A conundrum

Some of our frustrations continue. Yesterday we did actually manage to get to Castellamare. We intended to go up Mt Faito on the funivia (vernicular railway). After a bit of difficulty & the Fox asking at the ticket office, we managed to find the disabled access to the ticket office & tried to buy some tickets. I was somewhat surprised when, hearing our request, the man instantly got on the phone. It turned out he was checking access. Sure enough the station may be accessible but the platform is a different matter. So much for that idea. I am left wondering why go to the expense & trouble of building a ramp to get a wheelchair into the station, if at the end of the day it is impossible to get on the platform.

After a stroll along the prom, we stopped for a drink & realised there was a road most of the way up the mountain, so we should be able to get sufficiently far up to get some fabulous views of Naples Bay. After the rain the day before the heat haze which had softened distant views so much, had dissipated.

So off we set. According to the map, there was a sharp hairpin bed to the left, or you could go a little further, turn left onto the main road then a right. I chose the latter.

That was a mistake. The mapmaker had failed to mark that the main road went into a tunnel under the road to the mountain.

We tried going back. This time we managed to end up a cul-de-sac, wide enough for one car with no passing places. By the time we'd managed to back far enough back, not hitting the walls, at the edge & turn round, we concluded our nerves were once more too frayed to do anything but head back to the safety of our hotel in Pompei.