I begin my ascent of Vesuvius ... sort of ...
I got up
early the morning of April 27, 1999 (well, not too early: 6:45), and prepped for the climb, dressing in shorts
(wouldn’t it be hot? and I do
perspire a lot, thanks to some soaking Dyer genes that I’ve shared with my
father, brothers, son). I found the local train I needed—called the
Circumvesuviana—had some ticket difficulties (my fault) but eventually got
aboard for the ride that would take me near the trailhead.
I had not
been outside long that morning before I’d begun feeling like an idiot. I did
not see a single other person wearing shorts—not on the streets and sidewalks,
not on the train. As I walked past groups of people sitting at coffee shops and
restaurants, I noticed fingers pointing at me, heard some Italian (which I—for
the first time—was supremely grateful I did not
understand), followed by some sniggering laughter (which I did understand). I’d made a cultural blunder.
On the
train, I found a seat and pretended I wasn’t wearing shorts, fooling no one.
People continued to look and smile. Or laugh.
When I
arrived at my stop … nothing. Something very like a slum. And there I stood. I found
the station master and learned that the bus that would take me to the trail
would not arrive for an hour—and that it did not return until 6 p.m.,
impossible since I had a 6:20 train to catch to Munich.
Someone
helpful (or someone mercenary?) knew of a taxi driver who would take me. Said
driver—Guitano, I learned, was his name—appeared but said he needed his coffee
first. So away we went, I wrote later
in my journal, my shorts turning heads
and activating voices all along the way. The price was ridiculous—about $37
US—for a brief ride—oh, and that was each
way.
So our first
stop was not at the trailhead but at an ATM. We made some arrangements for his
return to pick me up after the climb.
My driver
drove through the miserably impoverished
streets of Ercolanto & started heading up. The sky was cloudy, but the sun
was making an effort to break through—maybe I’d get lucky.
***
Some shots of Naples I took in 1999.
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