Posted by chase on Wednesday, May 24, 2017 in 2017 Blog post.

Our trip to Mount Etna brought more excitement than I expected. We started off the day with a 3-hour bus ride, which mostly included me falling in and out of sleep and listening to some sweet tunes. When we finally arrived, we picked up a tour guide that was fluent in English and she told us all about the volcano and how almost all fruits and vegetables can be grown at different elevations—the weather, nutrients in the soil, and water flowing from the vast mountainside all provide perfect mini ecosystems for various plant species.

 

Arriving at the base of the volcano was amazing (and freezing). Our whole group bundled up in all the layers we brought and stepped out into the light rain and hail. Although my body’s senses were being bombarded with the cold, it was invigorating seeing the entire mountainside with hardened lava slides and clouds passing over our future hiking path. We started up through the forest and I played around crunching the light lava rock and looking for the best walking stick. Our guide used her walking poles to depict the mountain on the ground. She explained that there is one cave inside the mountain that holds all the lava. The lava shoots up through two separate chutes with one leading to three craters and the other leading to one. When Etna was slowly erupting before its climax in 2002, the lava hardened in a few of the craters and basically corked them, not allowing for any gases to escape. In 2002, the volcano couldn’t take all the pressure and the lava broke through the side of the mountain instead of the top and destroyed a couple resorts and restaurants at the base of the mountain. It was awesome learning about the history of the volcano and how our guide likened it to a mother, scolding the people of the land while at the same time giving them more of an advantage in the future (the escaping lava once destroyed a city, but created a new bay, which is now the second-most attended bay in Sicily and the name escapes me now).

 

All I can say is that I was in awe as we hiked the beautiful land—we trekked over the lava slides and scaled the mountainside until we came to a small crater. The winds were so strong that I could lean about 70 degrees into them and be supported. We took some pictures and thoroughly enjoyed the views and intense wind and hail. It was one of the most fun hikes I have ever done in my life and truly an experience to remember.

 

It has been so exciting and satisfying traveling to each and every one of these sights in Sicily. In the back of my mind, I keep thinking non c’è male, which translate to “there isn’t bad.” I’m enjoying the fact that there hasn’t been any bad experiences on this trip and look forward to more adventures with the friends I’ve made here.

 

Selfie Baby

Lay of the Land

Mountainside