Category: Sicily wanderings – on the volcano trail
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Mount Etna
Yesterday’s walk on the north side of Etna was definitely not a walk in the park. The hike started from the Refuge Citelli. It was a sunny day, very good conditions. We walked through a wood then on to the main mountain. The hiking was very difficult because the lava is basically tiny black pebbles…
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Linguaglossa
Packed up and ready to go by 10am. Today’s destination is Linguaglossa, a town close to the northern side of Mount Etna. There’s nothing special about LG but it’s a very convenient point to do our walking from. You cannot summit the peak of Mount Etna without a guide. It’s a real cheats way of…
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Cefalu
Not a great nights sleep after a ridiculously big meal. I was full after the pasta and then had to wade my way through a meat and dessert course. How do Sicillians stay so slim yet eat so much? Today we explored Cefalu. It’s a very old town and was in Arab hands for a…
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Escape from Stromboli
I awoke to the dulcet tones of our neighbour’s TV and lay there for a while, too scared to look out of the window. Would it still be windy or would we be able to make our escape today? Eventually I could stand it no longer and peeked out of the window. Still windy but…
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Stromboli
What a day! Started off with both of us feeling knackered. Steve could not sleep due to a sore neck and a cough.(no doubt due to the sulphur on the volcano) This then meant I was awake for ages – the good news was I managed to finish reading my book. Had to be at…
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Vulcano
Wow! The volcano delivers. I did not expect to see such an active volcano. After breakfast( which was discreetly served on our private terrace I’ll have you know, no having to rub shoulders with other guests) We (literally) hot footed it up to the top of Vulcano. Dressed in our walking gear and carrying rucksacks…
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On the volcano trail – part 2
Feeling virtuous this morning and went to the gym before breakfast. I swear this hotel wants us to die of dehydration. The water from the tap tastes revolting – really salty. No bottled water is provided. I presumed the “fitness centre” would have water, but no. Eventually I tracked some down in the “wellness centre”…
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Syracuse
Spent the day exploring Syracuse, where Archimedes was born and where Plato was the advisor to Dion. It’s also famous for the painting of St Lucy by Caravaggio so a star studded place indeed. We wandered down to the old town known as Ortygia, which is an island connected by bridges to the rest of…
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Cava Cassibile and Avola Coast
Sweet breakfast again today but not a patch on Villa Ambra’s. Did I tell you I liked Villa Ambra? We decided to visit the pools of Cava Cassibile today. They are in a gorge not far from Avola and are supposed to be very pretty. When we arrived, it wasn’t at all clear as to…
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Portopalo and Isola della Correnti
Today we had to leave Villa Ambra as they were full for the next few nights, and relocate to Avola. After another belly busting breakfast we attempted to rearrange the contents of our suitcases and rucksacks. we wanted to leave most of our belongings temporarily at VA and go exploring, collecting our luggage later, on…
Middle-aged flash packers 