Sicily ~ Day 8 Mt. Etna

The towns leading up to Mt. Etna are charming...Nicolosi, Zafferana, Castiglione.... this is a huge farming area and terraced gardens are seen on nearly every hillside. Its also famous for its vineyards and we passed many on the way up the mountain. Apparently the areas to the east and the south are under no threat for lava flows despite the recent eruptions as they have been spewing molten lave to the northern side where it has been flowing into a desolate valley and away from inhabited areas. The last time the flows headed towards Catania was in 1992. The climb up to the mountain starts out with lush, green trees & foliage but as you get higher and higher the trees and bushes disappear leaving a strange and eerie barren ground. You can go through areas where the forests still stand but it's clear where the lava flows as there is little greenery left, except for lichens and mossy areas. Our guide mentioned that it takes 100-200 years for the ground to start to regenerate itself but it ultimately becomes some of the most fertile soil ever.While considered to be one of Europe's most active volcanos, Mt. Etna is what they consider to be a 'friendly' volcano. Obviously property can and has been destroyed but people are rarely killed from its effusive rather than explosive nature...it's lava flows are very slow, allowing time to get out of harm's way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fields of lava

 

A dormant crater...

 

Red Mountain...this last erupted in 1892

 

 

 

Chair lift for skiing & sightseeing in the distance..

 

 

 

VERY sharp edges!

 

Caverns created when the lava hardens

Easy to see the path of the lava flow here...

View of the coast as we came down the mountain

Lava that reached the water hundreds of years ago!

 

 

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Driving with Crazies

“Europeans, like some Americans, drive on the right side of the road, except in England, where they drive on both sides of the road; Italy, where they drive on the sidewalk; and France, where if necessary they will follow you right into the hotel lobby.”

During the course of this trip there is only one destination where it will be necessary to get around by car… and that would be in Sicily.  

One of my younger brothers, “Bud”, is a chiropractor that has lived & practiced in Catania for many, many years…has even met & married his wife, Lourdes whom Dick and I will get to meet for the first time on this trip. 

We haven’t seen Bud in almost 20 years. He and Lourdes have made sporadic trips back to the US but those trips are always back to upstate NY where we were born & raised, and where my other siblings still live.

Bud and Lourdes have a vacation cottage located in Castiglione, a town on the northern slopes of Mt. Etna, about an hour’s drive from Catania. We are headed there on one of our days there to see his vineyard and to sample the fruit from his two cherry trees there which he says produces some excellent cherries, and to have a lunch complete with the wine from their vineyard.

Castiglione

And, as mentioned in an earlier post, our BIL Joe’s parents were born and raised outside Catania in a town called ‘Nicolosi’ on the opposite side or down slope of Mt. Etna. Joe hasn't been back to Nicolosi since he was a kid (…a hundred years ago!) but wants to head there on another day to see the old family homestead and town again.

Some residents of Nicolosi...they must be relatives of Joe!

Mt. Etna as seen from Nicolosi

So, how to get from Catania to these places? A car rental seemed logical. Fran & John (friends who will be on the Sicilian part of our trip) were assigned the task of finding a car rental. A minivan for six people. Cost? with insurance? Almost $1000 for three days!

John to Joe: “I can get an international driver’s license but there should be a second person who can drive as well.” Logical.

Joe: “I’m not driving in Sicily. Dick, you can be the relief driver”.

Dick: “I don’t wanna drive in Italy.  You drive Joe.  After all it’s ‘your’ country”.

Back and forth; back and forth.

I remind Dick about a month ago that he has to go to the local Greensboro AAA office to get his international license. Another balk. I cannot say that I blame him! I don’t want to drive there! We’re reading nightmare stories online about driving in Italy.  The internet is littered with links:

http://blameitonthemuse.com/viva-italia/

http://coachingincatania.blogspot.com/2011/02/driving-in-sicily-its-crazy.html.

And http://my-sicilian-home.blogspot.com/2012/11/a-primer-to-driving-in-sicily-picking_27.html). 

Enter a solution. A highly recommended driving service comes to us by way of a recent visitor (another cousin of Joe's) to Sicily. http://www.goingsicily.com/home.php.  'Simone' will be waiting for us in the Arrivals section of the airport & taking us to the Catania hotel.  He will spend 8 hours one day driving us touring us around Sicily and to my brother’s place on the North side of Mt. Etna; and another 8 hours the next day going to Nicolosi. Enroute we will see what's supposed to be some of the most beautiful coastal cities in Sicily. On our last day they will be doing the early morning run from the hotel back to the airport.  All four days will cost us about $750.  Split between three couples.

A bargain.

Peace of mind.  

Dick & John are two happy campers.