Frank's Christian Thoughts: Travel Biography Photo Extravaganza

Saturday, 25 January 2025

Travel Biography Photo Extravaganza - Part 6.

A quick description of the Mt Etna visit.

This is a continuation of my 1982 backpacking trip to southern Italy including the island of Sicily. Last week, I included the rare photos of the Church of St John and its Catacombs in the Sicilian town of Siracusa. Although permissible in 1982, nowadays, photography of the church and catacombs is now banned.

This week, I begin with photos of my hiking adventure up to the active Central Crater of Mt Etna. There were just two of us when we reached the rim. When I was staying in Siracusa, I took the train up to Catania Central for a bus connection to Rifugio Sapienza on the mountain's southern slope. From there, the staff divided us into groups and we all hired heavy jackets, as our final destination, despite being quite far below the crater, was quite cold and windy, even if at sea level the rest of the island bathed in warm summer sunshine.

While I was on the bus en route to the Refuge, the bus stopped for a moment to let a young man board. He then settled on the other side of the vehicle on a row behind mine. I quickly forgot about him as the bus climbed the slope.

After arriving at the refuge, we hired jackets and boarded the jeep to take us further up the slope. True, it might have been possible to hike, but Mt Etna being a shield volcano, such a trek would have been long, tiring, and truthfully, quite monotonous! As we ascended, we passed a burnt-out gantry of the cable car system that was destroyed in the 1971 eruption. The jeeps (around two or three of them) ended their journey at a car park, around 150-200 metres to our final destination - a wall of solidified basalt lava which served well as a windshield as well as a lookout. Although we were at the highest point permitted, we were still far below the summit.

Yet, the young man who boarded the bus wasn't satisfied with his surroundings, even if I was.

He singled me out from the group and began to beg me to accompany him to the summit proper. I didn't resist. Instead, he led me away from the group and having found the start of the trail, we began hiking up it towards the summit, which in 1982, itself consisted of three active craters: The main Central, the Northeast Crater, and New Mouth. The Northeast Crater was the most aggressive of the three, its cone making it the highest point of the whole mountain.

As we continued walking, I was expecting a call from one of the group guides we left behind. But no shouts came as we passed a sign with large lettering reading, MOLTO PERICOLOSO! (Beyond this point it becomes very dangerous to proceed any further). But the young man persisted, and furthermore, bidding me to take the lead.

We kept on walking continuously. We then arrived at a smouldering crater near the summit, I believe named Nuova Bocca (New Mouth). Unlike the other craters further down, this one was alive as it smouldered silently, issuing small billows of steam at certain points within the crater. I wasn't afraid, even if this crater could erupt at any time.

As we proceeded further, the texture of the ground changed from dry basalt powder to a texture resembling wet beach sand. We crossed a level area as we approached the rim of Central Crater which issued sulphur dioxide gas, billows of steam and a loud hollow thunder as the ground we were standing on was shaking like a permanent earthquake. An explosion within the crater sent us running a few metres from the rim, and then we meekly crept back to spend a few more moments on the edge. Then, with my companion's urging, we began our descent back to the lookout to discreetly join another group preparing to board the jeep for the return to Rifugio Sapienza.

Were we foolish? Indeed, yes! Had I not met this young man, I would never have ventured up. But we took a risk, and the reward was some of the most unique photos ever taken outside of the vulcanologist's research collection, which will be displayed here. What was my motive for such a venture? An Italian student approached me and invited me to join him. Could I back down and say No? No way! He would have seen me as a coward, and with all my weaknesses, I wouldn't allow cowardice to be one of them.

A note on the Catacombs of Capuchin in Palermo. In the past, my posting of these photos caused some controversy, especially with the staff of Facebook censoring them. Therefore, I selected two of the less unsettling pics and posted them. After all, in 1982, I was there - alone. But I never felt a moment of fear or repulsion while visiting this attraction. And like the Catacombs of St John in Siracuse, although photography was permitted in 1982, according to the website Tripadvisor, photography is now banned.

I hope you will enjoy browsing through these slides. Many in this group are of a better quality, as they were prepared some years ago when I had better results. These also include Taormina, a mountainous coastal resort north of Mt Etna. The views from Castelmola and Castello di Taormina provide some of the most dramatic panorama Italy offers. Rome was my final stop for a day before returning home via Milan.

Click here for access to the Index for the main Biography where further narration of this trip can be found.

Photos of our visit to Mt Etna.

Mount Etna is seen through the mist from the train.