W We started out mourning very early as there is only one bus that gets you to Mt. Etna and it leaves at 8:15 am. Ick. But we found a place to buy tickets and met some other travelers that would be joining us on the 1.5 hour bus ride to the base of the Volcano. Mind you, we had been living in 15 degrees C weather for a few days and now we would be going all the way down to 2 degrees C. There was snow everywhere, but the sun was shining so it would be a lovely day no matter what.
We took the Funivare (cable car) up the mountain, passing skiers and hikers. We landed at 2500 meters. From here, it was time to jump in a giant Jeep and trek up the mountain near to the summit, around 2900 meters. We were able to leave the jeep on two seperate occasions to see the craters and view the still active craters. Mt. Etna’s last eruption was on January 12th 2011. However the most recent lava flowing eruption was in 2008. The volcano has strewn lava all over Catania and it’s neighboring cities, but they just always rebuild and then use the lava rock to make walls and trinkets, pretty neat.
The pictures are hardly doing this site justice. The snow and lava rock blend together like an oreo blizzard (Props to Melaine for coming up with the spot on metaphor). All in all, it was a lovely trek. We made friends with our guide, Nino, and had a bit of limoncello after we headed down the mountain, with him. After a leisurely afternoon, Nino and his friend Alfredo drove us to the train station so that we could catch our night train to Rome. Mind you, this is after all the crazy Italian driving and Melaine’s car sickness, and a little pull over on the side of the road so she could expel said limoncello.
The train was packed, and we were in a cabin with an Italian family that was very nice. Melaine quickly went to sleep and after some logic puzzles, it was time for me to hit the sack too. The train was fine, except for one little problem; It was the hottest place on Earth!!! I am pretty sure I lost 12 lbs just due to sweating on this 10 hour ride to Rome. We rolled into Roma Termini train station at 7 am, smelling like death. We headed to our Rome hotel, St. Peter’s Guest House, a small 6 room boutique hotel, that felt more like home than a hotel. It was lovely and the staff, Anna & Maria, were both amazing. Although we were unable to check into our room, we were able to freshen up and make ourselves somewhat presentable. What a trip!
Yes, I have bled a little into the next morning, but deal with it, I know you wanted to read about all the sweaty hours on the train, SICK!!!
Ciao!
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