Mt Etna Day

Wednesday morning, we met our guide for the day and driver downstairs at the hotel at 9. From there, we drove for over an hour to what I would describe as a base camp type area for Mt Etna. There are a lot of small towns and hotels on the way up the mountain. Further up there are a lot of private homes in the woods. It must be nice to be up at that elevation in the summer when it’s hot in Taormina. At the base camp, there were a lot of other people there. There was a group that was hiking the whole way up but we piled into this 4X4 bus up 2000 meters. It was like a small tour bus but lifted up with giant tires. 

The bus stopped at a few locations so we could get out and see craters and take pictures. There was a large eruption in October 2022 so we could see the lava stone from that event. Our guide pointed out that across from the building where the tours met there used to be a hotel that got ruined in the lava flow. Due to the rain on Tuesday, there was fresh snow on the Mt Etna which was really pretty. We got out at one area to see an old observation station and take in the view. It was SO windy, the snow was blowing around and hitting you like when a gust of wind comes while you’re sitting on the beach, only it was constant and snow instead of sand. We didn’t stay out there for long and just getting back to the bus was an exercise. We did get out and climb up the rim of a crater from the 2022 eruption that was further down the mountain below the snow line. It felt like climbing on sand but up hill. The views were really cool and it was a great experience. Our guide for the day was with us the whole time as well which was great.

After we came back down to base camp, we got back in the car with the driver. They took us to the Gambino Vineyard on Mt Etna. We had a brief overview of the history of the vineyard and then did a wine tasting with food. Everything was great. I didn’t love either of the red wines we tried, but I did like the whites. After the vineyard, we returned to Taormina and relaxed a bit.

Before dinner, we went out and did some shopping before having a lighter dinner (only one course) across the street from our hotel. We finished the night with cannolo from one of the cafes next to the restaurant. We actually had small cannolo at the vineyard so it was a 2 cannolo day. 

Thursday is our last full day in Taormina before we go on to Sircusa (Syracuse).