Das Boot

From Palermo I took a 10 hour ferry to Naples, then headed straight for the Amalfi Coast, riding to Salerno and back the same day 😗👌👌👌

Naples is the birthplace of pizza. And if a slice of Costco pizza for $1.99 is a good deal, then a whole pie for 4€ is like the Louisiana purchase. And the drivers are exhilaratingly insane, as promised. And yet, this is my least favorite city so far. Cognizant that I am merely a visitor, I must say the whole place feels like a racket. Elevators cost money, and I was admonished not to leave my bike on the street. At the garage, I think I paid mostly to protect the bike against the attendants themselves. And as in Sicily, there is trash everywhere. Southern Italy truly is a different country than the more affluent and orderly north.

But south of Naples lies the fantastically preserved city of Pompeii. An entire city abruptly covered in ash and pyroclast, it is a snapshot into the past unlike any other. Here you can find complete frescos, villas, stadiums, and voids revealing the poses of people at the moment they were entombed alive. You can even find graffiti on the walls of bathrooms and brothels. One inscription reads "We have pissed in our beds. Host, I admit that we shouldn't have done this. If you ask: why? There was no potty."

And this reminds me of something I didn't share from the beginning of my trip four months ago with David, John, and Nick. Nick had the main bedroom and the privacy that entails, meanwhile the rest of us can vouch for each other. We are forced to arrive at the conclusion that Nick shit the bed, because I received the following review from the host a few days later: "This may be your way of life, which I don't judge, but I can't tolerate lies... Good luck in your life and may this experience make you a better person." Presumably the lie she refers to is that of omission, because one really should speak up after crapping the bed. In reality, we have no idea what she's on about, but my 5 star rating is forever marred. Wanda, if Nick really did shit the bed, I'm deeply sorry. But if he didn't, then you should know that your wifi is slow and your restaurant recommendation sucked.