Corner La Trin: Mt. Vesuvius

Hiking gear. Check.
Sun screen. Check.
Cap & sunnies. Check.
Water. Check.

Today, we were hiking up THE only active volcano in continental Europe, Mt. Vesuvius.

It was the first ever volcano I'd ever seen, so this experience had great impact on me. The loose pebbles were slippery and hard to walk up, but we did make it to the top of the crater. The weather helped too, 24 degree C and overcast!

Looking at the size of the crater, I could imagine the power of the eruption when the volcano exploded in 79 AD. Half the mountain got blown off! The peak was about 2700 metres from sea level but now stood at 1250 metres high, so it used to be a huge mass of a volcano before its powerful eruption. The hot lava, ash, cinder, eruptive materials and sulfur gas from the eruption completely ended and buried three towns - Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabia.

The last eruption of Mt. Vesuvius was in 1944 but the destructive force was of a much smaller scale. Still, it killed 26 people. On the way hiking up to the crater, I saw the hardened lava from 67 years ago that flowed down to almost bottom of the mountain. It was massive.

The vast crater was filled with volcanic rocks and ancient lava that had once erupted out of chambers in the centre of the earth. Rock piles on the side of the crater gave vague shapes. I was blown away.

It was so much fun hiking round the crater. There was sulfurous steam rising from various spots of the enormous crater. I was really intrigued, though, I was a little nervous that I was standing on an active volcano. We also saw a monitoring station near the crater monitoring the volcanic activities everyday. It was altogether very enjoyable. I would never forget it. And the view was spectacular too. The side of the mountain teemed with trees, and the cloudy sky seemed to be touching me. The view of the gulf of Naples through cloud was amazing. So beautiful.

Mount Vesuvius had been a wonderful experience. Unforgettable. Really.

The dragon sleeps... (picture taken from a postcard)