"Through the eyes of..."
from Italian Journey by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1)
Vesuvius
March 2, 1787...In spite of the inclement weather and the
clouds lurking on the summit, I went up Vesuvius today.
I went to Resina by carriage and started up the mountain
by mule, passing through vineyards as I rode. I then
walked across the 1771 lava flow, which already showed a
growth of tough moss, and then continued up along the
edge of the lava flow. High up on the left, I saw a
hermit's cabin.
The ash-cone of the volcano
was two-thirds concealed by clouds, and it was a difficult
climb. I finally came to the old crater, which is blocked
now, and then to more recent lava flows from two months
ago, two weeks ago and even one that was only five days
old. That one had not been a strong flow and was already
cool. I went across and up through the recent ash that was
still giving off fumes. The fumes were drifting away from
me, so I went ahead to try to reach the crater. After 50
paces, I could barely see my shoes through all the dense
fumes. I had a handkerchief over my mouth, but it was
useless. I could no longer see my guide and it was
unsteady going over the bits of recent lava. I decided to
turn back and wait for another day, one with better
weather and fewer fumes. Now I know how difficult it can
be to breathe in such an atmosphere.
The mountain was calm other
than that; there were no flames and none of the rumblings
and showers of stone from earlier weeks, before our
arrival. I have now looked around and will try again as
soon as the weather permits…
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