Day 49 (Mt Etna)

Today is 71, sunny with a light wind. We are driving to Mt Etna hoping for an eruption. Our plan is to ride a cable car to the a higher elevation and then take a 4×4 bus to 2850 meters (9350ft). This will be about 1:15 hr drive. More switchbacks and narrow roads, so I am looking forward to that.

We made it to the parking area and it was like Disney World. There were people walking everywhere. Cars trying to find parking and a ton of souvenir shops. We were able to find a spot that was pretty close for $5 euros. We walked to the cable car ticket office and realized that we could buy tickets online and skip the line. No problem. We bought the tickets and got in the wrong line. Then we saw a thin roped off line that was empty. A few people passed by and Lori decided to check the beginning of that line which said Fast Pass. We jumped in that line and went right to the front. The walk in this line felt like we were cheating or cutting. If the people in the long line had fruit I think I would have caught one in the temple. You could feel the scowling eyes. We moved through quickly and got on the cable ride within a few minutes.

The cable ride was a 6 passenger ride so we rode up with 4 other people. The views were like passing over the moon. Craters in the distance and a black barren landscape. Below were the suffering hikers walking and stopping, over and over, as they hoofed up a loose gravel road. It was awful to watch and I thought that I would see a person collapse any moment.

We made it to the cable car station and exited. It reminded me a lot of Cedar Point. We went to the 4×4 bus ticket office. Lori did not want to make the trip and I didn’t want to leave her behind. There were a lot of shops at the bottom where we got on the cable car. Her selling point was that I wouldn’t have to wait for her while she shopped. So we compromised. I would go to the top and she would head back down to shop. These 4×4 buses were pretty cool. They held about 30 people and looked like they were right out of a Monster Truck show.

The ride up was smooth and winding. I could feel the instability of the tires in the volcanic gravel. They drove in a low gear as they climbed the mountain. The buses that passed by us looked like they were slipping in the loose gravel as they tried to keep stable. I kept expecting this beast to get stuck in the gravel but we made it. I exited the bus and was directed to a tour guide. That was something that I thought cost extra. I did as instructed and followed along with the group to the top of a large crater. By this time we were at 3000 meters (9842 ft). It was a narrow volcanic gravel path but doable in tennis shoes. They rent warm clothes, hiking shoes and poles at the cable car station when you exit but I decided against it. I’m glad that I skipped the extra clothes because it was nice up there. It was probably 65 degrees with a light wind. Good thing because just walking in that volcanic gravel kicked up a lot of dust. I kept picturing myself with black lung disease several years from now.

The hike to the top of the crater was a bit rough at first because of the altitude and loose footing. It eventually leveled out long enough to catch your breath then the incline started again. It was about a 15-30 min walk to the top. Once there it was an easy walk. The guide explained how the cable car used to reach to our location and there was even a cafe to hang out at. Unfortunately in 2003 there was an eruption that destroyed the cable car system, cafe and parking lot. Not to mention his office. They rebuilt everything and then 2 years later it was destroyed again. They rebuilt and have been pretty lucky since. The last eruption was less than a month ago and he point out the lava flow. Somebody asked if they were able to predict eruptions and he responded yes. They were expecting another one anytime. That put a big smile on my face as I really want to witness an eruption!

He continued to point out the different colors on the peaks. Yellow was sulfur, orange was iron and green was copper. He also said that silver and gold traces can be found. I found a rock with some shiny stuff on it, so I showed him. He said something about silver in his heavy accent which immediately caused people to look down at the rocks. Next thing you know everyone was picking up rocks. He probably said something else but it was funny to watch people start to scan the ground. He continued to tell us that a puffing volcano is good because it is releasing pressure. If you don’t see puffing then it is building pressure. The main crater was puffing and blowing giant smoke rings in the air which I was able to catch a picture of. It is possible to hike to the rim of the main volcano but it is about a 2.5 hr hike over rough terrain. Tempting but not this time.

We continued around the crater that he was showing us. He said that eruptions never happen twice in the same place. They always make a new crater. He said that the city and towns below are safe from a high elevation eruption but an eruption at 1000 meters or lower would damage the towns and cities like Catania. Catania has been destroyed 15 times in its history from volcanic eruptions. He then showed us some areas where heat was coming up through the soil. They were tucked under rocks so you had to dig a little but you could definitely feel the heat. Not enough to burn you but it was there.

We walked back to the 4×4 bus location and waited for the bus to arrive. I missed the first one but was inline for the second. There were not many shuttles up the mountain at this time (about 1:30pm). We watched as other groups finished their tours and started to stack up. Of course it was another jockeying for position situation again. I watched as the monster truck bus crept up the mountain on one side of me and the tourists stacked up on my left. Every person that walked up on my left caused me to crowd in tighter. Finally Big Foot arrived. Tourists had to exit but that didn’t stop the pushing and shoving. This is where those extra cannolis at breakfast came into play. I forced my way forward forcing my way in. The bus driver cut off the group from entering right before me. I was that close. Then he asked for 2 more people. I put up 1 finger and he let me past. I was the last one on. Success!

I made it back down the mountain and immediately got in line for the cable car. I knew Lori was waiting for me. I sent her a text and she was waiting for me when I arrived. I made my way through the souvenir shop that was strategically placed at the exit of the cable car. It was like a maze of volcanic trinkets but I made it through without a purchase. I had my souvenirs from the top in my pocket. I met up with Lori and we bought some salami sandwich’s and headed to the car. One thing that I keep forgetting is that I need to go to the parking kiosk and validate my parking ticket before I exit. It is very frustrating to get to the exit gate and not be able to pay. Especially when there are honking cars behind me. Everyone has to back up to get the idiot out of the way.

We plotted our route to Enna which is considered the belly button of Sicily. Not a very flattering name if you read into it. I think they mean the center of the island not the black hole of some overweight tourist. This was a 1.5hr drive from Mt Etna. We stopped on the way down the mountain and grabbed a lava rock from a past flow. I hope to find a way to send it home so I can display it with our other cool rocks.

We arrived in the city of Enna, high up on a mountain. This seems to be the norm in Sicily. Lori has an Air B&B rented for tonight. Those are always a pleasant surprise and inexpensive. Our directions were to park on the square and then ring the doorbell when we get there. We pulled up the satellite image of the area and could not see a square anywhere in the area. We blindly drove around and found something fairly close. I prepaid through an app called EasyPark. While I was doing that a local older gentleman tried to start up a conversation with Lori. I could hear her asking him if he spoke English and then she said that she was sorry but she did not understand. I was tempted to prolong the parking app because it was fun listening to her struggle.

We made it to the apartment door. The directions were to ring the door bell and the owner would buzz us in. Then we were directed up several stairs and through a kitchen to a door with a key in it. We entered and found a decent older renovated apartment. It said that it had A/C but there were no vents or split unit to be found. Only a hot water heater. Lori sent the owner a text asking about it. His response was that the thermostat was right next to the door. Yup, but just because it had an A/C option on the thermostat does not make A/C. It is one night so we can take a lot. The problem is that our door is off the free breakfast room. I suspect that we might get an early start tomorrow with breakfast being made out there.

We called Sophia and talked to her for a while. She is pretty excited about her new condo and so are we. After that we decided to get some dinner. Most places are closed in Italy on Monday and Tuesday. If they are open then it is not until 7:30pm. Lori found a restaurant about a 10 min walk away. We walked out of our apartment and headed down the alleyway. We noticed some people eating through a lower level window to a restaurant. We decided to give it a try. We ordered Lamb and potatoes which was really good. We had some wine with our meal and then had dessert. I ordered an almond parfait with hot chocolate. It came as a scoop of ice cream with almonds and heated up chocolate sauce on top. Delicious! After that we made the short walk back to the apartment and called it a night.