Luckily, the weather during our climb was perfect! It took about a half hour of climbing to get to the top where we were offered fresh orange or lemon juice. It was just what we needed to be able to make the next half of the climb up to the top of the crater.
Our group all decided to pay for the additional portion of the excursion which was a tour of the crater portion of the mountain. We walked around the entire perimeter of the crater!
We were higher than clouds! The views of the sea and land were breathtaking! It felt so good to be able to get to the top of the mountain. It was surely a rough climb, but everyone made it!
Once we made it to the top of the crater, we got to go inside it for a quick picture. We could see the smoke coming up out of the ground releasing the Earth's heat. The las eruption was in 1944.
The way down the volcano was rough. Randall fell and I nearly peed my pants!
A few of our group members had some scrapes, but for the most part we all made it down safely.
Here we are with Biggby. I have been trying to win their "Photo of the Month" contest for years. I have carried this cup around to nearly 25 countries in hopes of winning free coffee for the month. Here is our Mt. Vesuvius pose!
Once we made it out of the crater, we were able to walk around for some additional views.
Hours later, we had completed the tour and went to lunch. By this time we were hungry! We had a vegetarian lasagna made with yellow peppers and garbanzo beans, and it was delicious!
The remainder of the day we spent on the bus on our way to Rome! Our dinner was at the Autogrille- a type of rest stop with restaurants. We arrived to our hotel in Rome with free wifi and beautiful rooms- a great way to end a fantastic day!
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