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Italy 
DAY 91
Pompei
to Sperlonga
But
guess what? I didn’t go. Many of us decided to extend our stay in Pompei so
that we could have time to see the ruins of old Pompei. In fact so many people
made other plans for Day 91 that only 50 actually rode to the next campsite in
Sperlonga. I am wondering what scenery and experiences I have missed by staying
behind. For me it was a last minute decision to stay in Pompei. After riding to
Pompei on Day 90 I found my rib injury to be more painful and my cold had
worsened. I realized I had been too hasty to be back on my bike. I thought if I
stayed in Pompei another day it would have a double benefit, I could rest and I
could visit old Pompei as well.
So
I joined another group of riders who had been planning to stay in Pompei and
told them I’d go along with whatever their plans were. That way I would not
have to run around arranging for a room and train tickets, they would do it for
me. These riders were Inge, Maryke, Gudrun, and Joan I. I hurried to set aside my
toothbrush and a few things I would need for the next two days and get all the
rest of my gear into my locker before they closed the gear truck. I made it, but
haste makes waste, and to my great regret later, I had forgotten my passport
which I usually keep in my locker as it seems the safest place.
By
morning the advance committee that had gone to reserve hotel rooms and buy train
tickets returned to the campsite. I was disappointed because my friends had not
done either for me. But Inge was going later to get her train ticket so I gave
her money to get mine too. She was not going to visit old Pompei with the rest
of us so she had the time to do it. It had been impossible for my friends to
register for a room for me because they hadn’t had my passport with them.
Immediately I realized I had made an error that was going to cause me trouble.
Without a passport it could be impossible to get a room for the night.
At
last a group of 15 of us set out to explore Pompei with an English speaking
guide. We had a two hour tour and for the most part we saw the same things I had
seen on another visit to Pompei 27 years ago. That day it had been pouring rain,
this time it was warm and sometimes sunny. Huge Mt. Vesuvious loomed over Pompei
and appeared to be peaceful and quiet although according to its past history it
is 26 years overdue for an eruption. It had destroyed Pompei when it had erupted
in 79 A.D. That eruption began at 1:00 in the afternoon and turned the daylight
to dark, darker than the darkest night. As the guide was explaining this, we
realized it was exactly 1:00 and I thought about the normal activities that
people would have been doing at that time. Pompei had been in existence for 700
years at the time it was destroyed and it was a rich and prosperous seaport
city. The shores of the sea have receded since the eruption so that the ruined
Pompei no longer has a sea coast.
Once
its streets were filled with carts pulled by mules or donkeys. Over the years
the wheels of the carts wore deep ruts into the paving stones. They are still
there today. The guide explained that a cart was always pulled by 2 animals side
by side so that it would be more stable. At the intersections the road builders
had placed enormous flat boulders as stepping stones so that people could cross
the streets without getting their feet wet and dirty. When it rained the streets
served like sewer lines because people threw their trash into them. The streets
sloped to the sea so that eventually the garbage drained into the sea. These
huge stepping stones are close together and high making it necessary for carts
to have high wheels and axles to carry the carts over the tops of the stones. I
wondered whether as the ruts grew deeper over the hundreds of years of use if
the cart builders had to build the carts with even bigger wheels to allow for
more clearance.
The
freemen of Pompei had a comfortable life. Water was piped to their homes, they
had slaves to do any work, and there was a communal bathing area which included
a large sauna room with heated marble walls and a marble floor. The room is
easily big enough to hold a hundred or more bathers and I thought about the
slaves laboring to keep the fires burning. There was an 8 or 10 inch clearance
between the marble floor of the sauna and the foundation. The walls were double
and hollow with a space of 2 or 3 inches between the walls. The slaves worked
somewhere out of sight feeding fires that would heat the walls and floors of the
sauna room so hot that when water was thrown on them steam was produced. That
amazed me.
The
advantage of having a guide on our tour was that he could explain what we were
seeing. For example, when I first saw the sauna room years ago I doubt whether I
realized how it had been heated. He surprised me with more new information when
he showed us a large area of buildings that had been involved in wool
production. Wool was bought and sold there and it was also manufactured into
useful items. Many of the local people must have been shepherds whose flocks
would have supplied the necessary wool. At the entrance to the wool merchants’
site were some large vats built of brick. The guide explained that the wool
workers needed ammonia to wash the wool after it was sheared from the sheep. So
the good people of Pompei could come to that place and sell their urine which
was collected there as a source of ammonia! That must have been an eye-watering
job.
After
our guided tour of Pompei we were tired and hungry so we stopped for lunch, then
walked to the Villa of Mystery. This is a very big, opulent house that was built
outside of Pompei and was covered by ash just as was Pompei. It has been
excavated but archaeologists have been unable to determine why it was built in
that spot, or who owned it so it is called the Villa of Mystery. They do know
who owned some of the finer homes in Pompei.
Now
it was nearing evening and I still had no room for the night. I couldn’t
register for one because I had no passport which so far has been absolutely
required here in Italy, so I would have to be a stowaway. One rider, CJ, had
rented several bungalows for 3 at the camping ground next to the one where we
had stayed. CJ said that one of the bungalows had only 2 occupants and I could
be the third. I was grateful for that and went there with CJ and the others. We
discovered that each room had a big bed and a bunk bed but only one set of
sheets and one blanket. Three people could not sleep there comfortably.
Furthermore there were only two towels. Liz, one of my roommates, finally
persuaded the owner that she wanted to sleep in the bunk bed and he grudgingly
provided her with sheets and a blanket. Now there would be space for me in the
big bed. I only needed a blanket but of course I couldn’t ask for one as I
wasn’t a registered guest. I couldn’t even be seen for fear of being found
out and having to spend the night in the open. Good fortune was on my side
though, the cleaning woman left her cart of linens standing out when she went
home so I was able to snitch a towel and sheets for myself. CJ and other riders
discovered that they had an extra pillow which they donated so I was all set. I
planned to sleep in my clothes and with my clothes and the sheet covering me I
should be warm. As it turned out, the heat came on and I was comfortable.
Ciao!
Alice
DAY
92
Sperlonga to Lido di Ostia
Lido
di Ostia to Rome
I
didn’t do this ride either. I had stayed in Pompei an extra day and night,
smuggled into the room of friends because I didn’t have a passport and
therefore couldn’t register for a room. I hated sneaking around but it seemed
a better alternative than sleeping on the ground somewhere.
Very
early in the morning of Day 92 we were up and on our way to the train station as
were many other riders. We all had tickets for ourselves and our bikes for the
8:30 train. But that was the
trouble. No one really believed that all of us and our bikes would get on the
train in spite of having prepurchased our tickets. So most of us were up way
early arriving at the station 2 hours before departure, each of us hoping to be
at the head of the line. But there was no line. We just parked our bikes side by
side along the length of the platform. When it seemed everyone had assembled at
the station we counted 51 bikes and 1 tandem. I am sure each of us were
wondering where the most advantageous spot to park our bikes would be. That
would depend on whether the baggage car was on the front, the rear, or the
middle of the train. But as we waited we formed a plan. Rather than 50
individuals making a dash for an open train door, we would work as a team,
passing bikes along until all had been loaded. Some of the men would board the
train first to receive and stow each bike in turn. It would be orderly rather
than chaotic.
At
8:30 our train arrived and we all watched it anxiously for the location of the
baggage car. But what was this? There was no baggage car! For a few moments
everyone just froze. We had no plan for this eventuality. Suddenly everyone
rushed to the train loading their own bikes onto the passenger cars. The first
few fit but there was no room for more. We hadn’t solved that problem yet when
we were all kicked off the train, bikes too! We showed our tickets and pleaded
our cases but the train’s crew held firm, no bikes. The train left seconds
later while we stood on the platform and watched it go.
What
to do now? A couple of people went to town to inquire about leasing or hiring a
truck for the bikes and a bus for the people. Three others went inside the
station to confer with the railroad employees. This was a hopeless undertaking
until at last someone appeared who spoke Italian and English. Eventually the
committee of riders emerged and explained to all of us anxiously waiting that
the officials would make the necessary calls to arrange to have a baggage car
attached to the 12:30 train. No one knew whether to believe this would really
happen but it was the only choice. There were no trucks or busses available to
rent. We would have to wait at the station for the 12:30 train. Some people, too
impatient to wait for a decision from the railroad, had already left opting to
go by taxi or by rental car.
Those
of us who waited found various ways to amuse ourselves. We ate, read, talked,
and walked into modern Pompei. I ate (again), went to the Post Office to mail a
digital picture card and bought cookies at a bakery. The hours passed and
finally it was 12:30. The train arrived, we loaded our bikes without a hitch and
boarded the train, relieved to be on the way at last. But this was just the
first leg of the journey, a short hop to Naples where we would board another
train for Rome, so we couldn’t relax yet.
The
railway terminal in Naples was big. There are 18 platforms and by the time we
arrived we had only minutes to locate our train to Rome. We found it in no time
and began loading the bikes into two baggage cars, one at each end of the train.
One car had large hooks in the ceiling just for hanging bicycles by the front
wheel. When all the hooks were full we stowed the rest of the bikes wherever we
could hurrying to finish because it was departure time. In a rush we all climbed
aboard and found a seat. We had just begun to settle and relax when I noticed
first one rider and then another running down the platform with a bike.
Immediately anxiety set in. What was happening? Why were bikes coming off the
train? Would our own bike be left behind? Would the riders out there get back on
the train in time? Eventually one of the running riders boarded our car and
explained that the bikes that were stuffed into the baggage car after all the
hooks were filled had had to be moved because the train crew had been unable to
get past them to the engine. But every bike was now somewhere on the train and
all the riders too. Then our train just sat in the station giving us further
cause to worry. When it finally pulled away it was 45 minutes past departure
time.
People
were discussing their plans while we journeyed to Rome. I mentioned my problem
of no passport and therefore no room and immediately Mark and Sandy Bovee,
tandem riders, offered to help. They had a room reservation and if I could not
get a room for myself they would smuggle me into theirs. Their hotel had been
recommended to them in Pompei and the reservation made from there. We found it
without trouble and were delighted to see that it was very close to the railway
terminal which is next to the terminal for the Metro System (subway) and the
busses. At reception we were upfront about my predicament and I was given a room
after promising to bring my passport later. I was so thrilled to get a room that
I agreed to it sight unseen and without knowing the price. In my predicament I
couldn’t afford to be choosey. (Sandy and Mark had seen their room and told me
the price which I found acceptable so I thought mine would be similar. I had
read on the hotel’s card that each room had a bath and a television. It
sounded great to me. Rooms were very scarce for the weekend.)
We
carried our bikes upstairs and upstairs some more before reaching our rooms. I
got a peek into the Bovee’s room, it looked good enough, and then my room was
unlocked. There I stood bike in hand looking into the tiniest room I had ever
seen, perhaps I looked stunned,
while the hotel man suggested that I should put my bike into the Bovee’s room
because they had more space. I thanked him, but thought to myself, if Elbert can
get his bike into his tent every night then I can surely get mine into this
room. And I did. The room is 6 by 8 feet and has a single bed as wide as the
room. A wardrobe, a tiny table and chair, and a small sink complete the
furnishings. There is no window and no TV but there is a grand double door for
entry and a wall outlet for recharging my camera batteries. The shared shower
and toilet are just down the hall. Everything I need is at hand and the location
is perfect, just a 5 minute walk from Rome’s new Terminal. There one can get a
train, bus, or subway to anywhere. The price was right too, only 50,000 lira a
night or about $25 U.S.
I
could hardly wait to settle in there for the night, going to bed as soon as
possible, free to stay there as long as I wished because the next day was the
first of 2 layover days in Rome.
Ciao!
Alice
DAYS 93 - 95
Rome
Layover Days
The
first thing I did in Rome was to sleep in. What a luxury! I am usually up by 5
a.m. but I slept until after nine. I went forth then, feeling obliged to do some
sightseeing, but my heart wasn’t in it. I walked to the Terminal and wandered
around trying to get inspired by all the hustle and bustle there. At last I
thought the least I could do was a bus tour of the city and maybe that would get
me excited about seeing more. But it didn’t work. I kept dozing off during the
tour missing most of the sights.
The
second day I did the right thing. I got up early and went forth resolved to make
the most of the day and the opportunity. First things first, and of course in
Rome that is the Coliseum. I read that the Coliseum was finished in the year 80
A.D., just one year after Pompei was destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvious.
Life does go on. The inaugural celebration lasted 100 days during which time
there were so many events held that 5000 wild animals were slaughtered. (Another
source said 8000.) I find that utterly disgusting. Giraffes, elephants, lions,
animals of all sorts were brought from Africa and kept in the dark and without
food, apparently so that they would be feeling really mean when released on the
stage of the Coliseum. They had to fight to the death against each other and
against gladiators.
I
walked and gawked for about 10 hours seeing the Coliseum, the Forum, St. Peter’s,
Piazza Venezia with its enormous monument, the Capitol with stairs wide enough
for horses to climb, Piazza Navona with it’s three fountains, Piazza di Spagna
with the Spanish Steps, dull and dreary now because there were no flowers, and
everything in-between. I went to a special Monet exhibition. In short, I made
the most of the day. The third day it rained, cutting short my adventure but I
had seen enough, all of it familiar because I have been to Rome in the past.
On
the first and third days the Bovees and I took the subway and then the train to
Flaminio where Odyssey was camping at the Camping Flaminio Campground for the
layover days in Rome. The earth was soggy and water stood in puddles from recent
rain. I was glad I had a hotel room. The riders there though seemed comfortable
enough and I felt like an outsider looking in.
The
new terminal is my new favorite place in Rome because there is a book store and
a place to buy tissues (very important because of my colossal cold) and phone
cards, telephones, a gelateria with the best deepest darkest chocolate ice cream
ever, and a self-service sit down restaurant where the food is ready or cooked
to order and sometimes someone is playing a grand piano. The choices include 3
different soups, pastas, meats cooked to order, freshly steamed vegetables,
fresh vegetable and fruit salad bars, and desserts. I have been stuffing myself
with freshly steamed vegetables, pastas of all sorts and big fresh fruit salads.
Ciao!
Alice
Italy
Coliseum, Old Senate Rome