Once in life you have to climb Mount Etna. It is a majestic, immense and apparently threatening volcano. On the walking path towards the top, your feet will sink into cool lapilli of recent eruptions. The strain of climbing and contemplation of an almost lunar-like landscape are the right ingredients to deeply understand the beauty of the volcano.
The view from the top is spectacular: the Nebrodi Mountains, the Madonie Mountains, Catania, Syracuse, the Eolie Islands and an amphitheater of minor craters.
Just before the central crater steps turn slower, the surface is covered by a yellow-red layer of sulphur and iron and is hot, extremely hot, so that if you dig some centimetres into the ground, it is fire.
The air is asphyxiating for the presence of gas. While walking down the path, it seems you are running on fresh snow, you will see volcanic bombs and different igneous stratification.
After a day walking, the reentry has a nostalgic taste besides a satisfying feeling to have reached the top of one of the greatest still active volcanoes in the world.
Location:
Nicolosi, Linguaglossa
Year:
2011, 2016