Panoramic Slopes of Mt. Etna

We were on a one week  cruise on Holland America Cruiseline’s ship, Oosterdam . It was a great trip ranging from great food, service, and a variety of amenities and fun activities throughout the week.

Our Mediterranean cruise on Oosterdm, Holland America Cruiseline ended about 2 weeks ago. I am still relishing the serenity that vacation brings to me from daily business  of work, domestic duties of cleaning and cooking. I am thinking hard about how to extend that feeling of calm and reduction of to-do list of responsibility.  To be honest even when I was enjoying the cruise, the idea of writing this blog was a cloud that kept threatening and overshadowing my idle bliss. Through out I continued to gather ideas for the blog and genuinly feel that I have come back with life  and food lessons, and recipes to record and practice this fall.

On our first day, we had breakfast at the beautiful Pinnacle Grill where we had special access as we stayed in Neptune Suits . Sitting at the table and looking out of the window at the great Etna volcano as a backdrop, hugged by clouds which fell around it like a shroud. I knew, we would be in its close vicinity that very afternoon looking at that audacious natural phenomenon.

While a cruise ship is in port, excrusions are offered for additional fees. On our first day, we booked a half-day tour, which was one of several offered,  of Panoramic Slopes of Mount Etna – as I mentiond before_ was organised by the cruise ship. Leaving the Port of Messina for our excursion, we were headed towards the lovely village of Zafferana, driving south of the freeway through fertile paradise of green vineyards and golden citrus groves. The excursion was designed as a walk to see the lava flow of 1991-92 which nearly destroyed the town of Zafferana.

Etna produced its most voluminous and longest -lasting flank eruption since about 300 year between 14 December 1991 and 30 March 1993. Much of the sourthern part of Valle del Bove was filled with a thick compound lava field. The eruption, though not particularly vigorous in terms of explosivity and eruptive rates, became the most publicized eruptive event at Etna so far, mostly due the successful diversion of lava flows that threatened the town of Zafferana Etnea. The lessons from the 1991-1992 eruption should, however, not imply that man is now capable of controlling the volcano.

Lava overran a series of barriers including the bridges built as strategies to mitigate the destruction of the nearby towns. With determination and continued effort, the flow of lava was stopped before it reached Zafferana. Although for a lot of us it was a challenging walk, but it was an excellent way of showcasing the region and deepening our understanding and appreciation of breathtaking surroundings of Mount Etna. As you walk out of the lava’s carpeted area, there is a beautiful statue of Madonna of Zafferana, according to local belief, protects everyone from Etna’s wrath.

Our excursion was exclusively for the Panoramic Slopes of Mt. Etna. Mount Etna, which is the highest active volcano in Europe in the city of Catania on the island of Sicily. Apparently, 500,000 years ago it was a small volcano, and since has been growing with each eruption. Now it covers an area of 459 sq. mi with a basal circumference of 87 miles. It has displayed a variety of eruption styles ranging from the peak, from the flanks, and the bottom with sometimes voluminous lava flows. Interestingly, 25% of Sicily’s population lives on Etna’s slopes and it is the main source of income for the island from both agriculture due to rich volcanic soil, and also from tourism.

Mount Etna’s activity can cause thousands of people to flee their homes, cause destruction of towns and villages, serious health issues and more. And yet, people still live there and are willingly subjected to the volcano’s whims.

There is a general belief that the benefits of living near Mount Etna outweigh risks. A proximilty to the sea and mountains, a nice climate, fertile soil, cheap building material, and a vibrant tourism industry are some of the highly considered favorable benefits of living around Mount Etna.

Our second stop was highlighting the luxurious location of Antiche Botti Restaurant, for refreshment for a hugry bus load of people, located in a valley surrounded by soaring mountains. Since the approach to the restuarant was diffecult, and some of the passengers were unable to navigate their way to the restuarant (tucked into the valley, enveloped in nature’s display of sublime) were provided with a special car service from and back to the bus after the Italian dessert affair. Their cannoli and mascarpone Tiramisu were literally inhaled by everyone. Both of these decadent treats were tangy, and both crispy and creamy at the same time and an  absolute treat for all the dessert lovers. The noise of enthusiastic friendly chatter confirmed that there is definitely a double delight in talking about good food while you are eating with friends.

One of the best tours I have been on, and a lot of credit goes to Cenzia, our amazing tour guide, for her organized and articulated presentation of  both historical facts and natural beauty of the whole area. 

On the way back Cinzia’s skill set provided an insight into everyday life of scilians when she shared her  personal experiences and anecdotes essentially to connect with us. The tour ended with her singing popular Italian songs and everyone joined in a beautiful chorus. I didn’t know the songs but I joined in singing giving birth to a gibrish version, but nobody knew that I had no clue about what they were singing. A great trip ended with happy and satisfied guests. Thank you Cinzia.

1. Internet image ↩︎