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Wednesday, October 19, 2022
Mount Etna, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2013, is one of the world’s most active volcanos and is in a state of almost constant activity. An eruption about half a million years ago is responsible for creating the land that Catania sits on today. Its eruption of 1669 destroyed several cities in Sicily including Catania. We booked a tour to take an up close and personal view.
A driver picked us up at our apartment and headed towards the North peak. We got out of the car and listened to a talk about the history of the volcano and how it had affected the surrounding area. There was a wall of rock where it was easy to distinguish layers from several different lava flows. We got back into the car and headed over to a lava tube. Because of the low, jagged ceilings we were required to don hard hats.
We descended down some very crude steps into a tunnel. Our guide explained that at one time snow was collected and compacted into ice in these tubes. Because the lava was such a good insulator ice was available to nearby towns all year long. We walked the short length of the tube, gave back our stylish helmets and drove over to a trailhead. The website said that this was supposed to be an easy walk. Our guide said we would be out for about an hour and forty five minutes and that the trail was rather hilly in places. That turned out to be an understatement.
It was cooler high up on the mountain. The light breeze was refreshing as we walked. Eventually we came to a series of small craters all in a row. These so-called button craters had been active one after another during a recent eruption. Further down we came to a much larger crater. Besides the main craters at the top these were among the approximately 300 smaller ones. We learned that the tops of volcanos don’t grow as material is ejected. They become taller as ejected material settles back down and collects.
We continued on for a ways and enjoyed the scenery. On one side there was a long sloping hill reaching towards the top of the volcano and on the other side was a valley with a large mountain range in the background. Our guide pointed out where the Greeks had initially settled, followed by the Romans and then the Normans. Finally we went back to the car and stopped at a cafe for a quick lunch.
We got back to Catania around 6:00 pm. It had been a long day. Instead of dinner in the apartment we decided to get some light food at a cafe in Piazza del Duomo. We indulged in some Limoncello and Aperol Spitzes, too. Somehow we managed to get to our favorite gelato place. This time we ordered mediums. Lauren enjoyed the Limoncello so much that she bought a bottle on the way back to the apartment.
Thursday, October 20, 2022
We slept late this morning and didn’t leave the apartment until after 10:30 am. We intended to take a tour of Palazzo Biscari but it turned out to be closed for maintenance until October 25. We decided to hide our disappointment by visiting the outdoor market. It’s some of the best entertainment we’ve had. We bought a bunch of things and were on our way back to the apartment when we found a small shop selling leather goods. Lauren found a pocketbook that she really liked. The clerk suggested that we visit the factory a few blocks away. We dumped the food in the apartment and proceeded on our new quest.
The factory was just a five minute walk away and was located in a good sized building near the Benedictine Monastery. Downstairs there were a few people busy sewing leather goods. The showroom, consisting of several rooms, was upstairs. On the center table was a huge collection of shoes, obviously their biggest selling product. We perused the pocketbooks that were on display but found nothing better than what we’d seen in the store. Back at the store Lauren got the bag she’d seen before. Given her upcoming birthday it was our treat.
For lunch we went back to our favorite gelato shop and, for the first time, ordered food. Lauren had a salad with tuna, Deborah a Caprese crepe and I had grilled eggplant with a side of spinach. The food was very good. For dessert we ordered medium sized gelatos. The waitress, who remembered us from the night before, brought us larges. We were only charged for mediums.
Dinner in the apartment consisted of fresh salad greens, fried chicken cutlets and limoncello. We had amaretto cookies for dessert.