Mount Etna

On Sunday, April 29th we rented a car and drove up Mt. Etna, the 10,900-foot snow capped volcano that dominates eastern Sicily. It is Europe's largest active volcano, and our little Fiat rental would agree. We debated if it had one cylinder or two, or if there should be a set of pedals instead of the gas pedal. On the drive up we passed many new and ancient lava flows, some 10 feet high, that looked like nothing could have stopped them. The last eruption was on April 11th, just two weeks ago. It made us wonder when the next one would be...

We arrived at the Town of Nicolosi and from there you have to take a cable car to get to the base camp. This is where Winter kicks in, you can actually rent boots, jackets and hats from the lodge. At this point you hire a driver and guide to deliver you up to the craters at the top. This unworldly ride is in an indestructible looking Mercedes truck called the "Unimog". The front seat was open, and the driver motioned to Becky to climb to the front for an unmatched view and photo op.

On the way, you pass though 15-foot, white snow banks that give way to the black lava near the steaming craters. It's an incredibly strange atmosphere, surrounded by clouds, steam, wind and the smell of sulfur in the air.

We asked our guide if there is any warning before eruptions. He told us that there is usually "seismic activity about an hour before an eruption". Seeing that it took about two hours to get where we were, we did the math and tried not to panic. He assured us that the lava only flows at about two kilometers per hour (again, this metric thing confused us and we hoped we could run faster than that). He then said, "you should be able to run faster than that". We looked at him with raised eyebrows.

We hiked from the truck though what is known as the "button" craters since they lined up during explosions like the buttons on a shirt. Note the people on the other side of the crater to get an idea of it's size.

You could feel the heat right through your boots, and by sliding your foot you could move the surface of the crumbled lava and see the steam rise from beneath - how scary is that? The sun broke through occasionally to give you a glimpse of what a 10,900-foot view from the top of a volcano out to the ocean looks like. That's not something you see every day.


We spent about an hour hiking at the top, and after tempting fate long enough, regrettably loaded back into the Unimog for the bumpy ride back to the cable car. The cable car line had become completely engulfed in white clouds making for an eerie decent back to the base camp. Our little Fiat was the only car left parked in the street, and there were just a few cars left in the parking lot. Where there were hundreds of people when we started, there were only a few left at this point. We started to wonder if we missed the memo, or maybe the siren...

We stopped on the ride down to take some photos of beautiful yellow flowers that somehow grow right out of the jet black lava - it just does not seem possible for this to happen. We also had a "safari" moment as a fox-like animal wondered onto the side of the road. It had the body of a bobcat and the face of a fox, incredible looking animal. We wondered how anything could survive and it reminded of us the Jurassic Park quote "Life finds a way".













The Fiat was really enjoying the downhill part of the ride, gliding through the switchbacks with the heart of a Ferrari. But here's where is gets a little scary. During one of the photo stops, there was a rumbling that was growing louder and louder. Kind of like when you're really hungry and your stomach is growling, but much scarier coming from almost 11,000 feet of volcano. "Did you hear that?", was quickly replaced by, "Is that thunder?". This guessing seemed to only make Etna angry. We (half) jokingly yelled, "Get in the car, it's about to blow!". It was not until the next day that we were asked, "You were on Etna yesterday? Did you see the eruption?" WOW!

Here's a photo and a link to a home video shot on that day posted by someone who was lucky enough to see it and film it: http://video.nbc4.tv/player/?id=98361. Look for a speeding Fiat in the background!

There's another volcano coming up in our trip itinerary - the infamous Mount Vesuvius that devastated Pompeii. Italians like to warn, "it's much smaller than Etna, but much more dangerous". Can't wait.