Okay, terrible news must come first, because I can't stop thinking about it anyway, so I should bring it up, up front. My camera has been lost from me. I don't know if it was stolen (likely, because Napoli is a hot-bed of pickpocketing) or if it just fell out of my bag somehow (I was going through my bag on the train, so this could also happen) but I didn't even friggin notice until this morning that it was gone. I had it right up until the evening yesterday, when I took a picture in a cafe, and after that I didn't think to look for it until I was packing for Pompei today. I feel like there's a lump in my throat that can't dissappate, and whenever I think about all the photos I've lost my stomach ties in knots and I feel like I'm going to hurl. So yeah...
My first night in Salerno (2 days ago) was really nice. The weather was still beautiful, so my host Cesare took me on a walking tour of the city after dinner, showing me the many sights and telling me all about the rich history of the place. He's lived here most of his life and knows the city inside and out, so I learned a lot about it. At the end of the walk, we went and sat by the sea and ate gelatto. It was very peaceful and lovely.
The next day I got up early, and was going to take a train to Napoli, but there was a problem with the regional trains between Salerno and Napoli (trenitalia seems to have many problems) so I took a bus instead. I first took a wrong road and instead of walking through the touristy part of town, I was immediately thrust into the shipping yards part of town, which was filthy and a little sketchy. It was really interesting, though, and I walked around there for a bit before heading back towards a main street. The rest of the day consisted of three things over and over: me getting lost, me figuring out where I was, and me looking for a warm pair of boots to buy. I got lost and found through a good half of the city and saw many beautiful suqares, statues, an amazing church with a carved-rose ceiling, and a castle! Unfortunately it was both rainey and windy as hell, so I was combatting the weather with my flimsy umbrella for the betterpart of the day, but I still saw a lot of great stuff, and I finally found a pair of decent boots, yay! The shopkeep assured me that the boots are both waterproof and snowproof, and they have infinitely better treads than my old, crap boots, so I'm very glad to have them. At the end of a long, tiring day, I was meant to take the 6:42 train back to Salerno, but the trains were still having issues, so I had to take a bus half-way, then a train. Both were majorly delayed and I didn't get back to Cesare's until about 10pm. I was pretty much dead to the world by the time I got back, so the rest of my night consisted of pasta, a foo fighters dvd, and trying to learn a note on the guitar (Cesare is a guitarist).
This morning I got up early, realised the devastating news about my camera, and instead of going right to Pompei as I had originally planned, I spent hours with the police and the train customer care people in a vain attempt to track my camera down. Of course nothing turned up, but I feel good that I've at least tried my best (including scouring the flat, the neighbourhood, the train station, and several trains). After that ordeal I finally took the train to Pompei and was greeted by horrible, terrible rain that lasted the rest of the day. Despite the rain, and thanks to my new boots, I still had a great time walking around the huge and beautiful ruins of Pompei. The place felt incredibly holy, and had a huge energy all around it. This was amplified by the fact that there were almost no tourists, so I was alone in the petrified city for most of the afternoon. Sadly the undertow of my sadness about my camera kept threatening to pull me emotionally under my sorrow and away from the beautiful town I was walking through. I think I did okay, all things considered, and I saw many beautiful ruins. I had to keep reminding myself that these things survived a volcano, because some things were incredibly well preserved.
After Pompei I took a train back to Salerno, checked in with the police and customer care again (no dice) and came back toCesare's, where he is playing 60s california beats on electric guitar, and I am writing this blog entry.
No comments:
Post a Comment