Today we visited Etna – not to the top, which at 3,300 m spent the day shrouded in clouds, but to do some walks at lower altitudes between 1,800 and 2,000 m. Our first stop was the Monti Silvestri craters, formed during an eruption in 1892. Everybody does these – they’re at the main carpark for Etna Sud, or Rifugio Sapienza. The views both of and from these craters are spectacular. Looking south the view is over Catania, and I suspect on a clear day, all the way to Siracusa. Looking north, the only view is Etna, looming above.
We then escaped the crowds and did an interesting walk at slightly lower altitude called the Monte Nero degli Zappini loop. This is a 5 km nature trail with little way markers. Very varied, it highlighted the dynamic (occasionally traumatically dynamic) nature of the geology, and how the ecology has adapted. We traversed bare lava flows and craters, some only about 10 years old, adjacent to much older pine forests, saw how lava had carved swathes through the land and how plants then recolonised areas afterwards. Only 5 km, but it took us about 2 hours.
After a quick lunch, the highlight of the day was a 3 hour walk up to the Schiena dell’ Asino (Donkey’s back), with stunning views into the Valle del Bove. The Valle del Bove is an enormous basin in the eastern side of Etna, about 37 square km in area. It has been covered by lavas from successive eruptions, the last being in 1991-3, so the floor of the valley is almost flat and is virtually devoid of life. J’s first awed comment was “Where is Sauron?”. If you wanted a model for Mordor – this is it. It’s so vast that photos don’t do it justice. It looks like a lake of rock – vegetation is lush down to the “shore”, then nothing but rock. From our vantage point on the ridge we could look south over Catania and beyond, and look north to Taormina glinting in a patch of sunlight. Never seen anything quite like it.
Another incredible day, so good that we plan to do some more walking tomorrow.
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