Saturday, August 13th
Arrivederci Amalfi. Today we said good-bye to Amalfi. It's by far the prettiest coast I've been to. The views are incomparable. And the blue of the water and sky is like nothing I have ever seen before. The roads, though, that's another story. Renting a car was a complete waste because we literally parked it at the hotel and did not use it until we left. The traffic is worst than Miami's Palmetto during rush hour. In addition, they only have two narrow lanes which are shared by buses, cars, motorcycles, bicycles, pedestrians and parking. Yes, there is such little parking space that cars have no choice but to park in the road. So you can just imagine the chaos when two buses are attempting to pass each other either at a tunnel or next to parked cars. That is the main reason for the traffic jams. We took buses a couple of times to go to Positano and to go to Ravello. Every time we crossed another bus, it was a test of driving skills. The buses passed each other within an inch. I was truly amazed that I did not see a single accident. Mama Mary is truly a protector of the Italian people. No wonder they are so fervent and I would constantly notice the drivers doing the sign of the cross.
On this morning, we left early to attempt to avoid the traffic jams since we had no choice but to drive through the one and only road in order to leave the Amalfi Coast. It was a great idea as we only encountered one bus. And I was proud of myself because I behaved and didn't scream out loud, even though I had to close my eyes a few times. I did pray a rosary to Mama Mary and she didn't let me down.
Our first stop of the day was Pietrelcina, hometown of Padre Pio. I have become devout of Padre Pio in the last few years, through my Bible class sisters in Christ that introduced me to him. Padre Pio, just like Mother Teresa and St. John Paul II is a saint of our times. He lived in the twentieth century and died just 48 years ago. He was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2002. I saw a documentary of his life just a few months ago, not knowing that I would have the opportunity to visit his hometown so shortly afterwards. I won't go into the details of his life, which is a beautiful story of service and humility. You can read about Padre Pio here: http://padrepiodevotions.org/a-short-biography/
We visited °La Chiesa della Sacra Famiglia° which is the church that Padre Pio felt called by God to open.
Next to the church, there is a museum with a lot of things that belonged to Padre Pio: the chalice and other memorabilia that he used when he was a priest, pictures of his parents and siblings, personal items of clothing, some with blood stains from the stigmata, the wounds of Christ, which Padre Pio suffered on his own body, a copy of the pain that Jesus suffered during His Passion and Crucifixion.
Afterwards we made our way into the town, which is tiny. Of course, as it usually happens, it has been commercialized and there were a lot of stores selling religious items of medals, rosaries, and other things with the picture of Padre Pio on them. I joined the pilgrims and tourists, and bought a few items for myself and to give away. We then found "La Chiesa di Santa Maria degli Angeli." This is where Padre Pio worshipped and found spiritual refuge. This was also where he carried his pastoral ministry from 1910 to 1916, the first years of his priesthood. He celebrated his first mass here on August 14, 1910. Actually, tomorrow, the town will celebrate the 106th anniversary of his first mass. The church holds a small relic of Padre Pio.
We were fortunate that we arrived when mass was being given. I was impressed at the amount of people that were packed in such a little church. And it was Saturday, this was not the regular Sunday mass. I can only imagine how packed it will be tomorrow.
After the mass we walked to the house where Padre Pio was born, which is tiny. It was easy to see from what a humble family he came, but what they lacked in material riches they more than made up in spiritual gifts. We also got to visit the tiny church where he was baptized.
I felt so blessed of this opportunity to have walked where he walked and to have been where he lived. And in spite of all the stores selling Padre Pio's souvenirs, I could tell that this town was very devout and very proud of their Saint.
On our way back to the car, we got lost. The town is tiny, it has only two main roads, and we got lost. Thank God we found someone that spoke English and she directed us towards the Church of the Sacred Family where we had parked. On our way there we bought a couple of panini, water and Pringles to eat on our way to Pompeii.
Today was a day of extremes. In the morning, we visited a town that was religious through its very pores. And in the afternoon, we visited the ruins of a town that was pagan to the extreme. Nevertheless, Pompeii has a fascinating history and it's an archeologist's dream. I'm glad we made the detour and took the time to walk through the ancient ruins of this civilization. This town was built 600 years before Christ and destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius less than 50 years after the death of Christ. I could compare it to Sodom and Gomorrah because the people that lived there worshipped idols and pagan gods. There were about 30 brothels in the town, indicating that prostitution was a very popular occupation, and from the items that have been discovered, it's obvious that pornography and sodomy were very popular. But looking beyond this, I was amazed at the detailed construction and the organized structure that was already in place more than 2,000 years ago. And to think that everything is so well preserved, that the volcano did not destruct these valuable treasures, on the contrary, the ash served to preserve everything and it looks like a town eerily frozen in time. Even the Pompeiians that died in the destruction, were captured in their last moments and you can see plaster casts of the victims: adults, children and dogs.
We walked for a couple of hours through the dusty streets and under the heated sun, trying to follow Rick Steve's detailed guide but getting lost a few times because since the town is still being excavated at the present time, a lot of streets and whole sections are closed off. But we got to see enough to get a good idea of what life was like in what must have been a once-thriving Roman town.
From Pompeii we drove to Naples, returned the car because it's simply not worth it to have a car in such a busy city and we grabbed a taxi to the hotel. This detour was planned just a few days back so we were very lucky to find a room in a very nice hotel by the water. The only availability was a double room with a city view, but I really didn't care since I was not planning to spend that much time in the hotel and I only booked two nights. But we were upgraded to a king size room with a balcony that offered both a city and a water view.
I've discovered that traveling without so much planning in advance is not so bad at all. Not knowing what to expect, is part of the adventure.
Tomorrow, we will explore Napoli. Tonight is for resting. We found a restaurant next to the hotel at the "via maritima" and we just sat there to do some "people watching." The pedestrian-only beach walk was packed with both tourists and locals alike. It's pretty easy to distinguish them. And I have discovered that in Italy, "anything goes." There are people very well dressed and there are people in rags. And the fashion allows anything and everything: mini-skirts and long skirts, heels and flats, shorts, capris and long pants, full color and printed pants, all types of tops, hats, hairdos, hair colors... Amazing. It was an amalgamation of color and texture. But one thing that called my attention is that most people are skinny. Definitely the walking because the food is not healthy at all. After I return to the States, I won't want to eat Italian food for at least a year.
Tomorrow, we will do like the Italians, "walk, walk, walk." I'm glad we spent yesterday "doing nothing" because for the next week, we will cover a lot of ground.
Padre Pio, prega per noi.
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