All was calm as I craned my neck towards the sky above Mt. Etna, half afraid of listening to an explosion that might shake the bottom on which I used to be standing. I’d learn that in an eruption, red-hot lava flows out of Mt. Etna’s crater and clouds of ash and smoke cowl the Sicilian sky. Last 12 months, Mount Etna was so energetic that it grew by 100 ft in half a 12 months. And right here I used to be with solely two trekking poles for cover, climbing up. Would it erupt like Mount Vesuvius? Would I find yourself being a physique frozen in time like these in Pompeii?
That was extremely unlikely as a result of our information, Carmelo, Professor of Volcanoes on the University in Catania, promised we’d be protected on this aspect of the mountain. We didn’t even have to don the helmets stuffed in our backpacks. We traversed the darkish solidified lava terrain searching and as much as black mountains and craters all over the place within the distance. It appeared like a scene out of the film, The Martian, besides the beginning terrain was black, not ochre-colored. As we arrived on the peak of 1 crater, Carmelo pointed to Africa within the distance and Europe to the North.
There have been greater than 1,000 small lava cones all over the place we appeared, every representing an eruption on Mount Etna. Tiny Ladybugs scurried across the floor in search of bugs to eat. The orange beetles have been in stark distinction to the again lava rocks. We climbed up the foreboding panorama, lastly arriving on the summit, jubilant. We every discovered a rock and pulled our lunch from our backpacks, staring out on the unearthly darkish panorama surrounding us. On the way in which again down, one minute we have been sliding in black sand, the subsequent, stepping over boulder-sized lava rocks. I smiled to myself. I’d accomplished it! I’d made it to the summit of Mt. Etna with the opposite intrepid souls in our group.
I used to be on an Adventures in Sicily trip journey together with eight different vacationers, all of us seduced not solely by the concept of climbing the 11,014-foot Mt. Etna, but in addition biking the highway to the volcano, snorkeling within the Ionian Sea, visiting cultural websites, tasting wine in a Sicilian winery, and fortunately gorging on pizza, pasta, gelato, arancini (deep fried rice balls), and different Sicilian specialties.
None of us had met earlier than this journey, however over the past seven days we had bonded, and have been now quick buddies. Before coming to Catania, Sicily, what we had in frequent was weekly Zoom biking courses with our coach/cheerleader/ supervisor and organizer, Robert Penino, who, when not teaching on zoom, is a movie producer dwelling in Tampa and NYC. Coach Robert, who was born in Sicily, is aware of Catania properly, and had additionally recruited his cousin, Giacomo, to information us via the non-active adventures and prepare dinner us an genuine Sicilian meal: pasta limone, sauteed onions, and peaches soaked in a white wine.
It felt like weeks in the past that we started this journey with a go to to Catania’s famed fish market, whose entrance was marked by a canape of brightly-colored umbrellas.
We walked previous octopus, snails, clams, rays, eels, anchovies, swordfish, and tuna, all heaped on ice. Coach Robert had given us every 50 euros to purchase no matter we wished for our spacious lodging in Nicolosi. I pointed to tuna steaks as Giacomo haggled and obtained the worth right down to seven euros for 2 big steaks. He urged us to pattern tiny crawfish and shucked oysters, so recent you might style the ocean.
The market supplied way more than fish: there have been piles and piles of greens of all varieties, fruits, and cheeses like pecorino and gorgonzola and Mozzarella di Bufala. There have been big slabs of steak and carne di cavallo (horsemeat), a Sicilian specialty. As we shopped, Giuseppe, an electronics salesman who was additionally our driver/errand-runner/man-of-all-trades, transferred our purchases to an iced cooler, and we continued on to the open-air market. Here, you might purchase something at cut-rate costs: socks for one euro, solar hats, underwear,espresso pots, T-shirts lined in glitter and pretend designer logos, smartphone circumstances, and an array of clothes together with an lovely sundress with pockets that I purchased for six euros.
Coach Robert had rented an enormous home which supplied personal bedrooms and personal baths for every of us. There was an out of doors pool, tennis court docket, and an enormous terrace which appeared out over Catania and the Ionian Sea. At night time, we’d sit on the terrace watching the total moon glittering orange and mirrored within the sea. We’d usually see fireworks — to not have fun a vacation —- however just because Sicilians love fireworks. On the aspect terrace was an ideal view of Mt. Etna, simply 11 miles away.
The first night time Coach Robert employed knowledgeable chef to prepare dinner barbeque for us: pasta Con Vongole adopted by an array of grilled meats. While I anticipated to hate horsemeat (I eat little or no meat), it was my favourite, a lot tastier than hamburger. After dinner, we every downloaded the app Glimpse, so Coach would all the time know the place we have been, whether or not biking or mountain climbing.
The subsequent morning, Coach Robert arrange our rented bikes, handed us water bottles and helmets, and we break up up into two teams: the quickest riders with Enrico (who sells Porsches when he’s not main bike rides and due to this fact is a velocity demon), and Robert. We began a beautiful hilly trip from the city of Nicolosi, the place our home was, in the direction of the traditional village of Milo. We rode previous pastel homes, their terraces stuffed with colourful flowers and vegetation. The distance to Milo was 18 miles, and I’d been nervous about sharing the highway with automobiles, motorbikes, buses, and vans, however each driver was respectful. And regardless that I used to be driving a hybrid bike, the cobblestone streets terrified me. I couldn’t wait until we have been on asphalt roads.
I’d been hesitant about signing up as a result of I used to be afraid I would not be capable to sustain with the remainder of the group; however Coach Robert was utterly inclusive and made certain everybody went at their very own tempo. No one obtained left behind or dropped, and he additionally adopted our respective routes on the Glimpse app. After each trip (or in between), we stopped for gelato or granita, a candy Sicilian ice cream served in a heat puffy brioche.
One afternoon, we hopped into the van and drove to a non-public wine tasting on the Biondi Vineyard. The Biondi household has owned the 14 acres of vineyards for the reason that 1600s with 14 acres and three totally different vineyards: one 12,000 years outdated, one 2,000 years outdated, and one, a former crater.
Owner Ciro Biondi defined that the volcanic soil and crimson pumice give the wines all of the vitamins from the bottom. The Biondi’s make 25,000-30,000 bottles a 12 months, 90% of which they promote all around the world. Each of the six Outis wines we tasted was higher than the earlier one. I’ll be shopping for extra of their bottles in NYC.
One day, we visited a UNESCO World Heritage web site, Monastero dei Benedettini di San Nicolo l’Arena, a former Benedictine Monastery (the second largest in Europe). The constructing later housed a army barracks, was a World War 11 shelter, and is presently a college and astrophysical observatory. Everywhere have been outdated items of columns and historical relics. Like every part else in Sicily, there’d been an eruption from Mt. Etna in 1669, which surrounded all of Catania with lava however didn’t destroy the Monastery. Our information defined that the eruption took two months. “Slow, very slow,” he mentioned. “We’re very slow in Sicily.”
Another day, we walked up 649 stone steps to Taormina, perched on a rocky promontory excessive above the ocean and often known as the “pearl of the Mediterranean.” Most vacationers drive to this restored medieval city, however regardless of the way you arrive, the views beneath are postcard-perfect.
We continued strolling up the limitless stone steps to an unlimited theatre began by the Greeks in 3 BC, and which as soon as produced performs by Sophocles, Euripides and Aristophanes.
After a guided tour by a neighborhood historian, we walked again right down to Taormina’s warren of winding cobblestone streets lined with outlets, eating places, bars, and slim steps with vegetation in colourful jugs main as much as the residents’ properties.
Another day, Coach led us to Aci Castello, a fortress overlooking the ocean, occupied first by the Greeks then the Romans, and stuffed with historical relics. Below within the sea, kayakers and paddle boarders floated by.
One afternoon, Coach Robert stunned us with an acrylic portray class led by a well known Sicilian artist. We every selected a picture to color. Interesting that 5 within the group determined to color a lemon.
And then there was the morning a Sicilian yoga/Pilates teacher led us via stretches on the again garden. she counted in heavily-accented English, “One two three, five seven nine,” as we burst out laughing. That afternoon, Coach took us on a non-public boat snorkeling tour, and whereas the underwater viewing for me solely produced just a few tiny fish, two in our group noticed an octopus. Still, being within the water was a welcome reduction from the vigorous mountain climbing and biking.
One day we cycled up the highway resulting in Mt. Etna, previous homes that had been as soon as buried by lava and now solely a roof was above floor. I used to be nervous that biking the limitless hilly switchbacks could be too troublesome, however they have been straightforward to navigate because of my electrical bike (a concession to my bone-on-bone knee, severe decrease again points, and the actual fact I used to be 20 to 40 years older than everybody else). I made it as much as the highest with no downside and celebrated by hoisting my bike onto my shoulders (harder than the precise climb). One the way in which again, in fact, we stopped for gelato. Then we rode residence on Nicolosi’s cobblestone streets, which have been instantly not scary.
It’s wonderful what your thoughts can discuss you into or out of. I used to be one of many first to enroll in this Sicilian journey, however as the beginning date obtained nearer, I started to fret about not having the ability to sustain on the bike, particularly as I had been taking spin courses indoors without end and hadn’t ridden exterior in years. The electrical bike alleviated my issues about each hills and distance. Next, I nervous about having the ability to hike 5 hours up and down Mt. Etna, however that was wasted fear time, as a result of there was all the time somebody with whom to hike at my tempo and more often than not, all of us stayed collectively. But, regardless of my preliminary trepidation, I’m not a quitter. When I make up my thoughts to aim one thing, I do it.
By the top of the journey, I felt as empowered as I ever had whereas working marathons or triathlons or climbing Himalayan mountains. When I lastly returned residence, earlier than I’d even unpacked, I took a motorcycle to Central Park and rode Heartbreak Hill, the hardest incline within the Park. Compared to the hilly switchbacks on Mt Etna, it felt like a molehill.
Would I do it once more? Heck sure! Next 12 months, Coach Robert is planning a brand new Sicilian journey, this time to the much more stunning north of Italy the place we will likely be biking rolling hills alongside the ocean, paddleboarding, kayaking swimming, and a slew of different adventures. The second he posts the journey on-line, I’m signing up. Many of my fellow adventurers are signing up, too as a result of every of us had the journey trip of a lifetime and all of us grew to become good buddies. It doesn’t get any higher than that.