nottingham treasure. Alley Cafe is a vegan cafe bar, tucked into an alley right next to the city centre , has an atmosphere right from Paris of 1920s with quirky music and artwork. I have found the place to be absolutely delightful every time I’ve been there. Make sure you visit it if you ever visit Nottingham.

Best Travel Lesson

The travel lesson from 2011 for me is to live life to the fullest, without regrets. And  that there is absolutely no harm in trying out something offbeat, something different. For example, I went to the Toone Theatre in Brussels (actually, stumbled on to it quiet accidentally) on my recent trip around Christmas time. Although I didn’t understand a single word of it, it was all in French, I still found it very funny and a very amusing experience.

Toone theatre in Brussels

So, here we go, that was the best of 2011 from my trips! And I have already planned a couple of interesting trips to Rome, Paris and India! 🙂

Keep watching this space!

Upcoming trips! Stockholm, Bruges and Amsterdam!!

I’ve been away from blog for last few days – apart from the usual reasons like being busy at my day job, and unusual reasons like going to London for an Arctic Monkeys concert, I have been busy planning trips!

Here are a few upcoming trips!

1. Stockholm (next weekend) – It’ll be rainy. It’ll be cold. But, it’ll be an awesome trip. Looking forward to it!

2. Belgium, Holland (Christmas to New Year) : I’ve already booked the flight tickets to Amsterdam. Plan is to start from Bruges, spend Christmas and a couple of days there, and then move to Amsterdam. Go for day trips to places like Rotterdam, Hague etc, and spend the New Year partying in Amsterdam.

Any suggestions for interesting itineraries for places to go to, in Belgium or near Amsterdam? Also, any suggestions for cool hostels in these two places?

Oh, by the way, even better news: I (finally!) got a 6-month multiple-entry Schengen visa (while applying for the Stockholm trip). So, I will be planning quiet a few Europe adventures in near future. Any ideas for some cool long-weekend trips to anywhere in Schengen? 🙂