We arrived in Sicily on a passenger car ferry that took 40 minutes to cross the Messina Straits and cost us €59. The weather was cloudy but warm enough at 18° and we settled for a few days in a pleasant little camp site overlooking the Ionian Sea.
Over the next few days it hardly stopped raining in spite of our various weather apps indicating a sunny forecast. On more than one occasion we misjudged the ominous skies and got soaked to the skin. The heavy rain resulted in a series of roadside land slips which meant the local motorway had to be closed overnight.
On one of the drier days we visited Taormina, a mediaeval town built on the rocky hillside overlooking the Ionian Sea. It was a 15 minute drive up to the town where we wandered around the narrow, winding streets admiring well preserved ancient buildings and carefully avoiding touristy shops and bars – although we couldn’t resist settling in one of the many restaurants for a spot of lunch.
Mount Etna:
One day, as a special treat, we took an escorted day-trip to Mount Etna, travelling by car up to a height of 2,000 metres, then we took a cable car and finally a 4×4 bus that took us up to 3,000 metres. You could go even higher but it was a steep walk. We were thrilled by the the other-worldly landscape around us.
We were high above the clouds, the sun was shining and there was fresh snow on the ground. Many people were on foot hiking to the top and we even saw a skier or two.
The lower slopes of the mountain were scarred with evidence of past lava flows dating back hundreds of years. The last big volcanic eruption was in 2001 and our guide explained that the lava flow moved very slowly as it cooled, so there was little danger to life, although everything it its path would be totally destroyed. Scientists closely monitored the activity of the volcano; the current status was Yellow and the volcano’s regular rumblings could be viewed on an app. We guessed if they changed the status to Red it was time to run!
