Mt. Etna

The constantly winding narrow road leading up  to the snow capped cone of Mt Etna gave spectacular views of Taormina and the Ionian coastline. On either side lemon, orange, olive and chesnut trees grown in abundance on the tiny farms there added extra colour to what was already a visual delight.. Lava from past eruptions was evident everywhere fom the small safety walls lining the route to the construction of some of the older houses. We passed one village where the molten lava arrested its flow one metre away from the first house. Folklore has it that the villagers took a statue of the Virgin Mary to the entrance of the Village and prayed for her intersession. It obviously worked a treat. From the parking lot I took the cable car up to an ear popping and rather chilly 2,500 metres and walked up a further 300 or so metres along the slippery snow covered track, but as fog had crept in, making visibility extremely poor, there was little point in continuing on. However, it was a great experience to climb, if only partially, Europe's largest and one of the world's most active volcano. Tomorrow I depart Sicily and fly back to Rome.