Bella Sicilia

New Pictures!

A main square in Catania, Sicily.

On Mt. Etna, you can almost see towns and the sea in the background.

On top of Mt. Etna. I'm not sure we were supposed to get so close to the crater.

A view of Etna from the terrace at the farm in Sicily.

Digging a hole is Sicily. This hole was the source of much anxiety.

Ah, Sicily. It's beautiful here. Of course the rest of Italy is beautiful as well, but there's something about the shape of the land here that's a little bit more rugged, less refined. The cities are a little bit dirtier, the people a little bit friendlier, everything is quite a bit cheaper and the food quite a bit fresher. I'm staying with a friend I met WWOOFing in Calabria, Andrea, which is great. It's really nice to have a home base again, a few days to catch my breath and do a load of laundry (it's been 5 weeks now?). I hiked Mt. Etna a couple days ago, which was also quite refreshing. It's a beautiful mountain, though like the rest of Italy, very settled and ready to accommidate any traveler. There is a gondola part way up, then some bus/jeep things a bit farther (if you're willing to spend 50 euro. It seems silly to spend so much to miss the whole experience of getting up a mountain). Only the very top (officially 'forbidden') feels like actual hiking, and it is definitely the most beautiful part. There are sulfur vents all over the place, and you have to be careful not to breath in the fumes. The ground is yellowish white all over, and the wind is spectacular. The summit is about 10,900 ft, making it the tallest mountain I've climbed yet. I went with a guy I met at the hostel who had climbed 11 of the 52 14,000+ ft peaks in Colorado, which was a bit humbling. I guess if I live in Colorado I'll have to get more serious about climbing mountains. I'm in good enough shape from biking and farming that this one wasn't a problem, but the air does get pretty thin up there! I'm staying with Andrea for a couple more days (so far we've made homemade pesto with basil from his garden, lasagne with besciamella (no idea how to spell it in English, beshmell?) sauce, and crepes), then I'm going to a farm near Catania which advertises meditation as one of the common activities. I'm excited to give that a try for a bit, I hope I have the will power to do a bit every day while I'm there.