Something Different

Yesterday we visited Mount Etna to see an active volcano. The excursion made for a long day but we were able to see something we have never seen before. Our driver picked us up at the hotel at 8:30 and we didn’t get back until 6:30! Long day.

Besides visiting the volcano we toured through a lava cave made by the flows years ago. It was a tight entrance but much wider inside.

When we arrived at the base town four of our group chose to hike around there while four of us decided to take the cable car and then Jeep to the highest point a person can go without a trekking guide. At present, no treks are allowed to the summit because the volcano is quite active. 

Once at 3000 metres a guide leads the way for a hike to higher points....this is the one part I didn’t like because small groups like ours were combined to make a huge group lead by one guy. Fred and I eventually headed out on our own...the trail was clearly visible so no danger of getting lost.

The scenery was so stark and barren, like we can imagine a moon scape to be. The day before we got to Mount Etna the volcano was erupting every five minutes, but yesterday when we were there it was putting on quite the show! Eruptions were frequent and loud.

The gases from the eruptions were surprisingly strong and within one minute of arriving at 3000 metres many people were coughing....Fred and I included.

On the way back to Catania we stopped at a seaside resort to spend a couple of hours relaxing in the heat after the chill of  Etna. Taormina is a beautiful little town that has been discovered! It was so crowded that all we could do was walk the main road in the two hours we had.....that and have a cool beer and some shopping!