Etnea – Etnea

35th day

First official outing in Sicily and as I told you yesterday, Mount Etna, which looms close by at nearly 3,500 meters high, has been our first visit. Lina and Gerhard, the couple of “riders” whom Thorsten invited for beers last night, have joined us. They both travel by motorcycle and sleep in a tiny tent that they set up every night when they reach their destination.
Mount Etna rises right between the African and European plates where the crust is weaker and thinner. Magma began to rise through small fractures over five hundred thousand years ago, and over time the lava erupted from within created what is now the predominant lunar landscape on the eastern coast of the island. The Mongibello, as the Sicilians call it, is characterized by fluid and low-risk volcanism that frequently erupts from the side vents, endangering the survival of houses, forests, and crops. It is currently the highest active volcano in Europe; the highest in reality is Teide, which is currently silent, respecting the daily lives of the inhabitants of the island of Tenerife.

The most impressive spectacle offered by Mount Etna is the violent and improvised explosions that occur rhythmically in the craters of the high coast. At times, it releases fine ash that solidifies upon contact with the atmosphere and can reach considerable distances. In 1669, the mountain began to tremble, announcing a violent eruption with the opening of a new vent. For 122 days, that new crater spewed almost a million cubic meters of incandescent magma, destroying some towns and extending over fifteen kilometers to reach the western side of Catania. Numerous testimonies of the event remain, which lasted one hundred and twenty-two days, including a fresco that can still be admired on the southern wall of the cathedral of Catania.

We covered the route from the campsite to what is considered the base camp by motorcycle, about twenty kilometers. There, once we parked the vehicles, we signed up for a truck excursion (the cable car was closed for maintenance) up to two thousand nine hundred meters to walk the last hundred to reach the craters closest to the summit.

During the ascent, we were able to see the craters of Montagnola and Ercrivá and reached La Torre del Filósofo, a refuge today almost entirely covered by ash where, according to tradition, Empedocles, the famous Greek philosopher who spontaneously chose to throw himself into the smoking interior of the mountain, lived.

The paths followed by the four-by-four trucks cross ice crevasses up to three meters high at this time, which can be quite impressive; there were silences when we crossed them as if we all felt a bit scared that they might crack and block the only passage that seemed possible. Today it was sunny, so it was almost pleasant to walk on that volcanic land, but the wind, as you go up, becomes colder and colder to the point that, going as we were with our motorcycle gear, there was a moment when all four of us were frozen.

One thing that we found super curious is that despite the ground radiating heat, there are still shaded areas at the summit where the snow has not melted. I even managed to make “a graffiti” and leave a mark of my passage through the place without damaging the beauty of the landscape.

The route for the last hundred meters is done with a local guide who tells how the events unfolded during the numerous eruptions that Mount Etna has had. We did not reach the summit, but from where we were, we could clearly see the smoking cone as if warning that, despite us invading its territory, it had the final word.

The excursion was super cool; we really enjoyed it even though we couldn't do it by cable car. We would have liked to see more volcanic activity, but today the mountain was lazy, although judging by the videos of how tourists were running down the slope during the last explosion, we can say we were lucky. The walk lasted almost five hours, after which, already tired, we started the journey back home, and since we got along well with the couple who accompanied us, dinner was communal; everyone contributed a bit of what they had, and we ended up with salmon and cherry tomato spaghetti worthy of the best restaurant in Italy. The truth is they were amazed because traveling by motorcycle, their options are more limited, and they usually end up having a can of soup heated in a mini kitchen served in a tin cup. We took out all our cookware, which isn't that big, but we ended up with a lovely table. The after-dinner was short because it started to get cold, and we each retreated to our “burrow.”

It has been a very complete day. First contact with the island, and it has been quite nice. Sicily was one of the destinations that attracted us the most, and so far, it has not disappointed. Good night… I’ll keep you posted.