Sicily, Italy – May 2022
For my 26th birthday, I’m giving myself a hike up Etna Volcano. Those who have read my post about climbing the Pacaya volcano in Guatemala know that I love the lava spewing mountains. So, after some research, the day before the hike I head to the bus station near Catania Centrale train station to buy the ticket for the public bus. You can also pay for the ride directly to the driver on the bus. However, I’m traveling on a Saturday and expect the rush to be great on the one bus per day. And I shall be right. When I arrive at the bus stop the next morning about 20 minutes before departure, the queue in front of the waiting bus is long. I stand in line relaxed behind two young girls, whose outfits look more like Fashion Week than hiking.
One person after the other pays and disappears into the bus. Shortly before departure time, I am the seventh in line, the driver gets out of the vehicle and asks in Italian if anyone has a ticket. I go to the front, am allowed to board and sit down in one of the last seats. As the bus leaves, we see the people who didn’t make it negotiating with cab drivers. After half an hour of driving through the city, we finally take a break in Nicolosi at the foot of Mount Etna. I use the time to get a pizza sandwich at a bakery before going back to the bus. The lady who sat next to me before is not back yet and so I sit down at the window. When she gets on a short time later, she asks me in Spanish what time the bus leaves. She probably thinks that I am Italian and already understand Spanish.
So I answer her in Spanish and we start talking. Sole is 65 years old, comes from Cordoba in southern Spain and is on vacation in Sicily with a few friends. The rest of the group didn’t want to hike, so without further ado she set off on her own. Just before we arrive at the Rifugio Sapienza, Sole asks me what my plan is for the day. I explain that I definitely want to hike up to the main craters and the Torre del Filosofo. According to my research, there is probably only enough time for that if I take the gondola up to 2500 meters above sea level. Sole has been thinking the same thing, as she too wants to take the last bus back to Catania in the afternoon. I see a chance to practice my Spanish and suggest we head out together. Sole is thrilled, after all she speaks neither Italian nor English.
We buy our tickets for up and down the mountain and a few minutes later are sitting in our private gondola. As we’re carried out of the station and up the steep, sandy path, I see the two girls from the bus stop climbing up the mountain along with other familiar faces from the bus. Sole and I are incredibly glad that we chose the easier option – at least for the moment. Full of energy, we arrive at the station at 2500 meters and make our way towards the “Torre del Filosofo”. As we step out of the building into the blazing sun, some 4×4 buses with huge wheels are already waiting for us. You also need them to bring the tourists up the stony paths.
But Sole and I have rested enough for the moment and so we pass the vehicles and set off on foot to the highest craters we can reach. On the way we talk about all sorts of topics. From past travels to careers and much more. Engrossed in our conversation, we don’t notice that in our eagerness we have strayed off the main path and are walking on terrain that is marked with large signs as “closed”. But we are already too far up to turn back now. Some distance to our left, we see a group of hikers with guides and helmets who seem to have the same goal as we do. So we stick with them and cross a petrified lava flow before we set about climbing the sandy summit.
By now, we’re both too focused on putting one foot in front of the other to talk. Silently we try to make enough progress to slide back down only part of it. Eventually we arrive at Torre del Filosofo, and are rewarded with a wonderful view of lower craters and the sea in the distance. After a breather, we notice that it is much cooler at altitude. And we want to go further. Finally, the highest point of the active volcano to be reached is in the immediate vicinity. We only have to go around one crater. Together with various groups of hikers, we make our way along the narrow ridge and marvel at the colorful rocks inside the crater.
At the top, this time we can’t miss the prohibition sign that prevents hikers from climbing the highest crater, which has been active for decades. Sole and I warm ourselves on the steam rising from the cracks at the edge of the peak until the smell of sulfur becomes too much for us. Then we move on to the next stopover. Because we have now reached the top, the hardest part is behind us. Cheering, we hop down the sandy path on the east side of the Torre. Much to the chagrin of the stragglers fighting their way up to meet us. Sole even slides down the last part on the seat of his pants and laughs out loud with happiness.
Full of adrenaline, we lightly tackle the climb to the crater del Laghetto. Inspired by the knowledge that the well-deserved lunch break finally awaits us at the top, we overtake numerous excursionists and soon find a secluded spot on the edge of the crater with a wonderful view of the Torre del Filosofo. We eat our sandwiches and cheer on families who don’t quite trust the narrow ridge of the crater. After the hearty lunch, unfortunately, it’s already time for us to head back. At the top station of the cable car we are greeted by a horde of vendors who want to sell us souvenirs in the form of limoncello. They generously pour out shots as testers. When Sole says that today is my birthday, we all toast together and immediately get another round on the house.
Finally, without buying anything, we make it into the gondola a little tipsy. Since we still have some time before the bus goes back to Catania, we visit the Crateri Silvestri near the Refugio Sapienza. The interplay of the dark volcanic sand, the orange stones, the green bushes and the deep blue sea in the background is incredible and Sole finally persuades me to take a souvenir photo. But then we really have to get going to the bus stop and treat ourselves to a nap on the 1-hour ride. Back in Catania, Sole and I exchange phone numbers and she invites me to visit her in Cordoba before I exhaustedly make my way to my hostel.
After a much needed shower, I surprisingly meet a guy in my dorm room that I met a few days earlier in Syracusa. We spend the evening having delicious drinks on the roof terrace of our Ostello degli Elefanti, with an amazing view of the ash spewing Etna and I can hardly believe that I was really standing up there a few hours ago.
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