24 March 2024 – Mount Etna

Miles driven today = 38

Total Miles to date = 2,712

I mentioned at the beginning of our tour round Sicily that we were following an anti-clockwise route in the hope that the weather would be on our side by the time we got around to Mount Etna.  Well today that decision paid off in spades.  Lisa stuck her head out of the van door this morning and announced that there was snow on top of the volcano.  I was utterly delighted at this.  Not so much at the snow but the fact that we could actually see the top, having been unable to see anything other than the lower slopes yesterday due to low cloud.

We made our way to the Autostrada which took us around Catania to the wonderfully named Misterbianco.  From there we started to climb, past Belpasso and then onto the SP120 & the SP92, through the lower slopes and lava fields of Etna.  I was pleasantly surprised at how smooth the road was for the most part, with sweeping 180 degree bends rather than the tight hairpins I was expecting.  The total climb took about 40 minutes with a couple of stops for photo opportunities on the way.  I was amazed at how many people actually cycle up here.  Absolute nutters!

We found our way to the main parking area at 1,900 metres above sea level, where a number of vans appeared to have spent last night.  It’s €12 a day for campers from 8am to 6pm but free overnight.  As well as a huge car park there is a hotel here, a couple of restaurants and lots of tourist souvenir shops.

It’s also the lower station for the cable car which takes you all the way up to 2,500 metres.  It’s €50 each for a return ticket which seems pretty steep but how often do you get the chance to get up close to an active volcano, so we went for it.  You can hike up there if the fancy were to take you and a fair few people seemed to be taking that option, some better prepared than others.

Top left of the photo and in the distance you can see the 20km stretch of beach I mentioned yesterday.  Our home base last night at Agnone is at the very far end of that.

Once you get to the upper cable car station you’re not supposed to go any higher unguided.  You can hop on one of the 4x4 buses which takes you up a bit nearer to the main active craters for an extra €28 but we decided against that.  

It wasn’t like our experience in Gibraltar though where you basically weren’t allowed to leave the cable car station unless you paid extra.  Plenty of people did seem to be wandering on up the tracks so we joined them in order to get a better view of the peaks. 

There was still a fair bit of snow on the ground but not as much as they probably would expect to have in March.  Certainly not enough to have the ski runs open.

A rare selfie for a new facebook cover photo.  Lisa assures me she was smiling despite the slightly pensive look.   It wasn’t as cold as we might be making it look here.  I only really had my hood up to stop my cap being blown away.

There was plenty of steam coming from the top of Etna and you can understand why they wouldn’t want people getting too much closer, even when it is relatively inactive.  I loved the red and yellow hues at the peaks, presumably from sulphur and other minerals.

We got the cable car back down to the van and after a spot of lunch we decided to have a stroll around the Silvestri Crater, which is just a short distance from the car park.

It was very windy up there and Lisa decided to give it a miss for fear of being blown off the mountain.

I persevered.  This is looking back towards the car park from the other side of the crater.

Looking down the mountainside towards Catania over some other smaller craters.

And this is looking back up towards the area we went up to this morning.  Again different coloured minerals from the various historical eruptions.

We picked up a few pieces of pumice from the bottom of the crater.

This evening we decided to move the van to a slightly more sheltered spot where it’s not going to be rocked quite so much by the wind and we stand a better chance of a decent night’s kip.  Since we have done so 3 other vans have followed our lead and joined us.

It's getting chilly outside now and forecast to drop to 3 degrees so the heating is on for the first time in a while.  We’ve barely seen a cloud all day but as the moon rose we got treated to this sight, which appeared to be straight out of Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

25 March 2024 - The Alcantara Gorge