Day 91: Tuesday 17 June – Awesome Etna, by Ken

There was a sprinkling of light rain as we set off in Smarty to visit Mount Etna. It was much cooler, 20°C, than we had been used to during our time in Sicily and the sky had a light overcast – something else we hadn’t seen until yesterday. Our new satnav was installed in Smarty alongside her clock and rev counter. The satnav was doing brilliantly taking us up the winding mountain road towards Rifugio Sapienza.

Either side of us the countryside was black with lava with a mantle of ash. Some areas had green patches where vegetation was gaining a hold, others were just black. We passed numerous abandoned buildings surrounded by lava. There were also numerous hotels and restaurants that had chosen their locations more wisely. We stopped every now and again to take photographs, each time we got out of Smarty it felt a little cooler. The view south to Catania and the coast of the Gulf of Catania was masked by the haze. We could see old grass covered craters below us, black cones protruded above us.

Abandoned Building Surrounded By Lava

Smarty With Ash and Lava Behind

Rifugio Sapienza is a hotel/refuge at the highest point (1,930m) on the road skirting the southern flank of Mount Etna. It is also a tourist complex with a clutter of souvenir shops and a café as well as large car parks for cars and tour buses. We were there because it is also houses the base station for the cable car that ascends the mountain.

We parked close to the cable car. A man stuck what looked like a cloakroom ticket under Smarty’s wipers and asked for a ‘donation’. He was satisfied with €2.20 in change, very clever and I wondered how much he makes in a day doing that? It was just 09:30 but already tourists were pouring out of their buses and heading for the cable car. Our guide book warned it can be cold on Etna andwe added another layer of clothing before heading for the cable car.

After being relieved of €60 for the two of us which Jane thought was good, because the guide book showed the fare as €52 each, we were soon in a six person gondola that climbed 580m in its 2km journey. At the top the climate bore a marked similarity to Wellington in a southerly, cold with a biting wind which we kept out with our rain jackets. We could see one of the 4WD buses that carries tourists closer to the crater. We headed for the bus only to be told they weren’t running today – the man pointed to the summit and we could see smoke venting from the crater. Our guide book had informed that the buses are suspended when volcanic activity gets too high. Who cared about a bus ride when you could see an active volcano in action?

First Signs Etna Was Up To Something

No Bus Rides Today

We started walking up the track the buses take to the summit. While still a long way off we could clearly see steam and plumes of black smoke venting from the craters high above us. We walked for another kilometre climbing about 100 metres in the process. The terrain was completely black, nothing but volcanic ash as far as the eye could see. We decided we had walked far enough and stood for a long time gazing in awe at the summit. There seemed to be two distinct areas of activity (there are four craters at the summit). Steam was venting from the left and formed a long white cloud that trailed away northwards. At intervals of about 20 seconds a black plume would soar vertically shooting lava upwards that seemed to fall slowly down as hundreds of black specks. Occasionally the black plume would vent horizontally and we could see molten lava being ejected. A trail of smoke ran down the side of the crater. To the right a more violent explosion occurred at about the same frequency shooting debris, glowing red at first high into the sky. The noise that reached us long after the explosions was loud and somewhere between rumbling thunder and the clash of enormous cymbals.

Etna Erupting,  Lava Flowing Down Cone

Sometimes Lots Of Smoke And Steam Were Vented

Jane Looks On

Sometimes Molten Rock Was Clearly Visible

Sometimes The Eruptions Were Vertical

Sometimes Nearly Horizontal

Like Wellington In A Southerly On Etna

The explosions were becoming more violent and it was difficult to tear ourselves away from the majestic sight. However, the chill wind was having its effect and we reluctantly decided to head back, stopping frequently to look back at Etna putting on a fine display.

Geological Map (for Ella)

We took our place in the queue for the cable car back down. A couple of eastern European women were ahead of us and they couldn’t stop taking photographs of each other standing alongside a gondola as it inched its way along the boarding platform (In spite of looking closely at the arrangement on numerous cable car trips it’s still not clear to me how the gondolas detach from the rope to enable passengers to embark and disembark, it’s very ingenious). Just as the women boarded their gondola everything stopped – we could see a man in a control room peering at a monitor and pushing buttons. Then he picked up a phone while a colleague walked to the end of the platform and peered down. The women were out of their gondola taking yet more photographs of them posing against the car.

Cable Car Up Etna's Black Flanks

Cable Car Operator Trying To Get It Moving Again

After a number of false starts the cable started moving again and we set off on the return trip. The cable stopped six times during the journey, each time leaving us swinging fore and aft for quite some time. The fifth stop was only 10 metres or so from the platform and the last was at the platform but before the doors opened. Ahead of us the eastern Europeans were at it again taking yet more photographs of each other.

She Must Have Taken Dozens Of Photographs Of The Cable Car

We were finally able to get out of our gondola and walked over to take a look at the souvenir shops. They were all very similar selling lots of larva ornaments, tee shirts, etc. etc. We looked for fridge magnets which we decided would be a good memento of our trip and eventually settled for one of Etna and another of Sicily. Jane continued to poddle around the shops while I tried, and failed, to hook into the free wi-fi advertised by a nearby café. (There wasn’t wi-fi at our current camping ground).

We then set off to circumnavigate the mountain using roads that link towns and villages lying at its base. Almost as soon as we set off the road went into cloud that obscured the mountain completely. It was gone 13:00 when we reached the town of Zaffarana Etnea where we spotted a supermarket and stocked up on supplies, including sausages we were planning to eat for dinner. We decided it was lunchtime and found a trattoria on the outskirts of the town. The menu was in Italian and our waitress had no English. However, we could understand what she was saying and at her suggestion ordered an antipasti plate and a pizza between us. The antipasti was delicious as was the pizza with sausage, mushrooms, olives, spinach, onion and lashings of mozzarella. Neither of us could finish our pizza and we asked for a takeaway box.

20km/hr Speed Limit When Volcanic Ash Is On Road and No Motorbikes or Bikes

We continued our journey anti-clockwise around the foot of the mountain. We passed through the towns of Linguaglossa and Randazzo with their narrow streets paved in larva and the mountain was still shrouded in cloud.

Bronte

It wasn’t until we reached Bronte which lies to the north west of Etna that the cloud cleared and we could see the mountain again. We stopped every now and again to take photographs. Etna was still performing and we could hear the distant clash of symbols accompanying the explosions. How strange it must be to live within earshot?

The rest of our journey was in sunshine, satnav did a great job all day although we had a few problems in NIcolosi where roads were closed and it took us a while to get back to the camping ground.

I found I had taken hundreds of photographs of Etna and spent ages sorting those I wanted to include in the blog. We agreed seeing Etna in action was the highlight of Sicily, although the beautiful beaches in the Zingarro Reserve came a very close second.

Todays Trip In Smarty (134km)

E = our starting point in Nicolosi, B = Rifugio Sapienza, C= Randazzo, D = Adrano