DAY 88

Friday 7 October 2011


One of the many beautiful hill towns above the coast



Another view of the dashing Clifford, driving along the coast.

Waking up to the church bells, Dian took a walk on the beach and then up through town, winding back to the van to collect Nicole where they went in search of a restroom.

Nicole took the opportunity to try on

her new outfit while we were rained in.

After a light breakfast we drove through hill country and farmland until we came upon a flea market where Nicole found a dress and jacket and Charles bought some local cheese. As we continued along the coast we got caught in a huge thunder and lightning storm, so we decided to pull over and watch the show while munching on sandwiches from the safety of our van (too bad there was a little leak by the door).

As quickly as it came, the storm passed through, and we headed to Paestum, a Pompeii-like site full of ruins from Vesuvius. We stayed for a couple of hours, free of charge, with umbrellas at the ready, though we never needed them. In fact, the sunlight on the temple columns was even more striking after the rain.

A camp we read about in the Paestum area near a river gave us the heebie jeebies, so we hightailed it the 40km to Salerno. Then all hell broke loose. Charles had to drive, white knuckled, through the busy, narrow streets, in the rain at night. When we finally found another camp, we learned that three football (soccer) teams from Nigeria were staying there with their families, and would be returning from the game that night, either deliriously happy (loud) or completely dejected (loud). We opted to drive on to Pompeii.

And you thought Italy was romantic.

FINALLY by 9PM we pulled into Camp Pompeii, directly across from the ruins. Even though the WiFi wasn't free and the price was steep, we were in no position to bargain. After pulling into a space, we walked up the driveway to have pizza and beer. Big beers. Our first pizza chef to throw the dough in the air and catch it.

We're saved!