Our first stop in Sicily after a 22-hour passage from the Italy mainland was Riposto at the foot of Mount Etna. The following day the guests invited us to join them on a tour of Mount Etna which Gordon and I couldn’t say no to even with the lack of sleep from passage. Our previous attempts to visit Mount Etna last October had ended in vain when we were informed it was all closed to due weather (it was just a few clouds!). So the minibus picked us all up along with a guide from our agency and off we went learning a massive amount from our guide about the local culture and history. The stark contrast between the greenery and the layers of ash that crept upon us halfway up the mountain was incredible. We then had a ride up the gondola which is used for skiing in the winter (albeit a rather slow one if you’re used to the rapid ones cropping up in the French alps!) and on to a 4×4 large minibus to take us on up to one of the old craters. The size of these craters were overwhelming and there were still a few little puffs of smoke billowing out of certain cracks. We were amazed as to how cold it was up the top and were glad we’d brought jackets with us even though the ground was so hot underneath us.
The summit of "Mumma Etna"
Our next stop were the Aeolian islands for more volcanic activity! Vulcano was the first of the seven islands (although we only managed four of them) and is one of the only active volcanoes (along with Stromboli). We anchored off the bottom of the slope where the guests hoped we weren’t too close to the smoke! Anchoring next to a smoking volcano was somewhat surreal and certainly not something that happens very often! We then headed on to Lipari Island, a mere 500 metres away and anchored off Lipari town under the lovely little citadel perched up above the cliffs. The town itself was a wonderful little place with lots of narrow pedestrianised streets and plenty of shops to browse. There were a couple of very nice delicatessens where I stocked up on some fresh veg and very good fruit as well as a few local items such as a bottle of Malvasia sweet dessert wine made on Lipari and Salina islands, and the small sesame biscuits which are meant to accompany the wine which both went down very well.
Lipari Town at Sunrise
Panarea was the next island made famous by the elite who holiday here for some peace and quiet in its luxury hotels. It was the smallest out of the ones we visited (a tender ride round the island took about 15 minutes!) and unfortunately neither of us managed to explore ashore but the anchorage was very pretty if not a little open so we were hoping the seas would stay calm for us which they did.
Our last stop was the island of Salina which was completely different to any of the other islands. Each island seemed to have its own charm and culture which meant that they were each very unique and offered something completely different each time. Salina was the greenest of them all with picturesque white-washed houses dotted along the seafront. This, according to our guests, was the island to explore by car and they found plenty of interesting villages to look at (including a large medieval village).
It was then a quick rush back to the Sicilian mainland and into Palermo where the guests left two days later and Gordon and I enjoyed a drink up at the Villa Igeia Hotel overlooking the marina and the bay of Palermo (an incredible setting, just a shame it’s been Hilton-ised).
Clare