Our morning started with a ride north of Naples to the town of Cuma, the site of the first Ancient Greek settlement outside Greece in the 8th century BC. This area is the most volcanically active in Europe, with 24 active volcanos, and poses the greatest risk to the city of Naples. The Ancient Greeks thought that this area was the gateway to the underworld. On the way, we passed Lake Avernus, a crater lake, which emanated a faint aroma of sulfur.
The site of the ancient city of Cumae was recently excavated and contains an extensive tunnel as well as an Acropolis. Like in the Greek city of Delphi, oracles were consulted to predict the future.
Close by, on the Bay of Baia, we move from the Greeks to the Romans as Roman spas and homes were built there in the 1st century AD. Among the most interesting things are the upside down fig tree and a Parthenon-like dome.
A seafood lunch was enjoyed at Taberna Martino in Bacioli, a nearby port town. We had a mixture of seafood antipasti and spaghetti with seafood. Dessert was lemon cake.
We returned to Naples by 4:30 but promptly left at 5 pm for the train station. We took the regional train south to Salerno, about 45 minutes away, to visit my Italian teacher. I had studied Italian for four weeks in 2018 and Pina was my tutor. We have since resumed lessons via Zoom and have become friends. After an evening stroll along the Lungomare Trieste and the centro storico, we dined on pizza and reminisced.
We returned to Naples three hours later, looking forward to spending more time in Salerno next year.
Camino Musings 