187. Taormina and Mount Etna

Where: Sicily, Italy
When: April 1-2, 2013
With: Dave

Sitting in the middle of this small island in the Mediterranean is one of Europe's most active volcanos, Mount Etna. As we drove towards this looming shadow in the wee hours of the morning, and saw the steam rising from its peak, we felt mildly apprehensive that we had plans to go to the top.

We met up with a tour company in the town of Campania that would take us to the top with some stops and history along the way. As we wove up the volcano's foothills, most of the stops consisted of pointing out the remaining trails of previous eruptions, where the lava had basically eaten everything in its path. No big deal guys: a lava field here, a destroyed highway there, and most incredible, a house still buried under a lava flow. All made more nerve-racking because the last eruption was less than a month earlier.

At the highest point the road would take us, we reached Nicolosi, the last town before Etna and the "gateway" to the volcano. It is here where you can grab a funicular that takes you right up the side of the volcano. While it looks old and classic, this machine has been destroyed quite a few times in previous eruptions.

The ride up allows you to observe the snowcapped peaks breaking through the lava fields, all through the reddish tint of your trolley car window. 

At the drop-off point, you can stand in the deep snow and take in the mess of sights around you: deep snow, blue sky, steaming volcano, ski lift, lava rocks, and ocean.

From here, you can opt to go further, boarding large buses that drive through roads carved right into the snow to get you the additional 500m higher and closer to the crater that, up close appears much more active than is comfortable.

The view from this point is actually surreal. For the most part, you sit above the clouds. And the constant change in wind and temperature caused by the volcano makes massive clouds appear before your eyes, as if by magic.

The volcano itself is ever-steaming. You have this impending feeling like its just going to erupt and blow at any moment. Any shift in the wind or the atmosphere makes you feel ready to jump back in the car, and get away as fast as you can.

After a quick wander at the top, we met back up with the tour guide and drove back down the mountain. One of our last main stops was at a lava tunnel that was formed years ago in previous eruption. Basically, a lava tunnel is when the lava carves out a path right through the mountain, cools, and leaves a giant wormhole through the stone. Our lava tunnel was just casually sitting on the side of the highway. We had to gear up with helmets and torches to make the descent into the darkness.

Inside, the ground was covered in lava rocks that made it tricky to walk through. After about 20 feet in, the light from the opening behind us was gone, and we had nothing but flashlights to guide our way. There was definitely a feeling of mild anxiety when we all turned off our flashlights and were left in complete and total darkness. I kept contingency planning for the slightest rumble or the start of an eruption that may decide to make this tunnel active again.

At this point, we ended our tour with a stop at a Sicilian honey and wine shop. We got to sample all types of olive oils, wines, pestos and honey, including pollen, apparently a natural energy supplement. I was not a fan.

After our tour of Etna, we were on our way to our final town in Sicily, the hilltop village of Taormina. As we were approaching, I was saying that one thing that had mildly disappointed me so far in Sicily was that the towns were all incredibly industrial, almost Communist in feel, with dirty buildings and little character. However, as we drove along, we noticed a small village sitting on top of a mountain. We soon realised it was our destination, at which point, I shut my mouth and all my thoughts were changed.

Taormina was everything I'd imagined Sicilian villages to be. The main road through the town zigzagged right up the mountain, and from the top was a stunning and unobstructed view of Mount Etna. Dave couldn't have booked us with a better hotel room, with a wonderful balcony allowing us to take it all in while enjoying a glass of wine.

As it was Easter Sunday, we thought there was no better place for us to toast the day with a couple of Cadbury Creme Eggs.

As the sun went down, the views were spectacular. 

Once we'd finished our wine, we decided to head into the town. Town sat very far below on the mountain, and to get there, we just wandered until we found a staircase and kept moving down. The houses we passed as we wove through the tiny maze of staircases were small and all on top of each other, most built right into the mountain slope. 

Once at the bottom, we reached a main street that was completely alive. Narrow and lined with shops, people, lights and sounds, it was incredibly inviting and we jumped right in to take part in it all.

As we walked along the main drag, staircases up and down the mountain sprung off the main walk on the left and right, containing tons of restaurants, so many that it was impossible choose which one looked the quaintest and best.

 

We eventually settled with this small one Dave had found that was like a slice of paradise off the busy street. The food was incredible, the staff was so nice, and the whole atmosphere couldn't have been nicer.

After dinner, we kept walking along while Dave enjoyed his second dessert, a gelato. After reaching the end of the main street, we turned around to find an outdoor, staircase bar with live music for our evening nightcap.

Now sadly, the proverb works in the other direction at this point: what comes down must go back up...and stairs were our only option back to our hotel. Tired and mildly intoxicated, we just started moving up while trying not to stop. It surprisingly wasn't AS tough as we expected, but my legs were definitely sore the next day. At least the view of Taormina at night was peaceful to go home to.

In the morning, we got yet another lovely balcony view of the city and Etna. 

After breakfast, we again made the long descent down the stairs and while we went a completely different way, ended up right back where we'd been the night before. 

Now we got to enjoy Taormina in the daylight and all the views it has to offer. 

At the end of the road is one of Taormina's major tourist attractions, its giant Greek theater. 

Once again, the Greeks knew how to set a stage. 

We also got some lovely coastline views from this end of town.

We spent the rest of our day wandering the town, eating pizza and gelato as we saw fit, and just enjoying the views. 

Our last activity was to take the funicular down to the beaches. While the weather wasn't great, we still saw the beautiful color of the water and enjoyed the surf.

While down here, we ventured towards Isola Bella, a small island connected only by a small strip of land. The problem is, the tide was in, and all we could do was sit and look from the mainland at this tiny oasis in the water.

Sadly,  just as the clouds rolled in, we had to take the tram back up to the top, check out of our hotel, and drive to the airport to end our day and our trip in Sicily. 

Overall, we really enjoyed Sicily. While it was a bit grittier than what we'd seen on mainland Italy, it has its own beauty and charm, as well as so many diverse things to do. Maybe not for everybody, but it made for a great Easter weekend!