Blogs from Stromboli, Sicily, Italy, Europe

Issy's arm's still very sore, so she decides to pass on today's tour to climb Stromboli. I wait anxiously for her to give me this morning's breakfast order. I've been having nightmares about trying to smuggle a bowl of cereal, a plate of bacon and eggs and four pieces of toast out of the breakfast room without anyone noticing, and these usually end with me being carted off by the police. Thankfully this morning's order is only for a couple of croissants. Despite its apparent simplicity I hear someone walking behind me as I leave, and panic. Fortunately it's just another guest. First stop is the neighbouring island of Panarea, where we stop offshore for a quick swim before heading into the port. We pass a giant cabin cruiser with a yellow water slide running from ... read more

Saturday 25 August 2012 (Lisa) We left Lipari on Friday after Gill and Samuel had done a monstrous 400 metres dingy ride first thing with no outboard, so it was pure Duncan oar power and then this was proceeded by a 2k run as they thought they were late for the dinghy engineer, only to find that we were running in Turkish time and it was actually one hour early! The two boys then treated themselves to a breakfast of grapes and water while they waited, although the shop keeper wanted to charge them 5 euros for a small bunch of grapes! We must work harder on our tan and Italian. We then motored a short distance to the most magical island of Salina. After a few attempts to anchor as ... read more

Geo: 38.8024, 15.2379Stromboli - one of the main reasons for visiting the Aeolian Islands, beyond checking out some place new in Sicily, was to see this volcanic island, the only permanently active one in the Aeolians. Scores of tourists visit every day on tours, so like two sheep we followed the others on one of the typical Panarea and Stromboli tours, offered by several different companies in Lipari.Though the beaches we visited in the islands were nothing special, the Aeolians do offer some truly spectacular swimming spots and postcard-quality photo opps. Supposedly there are some nice sandy beaches somewhere, but our stops have been at pebbly or black volcanic sand beaches, or at spots where the shore was dominated by large boulders. Aesthetics aside, the water is still wonderfully refreshing, especially on a hot summer day.But ... read more

A visit to the Aeolian island Stromboli. Stromboli is a small island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, off the north coast of Sicily, containing one of the three active volcanoes in Italy. Stromboli is remarkable because of the length of time in which it has been in almost continuous eruption. For at least the last 20,000 years the same pattern of eruption has been maintained, in which explosions occur at the summit craters with mild to moderate eruptions of incandescent volcanic bombs at intervals ranging from minutes to hours. Getting to Stromboli wasn't all that easy. From mainland Sicily it was first by hydrofoil to the Island of Lipari. And from Lipari it is another 2 hours to Stromboli. On the island there are amazing views to the other aeolian islands. And of course, a great view ... read more

Gabriel was pissed off that morning. Indeed. The boss was in a rotten mood, and the morning messages at the office did not raise the latter’s spirits. That damn favourite planet of his, the same he spent so much energies and hopes for the future on, even one of his own kids, was a fatiguing and not at all rewarding effort. Just an endless cry of complaints and little common sense. He ended up summoning His own private rainman, Count Negroni, who prescribed a biblical treat of the deadly concoction bearing the same name, and now God was hangover and prone to disaster. ‘Gabriel!!!’ the supreme had called ‘The measure is full. Which is another way to say that I am fucking tired of these humans. Go and announce: I’ll be back, with a vengeance’. ... read more