Sicily & The Aeolian Islands: Etna

We were disappointed to be told when we arrived in Sicily that, because of recent eruptions, it was not currently possible to go to the top of Etna. Instead, once we had been driven to Rifugio Sapienza at 6300' above sea level, we had the choice of:

• an unguided walking from from the top of the cable car (8200') up the 4x4 track to the limit of unaccompanied access at Rifugio Alpina (9570') and back via the same route
• taking the 4x4 to  Rifugio Alpina, then a guided walk to the across the recent lava and back to Rifugio Sapienza

The guided option  was expensive but we thought we'd only be here once, so we packed all the clothes we had with us (and Simon bought a stylish hat) and went for it. It was clear that we made the right choice - the 4x4 track would have been a real trudge.

We started by visiting the lava flow from the 24th April eruption. This was an amazing experience - the lava was like a layer of coke (the coal-like variety) on top of impacted snow, and was very sharp. This was certainly somewhere that you didn't want to fall over. In fact, both the soles of mine and Rosie's boots were a little scored.

Our guide, Rosario, then took us on a tour of the various craters, explaining their history (in Italian, English and French) and some of the volcanology. Fascinating stuff, even in the cold and wind. I think my interest level might have been higher if I'd been reminded at the start that there are no opportunities for comfort stops on Etna. We had lunch on the edge of a smoking crater (that did provide some relief for a few of us) before more exploration and heading across the 4x4 track and downwards.

We then headed across to the escarpment of the Bove Valley which is the enormous (37 square km!) caldera formed  by the collapse of Etna's predecessors 64,000 years ago for a long photo stop and lecture. 

We'd thought the sand descent from Stromboli was fast and long. Now we had another one - about the same speed but probably 3 times as long. The short walk from the bottom of this back to Rifugio Sapienza seemed like a very long way.

This was strenuous day, but an opportunity not to be missed if you get the chance and are pretty fit.

This was the last night of the holiday so booked dinner at Malvasia and met for pre-dinner drinks (cocktails in most cases) at the trendy bar near our hotel. They kept bringing interesting nibbles, and we kept eating them. 

Dinner at Malvasia was great fun. The restaurant was very quiet, and we got the full attention of the family that runs it. The food was fresh and simple, but lovely. The waiter recommended that we had a large carafe of the house wine, rather than order bottles - that's not something that happens often. Alex regaled us with tales of the life in the NHS, pausing often to explain that he was a little drunk.  We were lucky to have had his company on this holiday.

Our flight was until Tuesday evening, so we visited  Taormina's Greek theatre in  the morning, had lunch at La Botte and then relaxed on the hotel terrace in the afternoon before setting off for the airport.

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