Day 5: Sep 12 - Enna to Etna

Gorgeous, sunny, cold morning. Headed downhill and across the prairie towards a misty blue and partly cloudy Etna.

This whole area is dotted with cliff top villages. We really enjoyed Agira.

Just past the town, we were surprised to come across a Canadian world war 2 graveyard. Beautifully maintained. Agira was taken by the 1st Canadian Division on 28 July 1943. This was the beginning of the Allied force invasion of  Italy after the successful conclusion of their campaign in N. Africa. 490 soldiers are buried in this cemetery. 

There are 37 war cemeteries in Italy (over 50,000 Commonwealth soldiers died here in WW2) tended by the Commonwealth War graves Commission. www.cwgc.org The visitors book at Agira was chock-full of recent Canadian family entries. The headstones, memorial and paving is travertine marble and each headstone is named with a distinct eulogy.

Today rubbish was most noticeable, accumulated around the countryside outside some of the towns and villages;  lay-bys seem to be a favourite refuse tip. Not a good sight.

Arriving at Nicolosi at lunchtime we enjoyed what looked like the last of the sun and a lemon “granita”.

Then we snaked our way up the side of Etna to our hotel for the night around the corner from the funicular (1880m). 

We were suddenly in amongst the coach tours, flesh pots and tat shops. Found a couple of tasteless souvenirs! 

Due to the cloud, we stayed around the height of the cable car station and scooted around the lower craters - the lava flowed down to this point in 2001. 

Walking up the side of a crater with a crutch is a bit of a challenge for an old croc.

The cloud was very atmospheric and swirled around us as we slowly made our way along a rough but wide path.

Sarah was skipping along after several hours driving along the windy back roads.

Some of the lava deposits were so pink they matched Jo's shirt. 

Etna is still active and its summit is at 3323m. It last erupted in May this year.

Compared with other volcanoes we have visited - Mount Taranaki/ Egmont in NZ is 2518 m high and last erupted in 1854, and Mt Fuji in Japan is 3776m high and last erupted in 1707. Let’s hope Etna is at peace tonight!  

We hope to go higher tomorrow to the top if possible, weather permitting.

The slopes are very fertile and lower down we spotted peach trees and vines.The photo above shows the cloud swirling (top right) and was in a brief moment of sunshine.

After our dusty, misty short walk, we headed back for a wellness spa and a cup of char.
Heading out shortly for pizza and beer at the local bar.