A Tour To Mount Etna

Today we took an option tour to Mt Etna. .

Almost all of the people in our group decided to go on this excursion. We left around 8 in the morning and did not get back until after 1. The drive from the ocean road to the volcano's south parking lot took about 75 minutes. We picked up our local guide and then started the long climb. We stopped in one of the small towns that was threatened during a recent eruption but the lave flow halted about 4 kilometres from it. The parking lot is about half way up the mountain at around 5500 feet.

Although the “tourist” season is apparently over there were plenty of people at the site. It is a long weekend in Sicily and the guide suggested that many families were out enjoying the nice weather. The weather has been nice the entire time while we have been here. Warm sunny days and cool nights. From the parking lot, it is short easy walk to see the string of popup (button) volcanoes.

The area looks similar to a very small fissure eruption zone. The colour of the ash changed from one location to another. Normally lava is black. Most of the area is that dark sort of surreal landscape. The last cone in the sequence was black as might be expected. The one that we were walking on was a rusty colour. This is due to the iron content in the material which has started to weather. We had a chance to walk the rim of one of the cones but we were not able to go very far because our tour was only scheduled as a half day tour.

It is a very eerie landscape but there are a few low grasses that are starting to grow on some of the lava from older eruptions. The area supports many grape growing areas as the soil is very fertile. The lava contains a variety of minerals. There are a number of lava tubes in the area and we did see one on our trip back. We have encountered a similar landscape before in the Craters of the Moon National park in western U.S.A. The group gathered for cocktails before dinner where we did a few simple line dances. Go figure.

The Godfather Towns

Another full day as we visited the “Godfather Towns”. There are 2 small towns up on the high hills where scenes from the

Godfather movies were filmed. Yesterday we had a number of hairpin turns on our travels. We had so many more today it was not really possible to count them as we went higher and higher to these small villages. The first village was Savoca. We stopped in the small plaza which has a sculpture dedicated to Francis Fiord Coppola. The movies have boosted the popularity of this place. We did encounter another ship tour. We walked to the church where scenes were filmed . As we made our way up the small road we stopped at a shop selling Sicilian wines and olive oil. We decided to make our purchases. The place had many old residences that were damaged in past earthquakes but are slowly being restored as the town get more tourists.

Down the mountain, a short drive and then up more hairpins higher up to the second town of Forza D'Agro where more scenes from the Trilogy were shot. Our guide did an excellent job of describing the scenes, the camera angles used and any changes made to the area since the movies were shot.

Again, churches and plazas were the main items. This town has a much better roadway and probably more room so it has become a favourite for local visitors. We had our pizza lunch in one of the cafes. We did not order anything. They just kept bringing different pizza. First cheese and mushrooms, then 4 cheese, then pizza with pistachios, vegetarian, pizza and fresh tomatoes.

They kept bring the pizzas until we had enough! Unlike Canada, pizza in this part of Italy has a whole variety of things on them. Then it was a walk around town. We saw the castle but did not climb to that position. Finally back down to the coast and a drive to Naxos which is the seafront area of the town of Taiomina where our hotel is located. Eruptions from Mt Etna in the distant past has made it to this area. All the rock in the water were lava flow rocks. It is where the Greeks first established their settlement in this area. Tomorrow many from the our group are taking an optional tour to Mt Etna.

Finally a night shot with the cell phone.

A Day in Catania

After another early start we made our way back to the city of Catania. From our hotel on the side here in Taormina, our drive took us down around the 2 dozen switch backs and hard curves down to the shore line before we made our way back east. Hairpins and narrow streets (lots of them ) do not seem to be a problem with our driver. We picked up our all day guide and headed into the city. It has been destroyed many times over the centuries – living in the shadow of Mount Etna but has been rebuilt many times because of it's excellent position along the coast of southern Sicily.

Again the crossroads of the Mediterranean was emphasized. This city has all the trappings of other cities with the Duomo, Plazas and noble built homes. In the main square was an sculptured elephant made of lava carrying an Egyptian oblast. It is the symbol of Catania. Lava is used extensively in the city. Ash from a recent eruption about 2 weeks ago could be seen throughout the city.

A walk through the “fish” market was part of the tour. It is more than just a fish market and we returned there for lunch at a local vendor. We had him make up a sandwich based on salami, cheese, olives and olive oil. We sat and watched the world go by! Again we tried to get the local flavour of the city. After lunch we drove down along the waterfront on our way back to our home base stopping along the way to have a gelato. Excellente!!! The shoreline itself was a result of the lava flows an upheavals that have occurred for centuries . We arrived back at the hotel shortly before 6 and got ready for our Halloween cocktail party. Judy went as the gypsy queen!

A Day In Taormina

The beautiful sunny view of Mount Etna marked the beginning of our stay in Taormina. We had a half day tour of the

city. The guide was very good as he walked the group through the very large public gardens which were established over 100 years ago. They contain plants and trees from all over the world. the gardens are large enough to spend a long time just wandering. In the park there is a memorial to World War 1 as well as a torpedo from the Italian navy from WW2. The torpedo was very interesting. A frogman actually drove the torpedo to the intended ship, detached the war head and then sped away in the underwater speed boat. The navy did sink 2 British ships this way. The gardens also provided an excellent view of an old monastery which was used as a headquarters by the Germans in WW2. The area was bombed by the Allies but all damage has now been repaired.

Our guide then took us through the old streets of the lower part of the city on our way up to the “Greek” amphitheatre. It really is misnamed because the Greeks were the original builders of the theatre, but it was the Romans who rebuilt the structure as we see it today. The more we travel, the more we wonder at how the Romans knew how to built these structures. The city has “modernized” the amphitheatre somewhat by building a large wooden platform and installing metal supported seats. They continue to use the area for performances. Gone are the days when the wild animals were part of the show. There were many entrances (exits) where the gladiators would appear. We did not enter the backstage or underground passageways where the devices for raising and lowering the props were kept. This is one of the main attractions of Taormina and we crossed paths with at least 4 tours from a Holland America ship which is in Messina. The third part of the tour was a walk down the main street of the town. Of course it was crowded with all the tours in

town. The street ends in a plaza with a wonderful view of the ocean and of course Mount Etna. About 20 of our group decided to stop at the “best” pizza place in town. It was up away from the main street in a very small plaza. We were early enough to be seated at one large table. There were about 25 different types of pizza that could be ordered in the Naples style. We had a very good time just chatting having pizza and drinking a beer!

Finally, Sunset over Mt Etna. Just beautiful.

Agrigento To Taomina

Today was a long day. We were packed and on the bus for the 2 hour ride to Agrigento which is the largest and best preserved of the Greek ruins. Leaving time was 8 am. The ruins date back to around 3rd century B.C.

Leaving time was 8 am. The ruins date back to around 3rd century B.C. Again there were many changes as the Romans and later the Normans had a hand in developing or destroying the temples. As we travelled along the south coast of Sicily around towards the boot end there was. a distinct change in the landscape. Mile after mile of grapes, oranges, lemons and olive trees filled the gently slopping hills. They looked very well kept. The second thing was that the area did not seem to have the protective walls around to house like we saw in the last few days. The temple area tour took over 2 hours. The guide did a very good jobs of explaining to way the temples were build, the materials and the uses of them. One temple was even converted to a church by the Normans. The area has many catacombs that go down 3 levels. There are openings but they are currently closed to the public. Very detailed but after 2 hours in the sun we were ready to move on.

We had lunch at a very nice restaurant happy to sit down for an hour. Then it was the 3 hour drive to Taomina. The hotel is high on a hill and the bus could not get close to the hotel. We had a bit of time before dinner so we had a nice drink at the hotel ba rTomorrow we will do a walking tour..

Wine Tasting in Mazara

Throughout this trip we have driven through many small towns and villages. One thing that keeps recurring is how all the houses seem to be in compounds. They all have stone fences of varying height around them. Even the empty lots have a stone fence, probably a remnant of the original structure that was there. We do have gated communities in Canada and the U.S.A. But not many houses have them. It was a late start today as the main activity was a visit to another winery Gorghi Tondi. The estate itself was

located not far away from our hotel. The estate began over 100 years ago but only recently did the father along with his 2 daughters decided to start bottling the grapes from the vineyards. The estate is in a nature preserve and they seem to be very aware that they need to maintain it today. After a look at the surrounding countryside, we were taken into the production area of the winery. The wine making process is very reminiscent of what you would expect to see in the wineries closer to home.

Stainless steel vats holds the wine for varying lengths of time before it is either bottled. More expensive wines are stored in oak casks for long periods of time. They have over 20 variety of wines. Olive oil is also produced but did not have any bottles available for sale.

As we wandered through the building, there was a shipment of wine packaged and ready to go. The interesting thing about it was the wine was labelled LCBO. It was going to Ontario! We asked if we could buy a bottle of that wine in their store but it is only for export. I found the wine at the local LCBO for around $13.00 a bottle. She said it would be “around 7 euros if they sold it here. After the tour we of course had a wine tasting and a very light lunch. The items served complimented the 4 wines that we tasted. It was a very nice tour. We returned in the early afternoon to free time. A cold bug is working its way through the bus. Everyone seems to take the opportunity to just relax. Dinner tonight was at an off site restaurant. Tomorrow will be a very long day as we make our way around to the island Taormina with a stop at the Valley of the Temples.

Mozia and Marsala

Today we travelled to the south western tip of Sicily for our tours. Our first destination was the island of Mozia. It is an island opposite the town of Marsala. The island was a Phoenician colony settled around the 3rd century BC. Sicily is ideally situated at the crossroads of east west trade as well as north south trade. The island is protected by a shallow lagoon which was an ideal anchorage place for the early trade ships. The water in the the area has a high salinity and the city used the salt marshes to “harvest salt” and use it as a trade item. Today they still use these salt flats for drying the sea water then piling the extracted salt on shore to dry before selling it to be used in industry. Piles of salt from the last harvest were everywhere. The island itself is surrounded by low backdrops and was easily defended. They built a causeway to get to the mainland. Eventually it was destroyed when the island was under siege and eventually destroyed. The ruins had everything

you might expect from a protecting wall, portals, temples and houses. The attraction of this island was that it had a fresh water supply. The ideal trade location, a built in trade item (salt) and a safe anchorage. A very good set of ruins.

The second stop was the Pellegrino Winery. It makes (by agreement) about 25% of the total Marsala wine production. Marsala is a fortified wine (wine mixed with alcohol) and is sold throughout the world. It was an extremely interesting tour. The women presenting is part of the original family that started the winery. She was very proud that women have been in the business for generations. The process for making Marsala is very complex but follows the original mixing formula. Marsala is comparable to a Port or Madeira wines. They do produce many different wines. The big barrels contain up to 6000 litres of wine each. There were many smaller barrels as we walked through the building. All the wine is stored in french oak casks and can only be used for about 15 years. Then they sell them to distilleries for whisky storage. After the tour we were treated to a light lunch and 3 different types of wines including the golden Marsala. A very interesting tour.

After lunch we had a quick tour of the town. More narrow streets! Marsala is where Garibaldi landed with 1000 men (a fact disputed by our guide) and started the revolution that eventually ended in the unification of Italy. Dinner tonight was back at the hotel. Tomorrow will be a bit shorter.