The Mt. Vesuvius Experience by John

Text by John, photos by Kelli

We made it to the top of Mt. Vesuvius!

The Mt. Vesuvius Experience started with a "short" two hour bus ride through Naples and Vesuvius traffic. Our bus driver Tonino showed us his skilled bus control as he passed larger buses on the winding road up the mountain. The road was narrow with many hairpin turns, which made the ascent incredibly slow, but Nick entertained us with card tricks on the way while Steven proved to be the best at staring contests. I was amazed with the view as we wound up the mountain road, with the Mediterranean Sea peeking through the trees. All the while, the tour buses coming down the mountain and the buses in front of us made our progress choppy. 

The crazy bus traffic jam on the way up Mt. Vesuvius.  

We discussed what to wear on the hike throughout the bus ride, because you have to hit that "goldilocks" number of layers (for optimal warmth); basically, it was rocket science folks. 

We thought we were there a couple times along the way before finally coming to the unloading area. We walked past little gift shops selling various whatnots, then found our tour guide, Roberto, sitting on his motorcycle. Although he didn't stay on the motorcycle for long (as this hike would be all on foot), he jokingly held his helmet in one hand to "protect him from any falling rocks" (because safety first, of course). 

Roberto, our Volcanologist guide

Following Roberto, we set out on our hike, weaving through slower walkers and avoiding the dangerous selfie sticks of oblivious tourists left and right. From the railing, we could clearly see the city of Naples, the Mediterranean, and part of the Island of Capri. Rays of light came through the clouds, shedding a beautiful light on the city.

When we got our first view of the crater, Roberto told us some of the history about the Volcano and the region around us, all while we were attacked by large gnats. Roberto explained the eruptions of 1906 and 1944, the research center that monitors the volcano's activity, and the evacuation plan to evacuate the surrounding city as little as 72 hours notice before an eruption.

Roberto explains the geology of Mt. Vesuvius

From here, the group split, with one group following the main route along the lower half of the rim, and the other group following Roberto off the trail along the higher part of the rim. I went with Roberto's group, through an inconspicuous rope gate and up a rocky slope to the special access trail.

Walking along the ridge above the crater with the Mediterranean Sea in the distance

At one of the monitoring devices near the top

Roberto explains the different types of pyroclastic material we are seeing.

Roberto taught us about the different types of minerals found on the trail, such as Tephrite, Augite, the small "volcanic bombs", Olivine, and Golden Mica. Some of the rocks had blue or black flecks in them, with the blue color caused by copper sulfate, and the black color caused by iron. In all honesty, I don't remember what Tephrite and Augite were, but the others were very cool! Olivine is named after olives!!! And is has very dark green crystals. Golden mica is... well... golden! And the volcanic bombs were the rounded rocks, formed when molten magma shot through the air, spinning into a ball and solidifying into a round rock.

Different samples of volcanic rock

Roberto took us to an area where steam rose from the warm earth, and proceeded to light a newspaper on fire and wave it around near the ground, revealing even more smoke and steam through a process called "ionization". From the peak we went down the other side of the rim to meet up with the rest of the group. 

Roberto shows us the steam formed by lighting a paper on fire near the crater.

The students study the minerals in the rocks

Feeling the warmth of the ground in the crater.

I was amazed with the views from the mountain of the Mediterranean and being able to see the sites of Herculaneum and Pompeii, which we will be seeing tomorrow. I loved hiking up the mountain on a trail that no other tourists were on, and enjoying the somewhat private setting from the higher part of the rim.

Listening to Roberto tell us about the volcano

Hiking along the ridge at the top

Carefully making our way down the volcano through the ash and debris

Mt. Vesuvius!

Steven looks into the crater while listening to Roberto