Few things intimidate me but somehow walking along the volcanic soil of a crater on the side of Mount Etna certainly did! The footing wasn't bad but it was steep and of course had no guard rails. I did hold tight to Jim except when taking a few (ok a lot) of photos! I had learned not to take pictures on the bus - all of the reflections!
This crater seemed very tame, but we could see lava flows all the way on the drive up including a house that had been completely buried in the lava. I know the soil is very fertile here, but I cannot imagine sleeping anywhere near here! The wind was quite cool and we were glad we followed the guidelines of packing a warm fleece. Never noticed how far we had hiked up until we looked back to see fellow tourists were very, very tiny and far below. The colors in the surrounding rocks were filled with oranges in addition to the black of the lava.
The small figures near the center are people!
Food on Mount Etna
Funny how a little thing like altitude can make you feel funny! Many folks were having some coffee using the caffeine to help with headaches caused by higher altitudes. Being Italy there was many, many baked goods as well. A gift shop carried items made from the volcanic rock so plentiful here. Jamie was looking for a volcanic figure that had made him laugh, Mark finally found it days later in Catania!
