At last, Sicily

Our stay in Italy is gradually coming to an end. We have enjoyed every moment of it. We have loved the scale of the country; the rapid changing landscape; the warm and sunny days and also the non-stopping rainy days; the food; the wine;  and, of course, the many hilltop towns. But the most exciting bits we have left to the end: Sicily, the Aeolian Islands and volcanoes.

The Aeolian islands sit on the Mediterranean sea, north of Sicily. To get there, we need to take a ferry from Reggio to Sicily, and another one from Sicily to the islands.

But before we cross over to Sicily, there is one national park in the Calabria region, south Italy, which we would like to explore.

The park is called Parco dell’Aspromonte. Our objective, as usual, is to climb the highest peak: Montalto (1,955m)

The park is a long way from Belmonte Calabro, where we slept last night. So we have been driving all day in order to get to the park before 18.00. Hopefully, the visitor centre will be open and can tell us a bit more about the trek.

So although we have not done a great deal of activity today, we have had a nice drive. We have seen an amazing coastline, had lunch on the beach and driven up impressive mountains.

We are now very close to Gambrie, the village where the trek starts. We feel pretty tired. It would be nice to stretch out these legs and walk them around the village for a bit.

Now, the weather has turned pretty nasty pretty quickly. It is pissing down.

And after the rain, hale. It getting quite cold in Dora. We are having doubts about doing this walk tomorrow.

Because now we remember that we have not checked the weather forecast in this area, which is pretty bad from our side. Mountains have their own microclimate. You can never take them from granted, even if you are in a country, with the reputation of always having sunny weather like Italy.

We eventually arrive at Gambrie. Although it is 16.30, it looks 22.00, as it is so dark. Luckily, there is a large car park at the edge of the village. So we just stop here.

We should really walk around the village to find this visitor centre before they close but it is so miserable, cold and windy outside. So we stay in and wait until it calms down.

What should we do? We could do a bit of IT, but the computers are not fully charged. We could have a game of parchis, but I am really bored of losing. So I ask Gary to remind me how to play cribbage. He raises his eye brows. I know what he is thinking. Apparently, I am a very frustrating student, I don’t listen and question all the rules. I promise him to be good this time. He doesn’t believe me.

But although I am trying hard, I cannot concentrate. The weather is getting worst. The hale has turn into snow and it is settling in rapidly. The idea of driving Dora on the snow petrifies me.

Suddenly, a group of young guys with their sporty cars turn up at the car park. They start swerving on the slippery pavement. They want to have a bit of fun on the snow. But it is not funny. One of them has got so close to Dora that we thought he was going to hit her. I am more uncomfortable by the minute. Poor Gary continues with her cribbage lesson.

Until I finally say it: “I feel very claustrophobic. I don’t know what is wrong with me” Gary suggests we get out of this place. This means we won’t do any climbing tomorrow. Let’s face it, who would if the conditions continue like this?

So we pack up and drive to Reggio, where we will spend the night. Then we can the ferry to Sicily tomorrow, a day earlier than we anticipated, which we don’t mind. We can’t wait to start our series of climbs to the volcanoes.

It is 18.00, still daylight. We only need to drop fifteen kilometres down to the coast to get back to sunny weather.

The weather gradually clears. The sun shyly appears through the clouds. I feel much better now.

And back to the warm, to the lively colours, to the smell of spring.

It hasn’t taken that long to come off that mountain.

After only one hour, we arrive at Reggio. The aire has been so easy to find, as it is on the main beach. We get out for a bit of a wander.

And see Sicily from here.

There it is, so close to the mainland, only 20 minutes on the ferry. Can we see Mount Etna from here? We would like to think it is the furthest one on the horizon.

Reggio looks pretty lively at this time in the evening.

 

The next day, I wake up early. “Let’s go and get the ferry to Sicily as soon as possible” I hurry Gary up. The ferries between Reggio to Sicily are frequent. Luckily, one is about to leave when we get to the port. We only have time to buy a ticket and get Dora inside.

She is pretty lonely. No friends around.

Bye, bye mainland. See you in a week.

Hello Sicily, here we come.

Where is Mount Etna?

It is quite nippy. I don’t like the cold but I refuse to go inside, not until I see Etna, but she isn’t selling herself too cheaply. I am already liking this volcano. She is quite moody, like me.

Getting out of the ferry has been quick and smooth. We are now driving along the coast of Sicily. Our destination is sleeping somewhere close to Mount Etna, so that we can climb it tomorrow. This volcano is in constant activity but hopefully she will let us get closer to her crater.

So far, the coast line of Sicily looks pretty similar to that of the mainland. There it is, the first hilltop town.

After a nice lunch on the beach, we continue to drive towards the Etna national park and… there she is, hiding behind the clouds.

I wait for a bit until the clouds moves, I zoom in. Nothing, I cannot see her summit. She looks pretty covered in snow…

We are here, at Paterno. The aire we have chosen is at the back of a petrol station. Not the most sophisticated places we have slept but it has plenty of water to replenish Dora’s dried water tank.

Let’s have an early night. We need to save energy for tomorrow.

SM