First I admit I wasn’t spelling it correctly. No AE in Etna. We left this morning in 4 jeeps to reach a hiking trail a mile up from sea level. We were told that weather is never predictable. So we all brought lots of extra warm clothes…in case. It looked cloudy and we were headed for a snowy area. We traveled through several beautiful towns as we moved up into the park which is stratified into areas that can be visited by travelers and areas protected for research and possible eruption zones.
We stopped at a restaurant first to enjoy the view and get gators on to protect our shoes and pants from snow. We had a few rain showers on the way. There was a beautiful rainbow visible. We moved further up to a small side parking area where we were given snow shoes and hiking poles. It was incredibly windy…at least a steady 35-40mph. But those of us who were willing to go, got ready and started the hike. We were told that once we started, there was NO turning back. It was going to be a 2 mile hike at an altitude of 5200 ft. CRAZY!! But we went. The biggest challenge was the gusty winds which I would estimate were gusts to about 50mph. I stopped early on to rest and catch my breath. Then I was just blown over! No big deal. I got up and pushed on. In fact I got blown over 4 times. But others did too. It’s not easy to climb against a strong wind from which there is no cover. It also rained, sleeted and blew hard enough to throw small rocks at us. We were able to gain a bit of shelter as we descended. We made it back to a roadside pickup point where we jumped back into our jeeps. We were brought down to a nice little inn that served us a big lunch of mixed appetizers and grilled meats. That trek made everyone hungry! Those of us who made it were feeling very accomplished. The others who went to a nearby cafe said they were our support team. We all enjoyed the day.
We drove an hour back to Catania to get organized for our farewell dinner and pack up for leaving. We gathered in a meeting room to recount our favorite moments and toast our excellent guide, Andrea. He really made the whole experience work for everyone. We departed for our farewell dinner at a nearby restaurant. We had worked together to find out where we were eating (my job to ask and seem disinterested) then get a surprise birthday cake through the restaurant (ordered with help from our guide from Puglia). A few others had taken a great photo of Andrea that they printed out and had everyone sign. It was a really fun day and evening.
Tomorrow we scatter. Patricia and I go to Malta. Most others will fly back to the US through Rome or Zurich. We all said goodbye and will return to the next plan. Great trip!
The Adventures of Anne 