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Published: April 22nd 2024
Today we decided to go to Mount Etna. We consulted Google Maps and then got into the Volkswagen Taigo and we were ready to go. Pedro has been doing very well with his Sicilian driving. It seems that he may have some Italian heritage as the roundabouts and driving have not been very difficult for him. The trip was supposed to take about an hour from Giardini Naxos to Etna. We navigated the tollway and then off to the side roads through the small towns. We followed one of the tour buses part of the way, but we were able to overtake it on a straightaway. We were glad we were in a small vehicle as we navigated the small towns along the route. At Etna we made our way to the center of the assortment of trekking shops and parked the car. There were already many buses at the parking lot. The tourists wandered in the road as if the whole place was a park. We made our way to the Etna Esagonal Trekking Tour as we had decided to do a quad tour. We were equipped with our helmets and then we were off to drive the four wheelers.
We had 2 guides with our group. We drove on the roads and then off road. We took a short walking tour of a cave made by lava flow and also saw a shepherd's hut made of lava rock. The guide explained the history of the lava flows with the most recent in December of 2023. We had lunch of pizza and aranchini with cappuccino. After lunch we headed to purchase the tickets for the gondola as well as the optional 4x4 bus ride and walking tour of the rim of the last crater that was made by Etna. The gondola ride was up to another eatery and sitting area looking down from Etna. We waited until the 4x4 bus was ready to take us up. The driver skillfully navigated the way up the volcano and then we got out for the trek up to the rim. We hiked single file along the route and then at the top of the rim we were able to take some pictures and also feel the heat from the last lava flow at the edge of the rim. After hike around the rim we headed down the other side of the rim back
to the 4x4 bus. The price for the gondola and rim trek tour was 78 euros each person and the price for the 4 wheeler tour was 100 euros each person. Not a cheap tours, but the experience and memories will be priceless. We headed back to Giardini Naxos and had some gelato as a snack and then we took a walk along the beach and found a nice place for dinner. We were given complimentary limoncello after dinner.
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