10/13: Amalfi Coast

Friday the 13th wasn't so unlucky afterall. The busride to the Amalfi Coast was really long, but the scenery was great. We got to Pompeii around 3 and only had about 2 hours to explore it. But I liked that they let us do our own thing, and I got to see what is probably the best-preserved ancient Roman city. The volcano eruption preserved things so well that you could still see colorful frescoes on the walls. My favorite sites in Pompeii were the brothel and the collesseum. Both showed a lot about the culture and society back then. Just like when I was in Rome, I wished that I could go back in time to when Pompeii was in its prime.
We finally rolled into the campground around 7:30. We are staying in cabins, which are pretty much just small houses. We have our own porch, bathroom, kitchen, and fridge. Plus we look out at the Mediterranean. It's the best place we've stayed thusfar.
After moving in, we got some pizza in town. The pizza was awesome. Then we went to the grocery store for wine and limoncella, a local product from here. As we strolled along a cliff overlooking the ocean, I felt the warm evening air, smelled the salty scent of the sea, and realized how lucky I am. This is truly a year-long vacation. It feels like my summer hasn't ended yet even though it's mid-October. And to be honest, it keeps getting better, with Elba, Bosnia/Croatio, Cinque, and eventually Tunisia all around the corner. And that's only first semester.
We got back to the "campground" and decided to go for a night swim. John, Zo, Miller, Conor, David "Dirty D" Coleman, and I headed down the dark steep trail with a group of girls. When we got there, we were a little hesitant to get in b/c we couldn't see anything and it was rocky. But once we got in, the water felt amazing. It was a clear night and the stars pierced the sky above us. The phosporescents were very strong, and the water lit up with small explosions of glitter everytime you kicked or splashed. Another group of girls along with Andrew Engel came down and it became a late-night skinny dipping party in the Mediterranean. A patrol boat eventually spotlighted us, so everyone made a mad scramble up the rocks to the shore. It was pretty funny.
We took off for the campground quickly before the boat could come to us (the beach closes at 8 so we wer a little concerned). We quickly found out that there had been quite a few sea urchins living on the rocks where we got in. A lof of people and cut up feet and Miller somehow had a bunch of the quills in his stomach and chest. He spent a lot of painstaking time plucking them out. But all in all, it was a price well worth paying for the time we had.