Laowai

I think everyone agreed that the volcano hike was the highlight of our trip. I didn’t know much about Mount Etna before but I learned that it is one of the world’s most active volcanoes. It has constant activity – from gas bubbling up through the ground to major lava explosions that seem to happen every few years. I had no idea you could drive up and hike on an active volcano. We didn’t even go up all that high – we decided to skip the gondola ride because it was so cloudy when we arrived – but we had the most fascinating walk! 

The ground was so very black and it seemed crunchy and light under our feet. It reminded us of crushed oreos. And our bright coats stood out vividly.

We could see big round deep craters where once there had been an explosion. Some areas were covered in black sand and some areas were all bumpy, sharp rocks. Then there were big rocks sitting in flat spots that must have been thrown up by an explosion. There was still some snow on the ground and the clouds would come and go. It was erie in the clouds and then there would be a bit of blue sky and we could see all the way down to the sea. There were only little bits of grass here and there – no trees.

Even though everything was sort of dark and there wasn’t much life it didn’t feel depressing – it just felt interesting and strange and alive.

Bea gets to go to Mount Vesuvius when she has her school trip to Italy next month. She’ll get to compare two volcanoes!

Next up – our last bit of Sicily.