Update no.803C

Update from the Heartland

No.803C

1.5.17 – 21.5.17

Blog version:  http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/

To all,

            Update no.803C – This is travelogue installment three of four.

Day 8

Kotor, Montenegro:

Sunday, 14.May.2017:

            We changed our clocks back to Central European time {time zone [A]} during the night.  I woke up and got up at 03:00 [A].  I pulled the curtains on the bed half of our compartment and stepped out on the balcony to check on conditions – dense fog and everything was wet.  The ship’s foghorn sounded every two minutes on the second for five seconds duration.  Our stateroom is aft of midship and the compartment is well insulated, which meant the required periodic foghorn sounding did not disturb Jeanne’s sleep.  So, there was no early morning writing session outside on this particular morning, but the writing inside was quite productive.  I have 1.5 sections left to write, and then it is on to the last chapter of Book VI.

            The fog lifted sufficiently and morning nautical twilight had begun, when we passed at 04:50 [A] the flashing light marking the entrance to Kotor Bay.  There are not a lot of lights on the northern shoreline of the approach, but lights were clearly visible underneath the low overcast on the ship’s bridge cam.  I had never been to the Balkans (other than Greece), this should be an interesting day.  The area is quite mountainous, very much like the fjords of Norway.  I was surprised at the depth of the harbor and the scale of mountains, as well as the tight quarters at some portions of the entry, at one spot only 300 meters across.  The beam of the Royal Princess is 47 meters, so very little maneuvering room.

our guide = Silviana; driver = Sasha

            Our first stop on our cruise-sponsored, guided tour was the medieval fortress of Budva on the coast of the Adriatic Sea.  According to our guide, Budva is a big summer resort town that swells to several times its normal size during July, August and early September.  I chose this image from Budva since it is a good juxtaposition of old and new.

Ancient Greek & Roman Cemetery of Budva

[file: Budva Roman cemetery 170514.jpg]

This small monument is just outside the main gate of the old walled city.  When they were excavating for the new hotel / casino in the background, they unearthed a more than two millennia old, ancient Greek and Roman cemetery.  The people of the city decided to preserve the site as the builders constructed the hotel.  I thought churches abound in Wichita, but in Montenegro, the frequency of churches has been raised to a much higher level.  Both in Budva and Kotor, there seemed to be a church at every third or fourth building (I exaggerate, but not much).  There was always a mixture of Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, often in close proximity to each other.  I chose this image:

Holy Trinity Church in Budva

[file: Budva church 170514.jpg]

A large earthquake caused the crack in 1979.  Another large earthquake in 1667 also caused damage to the old structures.  I cannot say the damage was repaired, but the crack was filled in.  Seismic activity is not common, but it does occur.

            We returned to Kotor to visit the old city in the early afternoon.

Kotor

[file: Kotor 170514.jpg]

The image above shows one of the high mountains behind the city, on the right side of the image the left tower of Saint Tryphon Cathedral, built in 1166 AD, the main church (of many) in Montenegrin towns, and on the left of the image, Drago Palace, once the residence of the ruling family of Kotor.

Saint Tryphon Cathedral in Kotor

[file: Kotor St. Tryphon 170514.jpg]

The two bell towers were twins until the earthquake of 1979 knocked down the left tower.  They rebuilt the damaged tower with recovered stones, but could not find sufficient matching stones, so the left tower is now two meters shorter.  The city medieval fortifications included a rather intriguing wall and bastion strong points.

Kotor City Fortifications

[file: Kotor city wall 170514.jpg]

The trees, modern buildings and the shoreline promenade in the foreground are outside the city walls.  St. Tryphon Cathedral above is in the center of the old city.  The wall fortifications extend well above the city in a large triangle, spanning just around the whole image immediately above.  The Illyrian fort of Castle St. John sits at the very apex (top center) of the triangle.  We were informed there are 1,218 steps in the zig-zag pathway to the top, and it takes 45 minutes up and 45 minutes down (not counting rest stops for old folks like me).  We were not curious enough to pick up the challenge.

            One last note from our visit to Montenegro, this sculpture from the Kotor Maritime Museum is representative of many similar inlaid sculptures on old structures in the area, at least in Kotor and Budva.

Venetian Winged Lion

[file: Kotor winged lion 170514.jpg]

The winged lion was the symbol of the Venetian maritime empire and indicates the influence of the Venetians in the region.  In this particular example, the Venetian symbol is shown with the depiction of St. Tryphon – the patron saint of Kotor.

            The weather was near perfect for the evening departure from the fjord.  Consistent with the tight spaces of the fjord anchorage, the captain moved the ship forward slightly before he used the bow and stern thrusters to turn the large ship 180º in place and head out the same way he came in.  The transit took two hours to complete.  We exited the fjord at nearly sunset and headed south toward Cape Leuca, Italy.

Day 9

At sea:

Monday, 15.May.2017:

            We enjoyed a pretty low key, relaxing day.  I had another wine tasting event at mid-day.  This events selection was:

1.  Prosecco Villa Sandi (sparkling wine) 50^th edition (Italy)

2.  Woodbridge Chardonnay (United States {California})

3.  Zeni Valpolicella (Italy)

4.  Simi “landslide” Cabernet Sauvignon (United States {California})

5.  Rex Goliath Moscato (Chile)

Of this lot, I preferred the Cabernet.

            For me, it was a good writing day.

            We approached the Strait of Messina at dinnertime.  At least, the overcast was high and comparatively thin.  The port side on our transit north was presented to Sicily.  I watched and watched the base of Mount Etna while Jeanne was finishing her preparations for dinner.  Low clouds obscured the peak and crater of the volcano.  This is the best image I could get of the famous volcano, given the weather conditions of the afternoon.

Mt. Etna, Sicily

[file: Mt. Etna 170515.jpg]

That is the northern edge of the caldera, poking out above the clouds.  Some of those clouds appeared dark, which induced me to wonder whether the volcano was still smoking after its latest eruption began on 15.March.2017, with nearly continuous mini-eruption still on-going.  Luckily, the peak (caldera) poked out of the clouds a few times before we lost sight behind a closer ridgeline.  When I could see the peak clearly, there was no sign of volcanic activity I could see.  Circa 21:00 [A], we passed the volcanic island of Stromboli on our port side.  Stromboli is often called the lighthouse of the Mediterranean, since it has been in near constant low-grade eruption and lava flow.  Yet, on this transit, I could not see any signs of volcanic eruption.

Day 10

Napoli, Campania, Repubblica Italiana:

[Naples, Pompei]

Tuesday, 16.May.2017:

            The Greeks founded the port city of Paestrum in the 6^th century BC and eventually Neopolis (New City); today the port & city are known as Napoli in Italian (Naples in English).  As the Roman Empire grew, the port was subsumed by the Romans and remained Roman until the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5^th century AD.  The area changed hands many times until liberated by the Allies in 1943.

Guide = Alessia; driver = Leno

            Mount Vesuvius last major eruption occurred in 18/23.March.1944, however its most famous eruption occurred on 24.August.79, during the reign of Emperor Titus.  This is the culprit.

Mt. Vesuvius from Naples Port

[file: Naples Vesuvius 170516.jpg]

The light conditions were never quite good enough to show how close modern buildings have come to the volcano; poor image, I know, but it is the best one I could get that day.  Let it suffice to say, buildings can be seen as high as a third of the way up from the base to the summit.  Hopefully, the volcano will remain dormant and someday be declared extinct.  Given the earthquakes experienced on the Italian peninsula, that hope seems to be remote.  Pompei is not located as close to the volcano as many of the modern structures, however conditions that day two millennia ago did not favor Pompei, Herculaneum, Nuceria, Oplontis or Stabiae.  Herculaneum was the only town of the five to be buried in lava; the others were buried in ash and cinders.

            Here is another view of Vesuvius from the main forum in Pompei.

Main Temple at Pompei & Mt. Vesuvius

[file: Pompei Vesuvius 170516.jpg]

The above image shows the remains of the main temple to Juno, Jupiter and Minerva, looking north to Mt. Vesuvius.  Just geographically, most of modern Naples is closer to the mountain than Pompei is.  As our guide Alessia like to say, “Pompei was not destroyed; it was preserved,” when it was buried beneath meters of ash and cinders.  The pyroclastic flow from the eruption burned everything flammable and buried everything else.

Roman Woman Victim

[file: Pompei woman 170516.jpg]

The cast displayed above was a young, pregnant, Roman woman who perished and was frozen at the moment by the ash.  The combination with rain made the material like plaster.  This is only one of many recovered from the excavations over the years.  FYI: that is our guide Alessia on the right and Jeanne in pink.

            Pompei was a commercial center and a resort town of its day.  Wealthy families from Rome and other cities had vacation residences in the city.  One of those villas among the shops and other buildings is shown below.

Residence of Wealthy Person in Pompei

[file: Pompei residence 170516.jpg]

The floor mosaic signifies a wealthy family lived there.  The rectangular, marble, shallow pool in the foyer collected rainwater from a comparable opening in the roof that once covered the dwelling.  The columns and the garden beyond, further indicate the wealthy of the family.

            I cannot possibly describe how prevalent selfies were among the masses of people we came across on this trip.  It did not matter what location, circumstance, nationality . . . everyone was taking selfies.  Occasionally, it became really annoying.

Cap & Jeanne at Pompei

[file: Pompei selfie 170516.jpg]

Jeanne and I were no exception.  We felt the urge.  Here we are at the forum in Pompei.  Life is good.

Street Sign for Brothel in Pompei

[file: Pompei brothel 170516.jpg]

            As an interesting little side note, the image above shows a paving stone on the pedestrian street of Via dell’Abbondanza with a phallus to signify the shop to the right was a brothel for those visitors and inhabitants so inclined to need the services of a professional.  Can you imagine a city in the United States (well, other than rural Nevada) having a street sign that proclaimed “Brothel Here.  Get your treats inside.”  Substantial erotic artwork was uncovered during the excavation; apparently, sex was an important part of Roman life back in the day.

            We returned to the ship in early afternoon, took a shower, and then a nice, good, power nap before dinner.  After dinner, we packed up our stuff.  Our baggage had to be outside our stateroom by 23:00, for the handlers to stage it for disembarkation.  We also had to cash-out our cards; Jeanne managed to win a few dollars in the on-board casino during our voyage.