Volcanic Eruptions or Happy 30th!

Day 22
My alarm was set for 7:30, but I was up before then. The creaky beds had once again made sleep impossible. No problem, I would just be ready early. I had my breakfast and then as I was waiting for my day trip to Mt. Etna I ran into Catrina and Summer from Siracusa. They were there for the tour as well, but they were only doing the half day tour.

After some confusion (they lost my reservation) there were 9 people squeezed into a very tiny Range Rover. At first I was seated in the back and it was all I could do to keep my breakfast down. Our group consisted of all English speakers, Jeremy and a couple from Australia, Allie and a couple from the UK, and myself and Kevin from the US.

The drive up wasn't remarkable until we hit a lava flow from about 300 years ago. The ground was black, and looked injured by the dried lava rocks. Our guide didn't speak too much English so I am sure that I lost a lot of the day in translation.

After checking out what I can only call a lava field we were headed to a lave cave. Ernesto, our guide, pulled over at what seemed like a pretty random place. He pulled out headlamps and helmets for everyone. None of us could figure out where the cave was. It turned out it was a tiny hole right next to the guardrail.

From what I could gather caves like this are formed when hot air gets stuck between layers of lava. The cave was very rough going, I kept almost tripping and I was grateful for the helmet. I could either look at my feet or at the ceiling. I decided to concentrate on my feet and that meant a lot of hitting my head. It was also pitch black. We followed the cave back for about 10 minutes, but it felt much longer when we couldn't see an end.

After the cave we stopped at the location of the crater from the 2001 explosion. Climbing up and around the rim of the crater was daunting as well. I'm not known for my balance and the black sandy surface would have been easy to fall on. The top was also very windy, I felt like I should have been holding on to something besides my camera. Still, it was beautiful in a melancholy manner, everything was covered in black rocks.

Lunch was quite good, lots of Sicilian delicacies including cheese, sausage, artichokes and pistachio nuts. I was so stuffed by the time we had finished that I wasn't sure I could do anymore walking.

The last real stop of the day was to get a good look of Mt. Etna itself. From the vantage point that we had we could see smoke and solid lava from pasts flows. When we were quiet we could here the volcano making rumbling noises. It was the type of place that I would have really loved to have to myself for a bit, to just sit and enjoy nature.

Before returning to Catania we spent some time sitting at a mountain cafe. Ernesto seemed to want to hang out forever, but one of the women who spoke some Italian told him that I had a flight and didn't have all night as well as all day.

As soon as I got back to the hostel I said quick goodbyes, although part of me wanted to stay and go out with everyone that night. I grabbed my things and headed straight for the airport.

I had thought I would just make it, but instead I had to wait about 25 minutes before they even opened up check in. I ended up talking to Emanuel, a Maltese guy in Catania for business. We continued the conversation throughout the flight. I know very little about Malta and he gave me a brief history, along with suggestions about what I should visit.

When I landed I was literally the only person going through the non-EU immigration line. When the guy there asked me when I was leaving and I answered the 29^th he told me that was his birthday and that I was going to miss the party. I knew right then that I was going to like this place. This was the first time an immigration officer had ever shown any humor when I was getting into a country.

As soon as I passed the gates I entered my 9^th country on this trip and the 30^th country that I have been in all of my travels.

I was picked up through my hostel and we were there in just a few minutes. I was happy to see that I did in fact have my own room and bathroom. The price was so good, I had thought that I made a mistake. I also had a fabulous view of Valletta, Malta's capital.

I quickly fell asleep. It's not every day that I climb a volcano and reach a milestone.

Wandering Catania

Day 64

I didn't sleep well. The bunk beds here were very creaky, every time anyone rolled over the noise would wake me up. By the time it was 8 am I figured that it would be easier to get up then it would be to try and sleep.

While I was at breakfast I ran into Christina from Siracusa. She was doing the day tour of Mt. Etna that I had planned for the next day. It was cold and overcast, I hoped for her sake that the weather would be better on the volcano.

Catania is known for its fish and produce market, its noted as a must-see in the guidebooks. I spent some time wandering the stalls and taking pictures as unobtrusively as I could. The smells weren't so great, but the atmosphere was exciting and vibrant.

I then wandered just a bit further down the road to the Roman theater and Odean, basically a smaller theater. The theater was under heavy restoration and covered in scaffolding. For some reason they didn't allow pictures or sell postcards. As it was all stone, and outside, I went ahead and snuck a couple of pictures. I had the place to myself and it was fun to imagine Romans holding plays here.

It had begun to drizzle just as I found the monastery and St. Nicola cathedral. I wasn't able to go in the monetary, but the cathedral was free. It really needed some help, and I was happy to see that it was getting the repairs that it needed. It was an interesting building, it looked like it was in more disrepair than it actually was, it was simply never finished. Apparently there used to be an organ here that could replicate the sound of any instrument.

When I had finished the rain was coming down much harder and I popped into McDonald's for a coke and for shelter. As I was writing an older man sat at the table next to me. He asked my name and where I was from. I get lots of attention in Italy, so I answered his questions and just turned back to my journal. He then began talking to the people at the other nearby tables, I could tell that he was telling them that I am from the states. He then turned to me holding up a picture and asked if I knew who it was. I said, of course, that is Kurt Cobain. I thought it odd that he would have a picture of him. Then he told me that he had spoken to him, yesterday. Yea right buddy. I had had enough of the crazy at this point and the rain had stopped, so I headed out to see more of Catania.

Close to my hostel was the Ursino Castle, built in 1250. This is now the civic museum, and like everything else I had visited today under restoration courtesy of the EU. The museum was small, it just had a few Roman statues and mosaics on display. What was odd was that the entire medieval section was recently done paintings framed in cardboard.

I still had hours of light left at this point but not a whole lot of Catania left. I wandered aimlessly and found the Bellini theater and a pizzeria with a devil as its mascot. For dinner I made myself some pretty nasty pasta. No one should ever let me near a stove.

After happy hour at the hostel bar I headed out with a few others, including Olivia a nice Canadian, for a drink at a local club. It wasn't really my scene and I left after just one drink to go to bed.

I Saw a Sign

Day 68

As my alarm when off my brain protested. I had sat up way too late and now I could really feel it. Still, I showered and got my act together to move on. I made the 11 am bus to Catania, despite grabbing water and only have 15 minutes to get there!

I have about a 45 minute time span in which I can carry my bag comfortably. The hotter its been getting the harder it has gotten to carry the dumb thing around. When I got off of the bus I was really confused about where I was and my map was really inadequate. It was just a flyer that I had picked up about the hostel I was staying at. The first person I asked for directions sent me the wrong way and then when he saw me come back he laughed. Jackass. Thankfully a kind pharmacist left his store for a minute to point me in the right direction.

Even with his help I was missing a few streets on the map and was confused. When I got to the Duomo I knew that I was close, but didn’t know how close or which way. Then I smelled the fish market, I knew from the flyer that my hostel was right next to that. When I was just about to wander out of a small square I saw a miniature sign pointing towards the hostel. It had been about 1.5 hours since the bus had dropped me off and I was thrilled to find the hostel.

I attempted to book a tour to Mt. Etna for the next day, but it was full and I ended up with a reservation for Thursday instead. I was quick about dropping my stuff off so that I would have some time left to see the sites.

After wandering aimlessly for some time I did manage to visit the Duomo. The building is not remarkable, but there were some interesting landmarks. The mummy of Cardinal Dusmet was there. His face is covered by a metal mask, but his 300 years are apparent on his uncovered hands. Vincenzo Bellini, the singer, is also buried here. He was born in Catania and also has a house and museum here.

Catania’s patron saint is St. Agatha. She is very recognizable in art because she is the woman holding a plate with her breasts on them. She refused to renounce her faith so her breasts were cut off and then she was forced to roll in hot coals until she died. Her grave is here as well, however it is behind a gate that is only opened once a year and today was not that day.

Earlier in the day I had met two traveling Canadians, John and Emily. I ran into them again when I went to happy hour at the bar and they invited me to join them. They taught me how to play crazy 8’s. I don’t know if I got it or not, but it was still fun. John and Emily had a tour in the morning and called it an early night. I followed soon after.