Mt Etna

So....our trip to Mt Etna...well, the day before we were supposed to go to Mt Etna, Mt Etna actually had an erruption...yes....lava flow and all....amazing....so of course we were hopeing we could go...cause while there is lava squirting into the air,of course no one is allowed to go.....but....we were lucky.....in the morning i worked from 6 until 8 and then i went to change and our tour started at 8:45, i was so excited....the bus ride was quite a shlep, but what can you do.....when we arrived there we had to go up with a cable car.....

Next was a "warning" that it would only be around 10 degrees once we had taken the 4x4....so if we felt that we needed to rent shoes or jackets, we could for a small fee.....we felt we came prepared and saw no need to change....the view already was amazing...the black, hardened lava covering the snow and protecting it from being molten...apparently 2 days before the entire Mt Etna was full of snow, now of course the lava melted a lot of it.....

And yes...while waiting for the 4x4 to take us up, kim and i spotted the roles....and rasmus spotted the chips...and man...the role was so crispy and fresh....so yummie...some fuel before venturing further...

One we reached the top it was rather amazing.....some of the lava was still warm, Rasmus and i kept touching the warm stones because we were so fascinated....so cool....and yes, both rasmus and i collected lava stones to take back home...after all..this is not something you do every day....the guide explained that Mt Etna does not just have one crater...in actual fact, it has a lot of craters.....and this year alone, Mt Etna has had 13 erruptions already....fascinating....look at the pic below (first one), it shows the steam..showing its activeness....

The guide even showed us a spot where we could place our hands and steam was coming out, you couldnt keep your hands there cause it was way too hot....so cool...and not all lava stones are black, some were red and there were some which were sand coloured, those in fact are sea salt, yes, sea salt, cause before Mt Etna existed there was sea, Mt Etna actually rose from the sea....interesting....and of course here more pics....

After exploring, the 4x4 took us back down to the cable car where we were served a typical Italian lunch, the restaurant sits on top of a once active crater, it errupted in 1983, food was pasta with ragou and peas and then schnitzel and salad and for dessert some funny pudding, so the three of us decided to skip that and rather enjoy an ice cream and cigar (for kim) outside....much better....dont you agree?

The guide showed us another few craters which errupted, before we left. fascinating, how many erruptions there have been.....the second pic is an erruption from 1892, people walking around, i was a little disappointed that on our tour we didnt manage to walk around a little, would have been nice to go up there or even on the main part (when we went up with the 4x4's) to walk around a little.....maybe to hike from there back down to where the cable car was...A lot of people were doing it....i think i would have enjoyed that...but oh well...the best part....at least Mt Etna had errupted so the lava stones were warm.....

After our lunch, the bus took us back to the port....have a look at this statue, apparently when you look at the statue you have been blessed......

Then time to work...had to work until 11, so that my hrs were the same as everyone...but honestly, i didnt mind at all..had such a nice day....learnt and enjoyed....kim also learnt from his nephew (which i have to mention) that the capital of South Africa is in fact Pretoria...and NOT Johannesburg.....

Okey dokey...enough from me....next koper.....a port which we only do at repositioning cruises.....so for now...cheers...oh my...can you believe...just over a week and another contract finito.....

 

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