Mt. Etna is alive and well.

Well, what a different Friday we had today. We had an early start and headed to Mt. Etna. It's the highest volcano in Europe, which is among the most active in the world – standing over 3200 metres tall with an average basal diameter of 40 km – which dominates the entire island with its size.

We went a long way up the mountain in our coach. Our driver continues to amaze us with his skill on the skinny curvy mountain road. The higher we got the more lava we saw from previous eruptions. When plants have grown up around the lava that means the eruptions were long ago. The less vegetation the more recent. Four main craters shape Mt. Etna's form – but if an eruption occurs, it often happens on its slopes, when the lava seeks a completely new exit (lateral eruption). The guide said one of the craters is well sealed with basalt from previous eruptions and not really doing anything.

When we reached the base camp we left the bus and caught a gondola up higher for about 14 minutes. We then hiked further up. While the slope wasn't too bad the lava stones and powder under foot were rather tricky to walk on. The worst part for me and many was that the altitude made breathing harder as we weren't used to the rare air. It didn't take much effort to really puff me out!! Our group went to about 2900 metres (9515 ft) above sea level. We saw some hikers higher up but we went as far as the guides take general groups. It really was fascinating. It was like being on a different planet. The views over the countryside and coast were beautiful but a bit hazy and too far away for clear photos.

There are eruptions of some sort pretty much every year. That time has had decreased over time. The last was late last year. Our guide pointed out one area that was like a valley and he said he used to ski there in winter. It is now 200m higher due to the lava from one of the eruptions and not really a valley now. The landscape regularly changes and so the height of the mountain changes.

This was a very different activity for us. We weren't sure what to expect but we are so glad we spent the morning on Mt. Etna. It was awesome.

After the Mt. Etna excursion our coach load of tired people were taken to Ecoteca Dell'Etna which is a winery, olive oil producer, a restaurant plus a shop (wine, olive oil and other goods). It is located in the town of Ragalna. After a bit of a tour we went to the restaurant. The drinkers of the group enjoyed wine tastings throughout our lunch. It wasn't a standard meal but a mix/ tasting of many Sicilian dishes and foods. We had Olive Oil Tasting, a Charcuterie Platter, Sicilian Mixed Fried Food (Arancini etc), a local Cheese Platter, Vegetable Caponata, Eggplant Parmigiana, Caliceddi with Croutons, and Cannoli for Dessert. The olive oils were interesting. They have many different infused oils and we got to taste 4. Our favourites were Ginger and Apple. We didn't get to taste the Orange one I saw in the shop but if we didn't have so many weeks of travel still ahead of us I'd have at least purchased the orange olive oil. Not all the food was photographed but we had so many things to try we almost needed to roll out to the bus.

We're very glad we have nothing happening tonight. Time to wash some clothes and have a night of rest. We have a later start tomorrow too. Yay!Les mer