While the ancient Greeks considered Mt. Etna to be the realm of Vulcan, god of fire, and the home of the one-eyed monster known as the Cyclops; I like to think of Mt. Etna as a large black dragon, sometimes quietly sleeping, other times raging with fury. Our 2014 girls trip was to Sicily and Mount Etna was an anticipated stop. Coincidentally, we seem to have had volcanoes as one of our stops for most of the girls trips (someone seems to have a fascination with them).
During our May visit Mt. Etna's fire and brimstone fury was quieted, but within a few weeks of our return, Mt. Etna reminded me that the dragon rudely awoken from its sleep can express it's fury with a spectacular pyrotechnical display, sending plumes of lava and ash hundreds of feet into the air. That must have been a spectacular site to see, mind you so was the sleeping version.
Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site globally recognized on basis of its notoriety, scientific importance, cultural and educational value, superlative natural phenomena and exceptional aesthetic importance as iconic volcanic site, Mt. Etna is Europe's highest (~ 3,300 m, though this varies with summit eruptions) and most active volcano. The Mt. Etna landscape is otherworldly with black lava sand, volcanic gravel and rocks that crunch underfoot. Mount Etna is really a world apart from the classic beaches, ancient ruins and hilltop towns that dot Sicily.
Mt. Etna is a Stratovolcanoe which are the most picturesque as well as the most deadly of the volcano types. Their lower slopes are gentle, but they rise steeply near the summit to produce an overall morphology that is concave in an upward direction. The summit area typically contains a surprisingly small summit crater. Mt. Etna's eruption style is one characterized by effusive (lava flows) and mildly explosive (strombolian) eruptions. It has consisted of both summit and frequent flank eruptions, the latter seem to be occurring in clusters lasting few to a few tens of years.
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| Mount Etna Cable Car |
We drove to Mount Etna and our first stop was the base station at Rifugio Sapienza, where we took a cable car to 8,202 feet (2,500 meters). It was fascinating to see the landscape changes as we drove up to Rifugio Sapienza and when we emerged from the cable car above the tree line to see the black volcanic ash, gravel and rocks, which to me presented as a lunar like landscape. The cable car cost €30 per person. You could travel additional 500 m further up Mount Etna via a 4x4 bus at a cost of an additional ~€50 for bus and guide (getting to be a pricey view). We decided forgo the 4x4 bus trek, regardless the views were still remarkable from the 2500 m point. Information about Mount Etna cable and related tours can be found at:
http://www.funiviaetna.com/versione_inglese/index.html. If pricing information is available on this site, it is difficult to find.
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| Mount Etna from the Ancient Theatre of Taormina |
Since Mount Etna is the dominate landscape feature in eastern Sicily, it often forms a gorgeous back drop and can been easily seen from various towns including Stazzo and Taormina. Mount Etna has definitely add a dramatic element to various of my photographs including the one taken at the Ancient Theatre of Taormina.
Mount Etna also served up one of the most memorable and hilarious moments of the trip. My version of "a funny thing happened on the way down from Mt. Etna". The route up to Rifugio Sapienza has several stopping areas from which pictures can be taken, unusual in Sicily. At the first stop as we traversed down the mountain and to my utter astonishment; my travelling companions jumped in the car and drove off, with me running down the road after them. Not only had they left my alone on Mount Etna, all I had was my camera. No money, identification, cellphone or coat; all of which were in the car. I wondered how long it would take them to realize they left without me. I would have loved to have been "a fly on the wall", when they realized I was not in the car. They wondered why I was not asking to stop to take photographs and reminded (the missing) me, all I needed to do was ask them to stop. Getting no response, they looked back to ask me what was wrong. Surprise! Fifteen minutes later my remorseful companions returned. Never was I more glad to have assumed the role of official trip photographer, else it could have been a much longer wait, likely until they arrived at our restaurant choice for the evening dining.
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| Yes the dirty white stuff is snow. |
The following videos are a compilation of my video clips (set to classical music) plus one from ODN - On Demand News regarding the June 16, 2014 eruption activity. Enjoy, more photographs from our Sicily trip can be seen on my flickr site and in future blog posts. https://www.flickr.com/photos/21108304@N02/sets/72157645040170144/
While the ancient Greeks considered Mt. Etna to be the realm of Vulcan, god of fire, and the home of the one-eyed monster known as the Cyclops; I like to think of Mt. Etna as a large black dragon, sometimes quietly sleeping, other times raging with fury. Our 2014 girls trip was to Sicily and Mount Etna was an anticipated stop. Coincidentally, we seem to have had volcanoes as one of our stops for most of the girls trips (someone seems to have a fascination with them). During our May visit Mt. Etna's fire and brimstone fury was quieted, but within a few weeks of our return, Mt. Etna reminded me that the dragon rudely awoken from its sleep can express it's fury with a spectacular pyrotechnical display, sending plumes of lava and ash hundreds of feet into the air. That must have been a spectacular site to see, mind you so was the sleeping version. 
Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site globally recognized on basis of its notoriety, scientific importance, cultural and educational value, superlative natural phenomena and exceptional aesthetic importance as iconic volcanic site, Mt. Etna is Europe's highest (~ 3,300 m, though this varies with summit eruptions) and most active volcano. The Mt. Etna landscape is otherworldly with black lava sand, volcanic gravel and rocks that crunch underfoot. Mount Etna is really a world apart from the classic beaches, ancient ruins and hilltop towns that dot Sicily. 
