Mount Etna

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Geo: 37.8531, 15.2878

There is a long windy road that takes you up to Mount Etna passing by several lava fields on the way. We visited Etna South station which is the most visited. Having parked in the first car park we came to, we heard at the tourist office, that the only way to get near the top was first to go by cable car price 30 euros followed by a truck drive (about 30 euros) followed by a guided tour for same amount. This seemed like a lot of money when we could see the volcano from where we were, and as daughter Helen was suffering from ear trouble we decided not to go much higher. In fact there is a steep climb up the side of the volcano from the carpark, which doesnt cost anything and you can clearly see the calderas formed from eruptions coming out of the side of the volcano. There is some fabulous red coloured lava as well as darker more oxidised stuff. As I like rocks I was in my element even though the climb up had me breathing heavily and requiring several rest stops on the way. Wildy and I took a wrong turning on the way back and virtually skate boarded down on very fine scree which filled my shoes but was actually quite fun. I wish I had taken sturdy walking shoes.
Instead of driving back via the motorway we drove round the side of the volcano heading north by putting shortest route to Randazzo into the sat nav. Wildy enjoyed the tortuous steep route which took us through several narrow rough short cuts. Unfortunately we realised it would take too long to get to the medieval town of Randazzo itself so we eventually headed back to Taormina.

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Comments

[andy hamson]

is stef doing some mafia contracts while he's out there