This post is based primarily on Don's notes, occasionally supplemented with MT's notes from our tour of Sicily in September 2023. When information from other sources is added—for further explanation to readers or to satisfy our own curiosity—that is set off in a text box (as this one).
Most of the photos that accompany this post are from Don’s camera (with a caption indicating the time it was taken); those from MT’s iPhone are indicated by “MT” placed at the beginning of the photo caption. Photos from any other source (such as the public domain Wikimedia Commons), occasionally used for clarification, indicate that source in the caption.
Most of the photos that accompany this post are from Don’s camera (with a caption indicating the time it was taken); those from MT’s iPhone are indicated by “MT” placed at the beginning of the photo caption. Photos from any other source (such as the public domain Wikimedia Commons), occasionally used for clarification, indicate that source in the caption.
We woke at 6:15 am and ate breakfast buffet at Artemis Hotel, at Via Roma 101, at 8:30.
MT Friday, September 22, 2023, 7:37 AM - Cefalù: Artemis Hotel - Cappuccino.
Our first adventure was getting out of the hotel parking, downhill behind the hotel. MT was supposed to drive today, but she couldn't manage to get up the hill toward the street when there was pedestrian and can traffic at the top of the hill. Finally, she had Lara drive while MT stood at the top of the hill and told her when the coast was clear.
Then MT set out on the 200.7 km (124.7 mi) drive from Cefalù to Etna.
The GPS on Lara's cell phone waned to send us east from Cefalù toward Messina. However, navigating by Don's roadmap, we eventually got started by backtracking west toward Palermo on A20. We had to pay a small toll before turning southeast on A19 in the direction of Catania. There was much construction, with the right lane closed or facing traffic on the northbound side and with reduced speed limits. Eventually, the A19 turned east toward Catania. We took the Sferro-Gerbini exit from A19 and headed on not-so-good minor roads, past Paterno and Belpasso, toward Nicolosi. However, we hadn't actually reached Nicolosi before we started seeing signs for Etna and Funivia (cable car), leading us around to the north. the tour of Mount Etna actually started at Nicolosi Nord (North).
12:07 PM - Etna: first sighting, faintly visible at a distance, beyond brown hills.
12:12 PM - Etna: first clear sighting at a distance.
Mount
Etna,
or simply Etna, is an active stratovolcano* on the east coast of Sicily. Its name may have come from the Greek aíthō, meaning "I burn," or from the Phoenician attuna, meaning "furnace" of "chimney." Etna is
a dominating feature of the eastern part of Sicily. It is one of the tallest
active volcanoes in Europe, and the tallest peak in Italy south of the Alps
with a current height (as of July 2021) of 3,357 m (11,014 ft), although with
varies with eruptions at the summit. Over a 6-month period in 2021, Etna
erupted so much volcanic material that its height increased by approximately
100 ft (30 m). There were two more eruptions in February 2022. Today, there are
two central craters, located southeast and northeast of the volcanic cone.
The
Valle de Bove (Valley of the Ox) is a huge collapse of the eastern flank of the
volcano, which occurred about 64,000 years ago (some sources say 10,000). This
huge valley is about 5 km wide and about 7 km long on the eastern side of Mount
Etna.
The
most common route for tourists is by a road leading to Nicolosi Nord (North). The first part of the tour is by cable car (Funivia) from Nicolosi Nord to the Sapienza Refuge ski
area at the south of the crater at an elevation of 1,910 m. From the Refuge, a
4x4 bus runs uphill to an elevation of 2,500 m, from where a guided walk leads to the summit area.
_______________
*A
stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano
built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. The lava flowing
from stratovolcanoes typically cools and solidifies before spreading far, due
to high viscosity.
Tephra are rock fragments
and particles ejected by a volcanic eruption. Most tephra falls back onto the
slopes of the volcano, enlarging it.
12:18 PM - Etna: navigating with car's GPS toward address "Funivia del etna piazzale funivia nicolosi," now on minor road; MT driving and Lara with her cell phone.
12:07 PM - Etna: first sighting, faintly visible at a distance, beyond brown hills.
12:12 PM - Etna: first clear sighting at a distance.
Mount
Etna,
or simply Etna, is an active stratovolcano* on the east coast of Sicily. Its name may have come from the Greek aíthō, meaning "I burn," or from the Phoenician attuna, meaning "furnace" of "chimney."
Etna is
a dominating feature of the eastern part of Sicily. It is one of the tallest
active volcanoes in Europe, and the tallest peak in Italy south of the Alps
with a current height (as of July 2021) of 3,357 m (11,014 ft), although with
varies with eruptions at the summit. Over a 6-month period in 2021, Etna
erupted so much volcanic material that its height increased by approximately
100 ft (30 m). There were two more eruptions in February 2022. Today, there are
two central craters, located southeast and northeast of the volcanic cone.
The Valle de Bove (Valley of the Ox) is a huge collapse of the eastern flank of the volcano, which occurred about 64,000 years ago (some sources say 10,000). This huge valley is about 5 km wide and about 7 km long on the eastern side of Mount Etna.
The most common route for tourists is by a road leading to Nicolosi Nord (North). The first part of the tour is by cable car (Funivia) from Nicolosi Nord to the Sapienza Refuge ski area at the south of the crater at an elevation of 1,910 m. From the Refuge, a 4x4 bus runs uphill to an elevation of 2,500 m, from where a guided walk leads to the summit area.
_______________
*A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. The lava flowing from stratovolcanoes typically cools and solidifies before spreading far, due to high viscosity.
Tephra are rock fragments and particles ejected by a volcanic eruption. Most tephra falls back onto the slopes of the volcano, enlarging it.
The Valle de Bove (Valley of the Ox) is a huge collapse of the eastern flank of the volcano, which occurred about 64,000 years ago (some sources say 10,000). This huge valley is about 5 km wide and about 7 km long on the eastern side of Mount Etna.
The most common route for tourists is by a road leading to Nicolosi Nord (North). The first part of the tour is by cable car (Funivia) from Nicolosi Nord to the Sapienza Refuge ski area at the south of the crater at an elevation of 1,910 m. From the Refuge, a 4x4 bus runs uphill to an elevation of 2,500 m, from where a guided walk leads to the summit area.
_______________
*A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. The lava flowing from stratovolcanoes typically cools and solidifies before spreading far, due to high viscosity.
Tephra are rock fragments and particles ejected by a volcanic eruption. Most tephra falls back onto the slopes of the volcano, enlarging it.
12:18 PM - Etna: navigating with car's GPS toward address "Funivia del etna piazzale funivia nicolosi," now on minor road; MT driving and Lara with her cell phone.
12:31 PM - Etna: closer view, from minor road.
12:45 PM - Etna: closer view, from minor road (Is that smoke or a cloud at the summit?).
1:13 PM - Etna: stone wall along minor road with lava rocks behind it.
12:31 PM - Etna: closer view, from minor road.
12:45 PM - Etna: closer view, from minor road (Is that smoke or a cloud at the summit?).
1:13 PM - Etna: stone wall along minor road with lava rocks behind it.
1:14 PM - Etna: stone wall along minor road with lava rocks behind it.
1:20 PM - Etna: stone wall along minor road with lava rocks behind it (Is that smoke or a cloud at the summit?).
1:41 PM - Etna: sign near ticket office in Nicolosi Nord for "Commune di Nicolosi"; English text at right (with many poor translations) reads:
"At an altitude of 1910 meters above sea level, in the territory of Nicolosi, there is sport and tourism's station in North Nicolosi and South Etna (Refuge Sapienza). Volcano Etna is the highest volcano in Europe and it became a World Heritage site on 21 June 2013.
"In the southern slope of the volcano there are about ten craters, which you can see when you go up to the highest part of the volcano.
"The summit area facing the south, has changed during the XX century: currently next to the Central crater, there are [an]other two active craters: The New Mouth which was formed in 1968 and it is about 100 meters big, and The South-East formed in 1971, which showed its activity until 1984. The crater between 1971 and 1999 was the protagonists of some phenomena explosives and eruptive often with wonderful fountains of lava. We have to remember the eruptions of 1989, 1991, 1998 and the sub terminal eruption of 1999 and the 66 explosions in 2000 which increased the dimension of the South-East crater.
"The southern slope is characterized by the presence of the Southern Rift, which is an area of the volcano where there are some eruptive fractures such as those of 1792, 1892, 1886, 1910, 1983, 1984, 1985 and the most recently one of 2001 from where came out the lava which was directed to Nicolosi. From Nicolosi, you can see The Red Mountains formed by the eruption of 1669, of which lava arrived and destroyed Catania and entered into the sea for about one kilometer. Also the vegetation has suffered from the many of the previous and recent eruptions. Therefore, here in more then other areas the vegetation area is divided with a slow growth, transforming the rocky areas into woods.
"The bare black lava tongue, is sometimes colored with a fine lichen cover, covering woods, juniper and grasslands, where a[t] last it reaches an altitude of about 2,500 m, entering in the volcanic desert, the vegetation disappears and only pioneer plants remain in this altitude."
MT 1:47 PM - Etna: sign near ticket office with map, from Nicolosi Nord up to Central Crater, showing where and when various recent lava deposits occurred; it also shows the Funivia (Cable Car) from Refugio Sapienza to near "Crater 2001" and "Valle del Bove" just to the right of that; at the top, it shows smoke rising from the Central Crater, the Southeast Crater and the "Bocca Nuova" (New Mouth).
Lara and Chiara, after reading a warning about people with heart trouble, elected to do only the first stage by cable car. Lara paid €9, and Chiara was free.
Don and MT got the "complete" ticket (€78 each) for the cable car, the 4x4 bus, and the guided walk.
We all had lunch at the station at the bottom of the cable car.
1:59 PM - Etna: view, from station, of cable cars en route, with clouds or smoke at top.
2:01 PM - Etna: our cable car ready to load.
2:02 PM - Etna: MT, in left foreground, heading for our cable car.
2:03 PM - Etna: Chiara and MT, seated in our cable car.
2:03 PM - Etna: Lara and Chiara, seated in our cable car.
2:04 PM - Etna: other cable cars coming down from peak.
2:05 PM - Etna: view of cable car over road for optional 4x4 transport (or walking) on this part of tour.
2:05 PM - Etna: view back down to cable car station.
MT 2:05 PM - Etna: Don and view uphill.
MT 2:07 PM - Etna: another cable car passing us on its way down.
2:08 PM - Etna: view of cable car over road for optional 4x4 transport on this part of tour.
2:10 PM - Etna: view of walkers on road for optional 4x4 transport.
2:12 PM - Etna: lava and tephra rocks below cable cars.
MT 2:12 PM - Etna: green vegetation on slope below our cable car.
2:13 PM - Etna: view back down to cable car station.
2:16 PM - Etna: empty cable car at top-of-line station.
The next part of our excursion was by 4x4 bus.
2:18 PM - Etna: MT heading for 4x4 bus.
MT 2:24 PM - Etna: selfie of Don and MT on 4x4 bus.
2:24 PM - Etna: view of summit from 4x4 bus, with hikers on same road.
2:26 PM - Etna: view of summit (Central Crater flanked by Southeast Crater at left and Northeast Crater at right) from 4x4 bus, with grey sand in foreground.
MT 2:26 PM - Etna: view of summit from 4x4 bus, with walkers on grey sand in foreground (mild telephoto 66 mm).
2:28 PM - Etna: view, from 4x4 bus, of walkers on grey sand in foreground and black (lava) mound.
2:29 PM - Etna: view, from 4x4 bus, of grey sand and black (lava) mound with peak in distance.
MT 2:31 PM - Etna: view, from 4x4 bus, of another 4x4 raising dust on road across grey sand, with peak in distance (mild telephoto 50 mm).
Then we left the 4x4 bus and walked the rest of the way with our guide.
2:37 PM - Etna: MT following behind our guide and man with blue backpack up the path, with Don right behind her (taking photo); later, we had trouble keeping up with the guide, with strong, cold wind and high altitude.
2:37 PM - Etna: MT still following close behind our guide, in blue jacket, and man with blue backpack, with Don right behind her.
MT 2:38 PM - Etna: MT still following close behind man with blue backpack, with Don right behind her ( close enough to take her photo with her iPhone).
MT 2:38 PM - Etna: Don following close behind MT followed by rest of group, with 4x4 busses below.
2:40 PM - Etna: a 4x4 bus heading back down on winding road through grey sand.
2:44 PM - Etna: crater with grey sand.
2:47 PM - Etna: another crater with grey sand.
2:48 PM - Etna: MT and crater.
2:48 PM - Etna: crater.
2:48 PM - Etna: more of same crater.
2:48 PM - Etna: our guide speaking to our group near that crater, which was the end of our climb.
MT 2:50 PM - Etna: our guide speaking to our group near that crater, which was the end of our climb.
2:50 PM - Etna: other walkers near us at the top.
2:53 PM - Etna: crater and other peaks near the top of our climb.
MT 2:54 PM - Etna: crater near the top of our climb.
MT 2:56 PM - Etna: walker in our group who slipped on the side of narrow path and slid a bit toward that crater.
2:57 PM - Etna: MT at start of our way back down toward 4x4 busses; problem with lens cover on Don's camera stuck partially open (due to blowing sand or cold?), which fortunately soon cleared itself up.
2:57 PM - Etna: 4x4 busses on winding road on the way back down.
MT 2:58 PM - Etna: 4x4 bus on winding road on the way back down (mild telephoto 59 mm).
2:58 PM - Etna: MT on path back down to where 4x4 busses waited to take us back to cable car station.
2:59 PM - Etna: MT on path closer to where 4x4 busses waited to take us back to cable car station.
MT 3:01 PM - Etna: Don pointing to small crater.
MT 3:01 PM - Etna: Don on path leading down to that small crater.
MT 3:01 PM - Etna: MT on path leading down to that small crater, with darkening cloud.
3:10 PM - Etna: view, from 4x4 bus, of walkers on ridge.
3:10 PM - Etna: view, from 4x4 bus, of walkers near road.
3:15 PM - Etna: walkers coming down to entrance to walking trail, near cable car station.
At the upper cable car station, we met up with Lara and Chiara again and had a snack.
MT 3:23 PM - Etna: cable car station - fries and orangini with pointed tops (like Etna) typical of eastern part of Sicily, versus round tops in western Sicily.
MT 3:45 PM - Etna: cable car station - Lara and Chiara with summit in background (mild telephoto 59 mm).
MT 3:46 PM - Etna: cable car station - Lara and Chiara with a 4x4 bus, which they had not taken, in background (mild telephoto 59 mm).
MT 3:54 PM - Etna: sign, at cable car station for "M.te Etna Sud" (Mt. Etna South) with red line showing (walking) trail from Nicolosi Nord/Refugio Sapienza, past Terminal Funivia (Cable Car Terminal), all the way up to "Nuovi coni eruzione" (New eruption cone) 2002-2003; still farther up, at the summit, are Central Crater, Southeast Crater, and Northeast Crater, all spouting smoke and not included in the red-marked route.
3:55 PM - Etna: cable car station - Don's "Complete Adult" ticket, just before we had to put it in a card reader at the exit and it disappeared in the machine and was not returned; note that the ticket said "Total EURO 69," but we had paid €78.
4:00 PM - Etna: view, from our cable car, of other cars going down.
MT 4:01 PM - Etna: view, from our cable car, of other cars going down.
4:01 PM - Etna: view, from our cable car, of other cars over lava rocks, tephra rocks, and dust.
MT 4:02 PM - Etna: view, from our cable car, of grey slope below us and foothills.
MT 4:03 PM - Etna: view, from our cable car, of another car over tephra rocks and dust.
4:02 PM - Etna: Lara and Chiara in our cable car on the way down.
4:07 PM - Etna: other cable cars on the way down.
MT 4:09 PM - Etna: view, from our cable car, of road leading up the slope.
Monday, September 26, 2023, 9:13 PM - Dark brown and red rocks Don picked up during walk on Etna; we kept them as souvenirs.
Monday, September 26, 2023, 9:13 PM - crucifix made of black lava that we had bought at Etna gift shop.
Then MT drove from Etna to Siracusa (Syracuse), by way of Catania 125 km (77.7 mi). Before Catania, we were on SS121 highway. At Catania, we got on the former SS114, on which signs with directions called it A45, but mileposts still said SS114.
When we got near Siracusa, the GPS had us turn off to the west toward Floridia on SS124. At that point, Don saw "Monasteri di Sotto" south of Floridia on his road map, and the GPS finally got us to our hotel there.
Our hotel reservation for our 3-night stay in "Siracusa" was for Borgo di Luca I Monasteri Golf Resort and Spa, at "Traversa Monasteri di Sotto, 3, 96100 Siracusa."
Borgo
di Luce I Monasteri Golf Resort and Spa was originally built as an austere
Benedictine monastery and was later home to various families of the Sicilian noblility.
Since 2012, Borgo di Luce I Monasteri (meaning Village of Light and
Monasteries) has been converted into a resort that consists of an accommodation
facility, a magnificent villa with a 5-star golf course on the outskirts of
Syracuse. Its address is Traversa Monasteri di Sotto, 3, 96100 Syracuse, although
it is located 18 km (11.2 mi) from Syracuse, via Floridia. It is in the
province of Syracuse. It is 4.8 km (3 mi) south of Floridia.
MT 6:30 PM - Borgo di Luce Monasteri: part of old monastery near hotel entrance (mild telephoto 31 mm).
MT 6:31 PM - Borgo di Luce Monasteri: sign near hotel entrance and parking lot, with old millstones.
MT 8:16 PM - Borgo di Luce Monasteri: very small lizard on wall of hallway on our way to dinner (mild telephoto 49 mm).
We had dinner at the hotel 8:15-10:45 pm, with slow service and confusion about the bill for wine and water.
MT 10:02 PM - Borgo di Luce Monasteri: one of MT's plates at dinner.
BONUS - ETNA IN 2005: Our photos show a somewhat different experience under very different conditions at Mount Etna.
When
we visited Sicily in May 2005, with our friends, Father Mike and Robert,
we came southeast from Messina down to Etna, approaching it from a different
direction. We also encountered different conditions on our tour of Etna, due to
volcanic activities in 2004-2005.
An effusive eruption started in September 2004 with outpouring of degassed* lava from two vents on the west wall of the Valle de Bove. The eruption ended in March 2005. From March to November 2005, there was a low and quiet degassing* at the summit craters. Another eruption would occur from late October until mid-November 2005, emitting a sporadic plume of ash.
_____________
*Degassing: Volcanoes emit gases both during and between eruptions. Volcanic degassing is the process by which magma loses its volatilities to the atmosphere. Degassing can occur at craters or through the soil. The degassing controls eruptions by releasing or not releasing the pressure inside the magma.
An effusive eruption started in September 2004 with outpouring of degassed* lava from two vents on the west wall of the Valle de Bove. The eruption ended in March 2005. From March to November 2005, there was a low and quiet degassing* at the summit craters. Another eruption would occur from late October until mid-November 2005, emitting a sporadic plume of ash.
_____________
*Degassing: Volcanoes emit gases both during and between eruptions. Volcanic degassing is the process by which magma loses its volatilities to the atmosphere. Degassing can occur at craters or through the soil. The degassing controls eruptions by releasing or not releasing the pressure inside the magma.
2005 Friday, May 27, 2005 - Etna: first sighting, from Philosophus.
2005 - Etna: view of lower slope with green growth, from cable car.
2005 - Etna: station at top of cable car ride, with waiting 4x4 bus.
2005 - Etna: 4x4 bus, from another 4x4, with view of summit with smoke or steam.
2005 - Etna: view, from 4x4 bus, of summit and lower vents with smoke or
steam.
2005 - Etna: view down into active crater with smoke or steam rising, next to
walking path.
2005 - Etna: active crater with smoke or steam rising, next to walking path;
note walkers on higher part of path.
2005 - Etna: higher part of waking path, with smoke or steam rising from
ground to the sides of the path.
2005 - Etna: our guide digging out hot stones; Don saved two of the small black lava stones as a souvenir.
2005 - Etna: snow near peak.
2005 - Etna: sulfur deposits around crater.
2005 - Etna: Robert and MT near top of trail as walkers started back down.
2005 - Etna: Don near top of walking trail.
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