Our first stop on our cruise was Pompeii, Italy. This is not our first visit to Pompeii, but then each visit to Pompeii is like the "first time" as there is far too much to see.
Pompeii, Italy
Pompeii: *He prayed.
As we walked along the silent streets of Pompeii, history unfolded around us. Sacha was a wealth of information, telling me facts that haunted me more than the above figure.
"Look, the man was praying." I said to Sacha.
Sacha said, "Well, maybe…but he probably was protecting himself from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius."
I poked Sacha and added, "Like I said, he was praying."
Sacha poked me back, and stuck out his tongue. ( A bad habit of his.)
*Sacha explains:
"The eruption of Vesuvius (in 79 A.D.) destroyed Pompeii within a few days. Mount Vesuvius spewed rock and ash burying Pompeii alive.
The people who died in Pompeii were covered in gravel and ash, most died from suffocation. As time went on the ash became hard as rock. The decomposed bodies left a cavity in the ground. Over a thousand years later, when the archaeologist excavated Pompeii, they found the cavities. They filled them with plaster creating casts."
(Children can teach their parents. My son: History teacher 101.)
Photo: 79 A.D. mural in Pompeii.
In Pompeii you witness the tales of life and death. When I saw this mural on a wall in
Pompeii, I thought it looked like the angel of death giving wings to a young woman.
photo: 79 A.D. detail of a mural in Pompeii
Can you imagine a painting, outdoors on a stone wall, lasting nearly two thousand years?
For more photos and interesting facts about Pompeii: Virtual Tour of Pompeii
note: This is a repost as downloading photos from the boat takes more time than I have. I will post news and photos as soon as I am able.
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