As places go I like Italy, there again I like anywhere that’s hot, so not much of a recommendation. The people are great, friendly if you know what I mean. Now Capri, well that’s a different matter. Someone said. “Go to Capri, you’ll love it. It’s a beautiful island. It has cultural and artistic treasures. The ‘Bay of Naples’ with Clark Gable and Sophia Loren was filmed there. Of course that same someone must have told everybody else too!
That’s the moan over with. We could see Mount Vesuvius from our hotel and as you know I do like a volcano, so it had to be climbed.
It wasn’t a particularly difficult climb, nothing like Etna, but the views from the top are worth it.
Then it was time for Pompeii. If you are an archaeologist I can imagine Pompeii is absolutely fascinating. I’m not an archaeologist 😂Aye, it was interesting, there are quite few murals on the walls and we also saw the first ever (so I was told) Fast Food Takeaway.
I had previously thought they had been covered in lava but in fact it was ash. Now that doesn’t sound too bad, I mean a bit of ash? The problem was it amounted to about 20ft deep, and in 79AD donkeys were a common mode of transport, not the speediest of animals. Which answered my question of why they didn’t get away. There was also the fact that they underestimated the eruption, it was very sudden, and with all the ash and stones falling everywhere, the roads were probably unpassable.
So, if you ever get over to Sorrento in Italy, you might want to pop over and have a look. Pompeii is 42 sq hectares, so you need a lot of time or book a tour, and they show you the best bits.
I was told Santorini was the most beautiful of all Greek Islands. I often wonder who comes up with this information. I mean yeah… it’s beautiful, but more beautiful than Kefalonia? I suppose it could be. It has whitewashed villages chiselled into the hillside with their blue… sorry AZURE rooftops. Apparently if you use the word AZURE instead of blue it gives you a heightened state of relaxation🤔. There are, of course the sunsets, these are the best sunsets in the world. So I am told.
If you’re seeking culinary delights on holiday then Kamari in Santorini won’t disappoint. The Voodoo Bar has a fabulous menu so, we had to go back twice. As an avid fish and seafood fan, a Greek island is always a food adventure for me and this place didn’t disappoint. Crispy calamari and whole sea bream was lush.
“What about the running?” I hear you ask, or not but you should know me by now. There are some great places to run or, if you’re not a heat lover like me, you can walk. I found a hill and I love hills, it was at the far end of the village. It led to Ancient Thera, built in the 8th Century BC at the top of the hill (although they call it a mountain) so, my wife suggested we walk it the day before and hide a bottle of water at the top. What a great idea! Ancient Thera is a surprise for you at the top, though. Quite a vast ruin and steeped in history.
The day before I planned to run, as I say, we walked to the summit, the mistake we made was walking up the road and down the trail. It would have been much better the other way around. The road was fairly easy.
The trail coming down… not so much 🤣
The following day I found running up and down that hill looked tough but was a lot easier than it looked and in the heat of a Grecian sun was so enjoyable.
On the final day we visited the volcano at Nea Kameni, this is nothing like Etna as the crater is underwater but sparked the legend of Atlantis. It’s main eruption around 1645BC wiped out the Minoan Civilisation with columns of ash and gas reaching kilometres into the air and and a massive tsunami.
So that’s about it my friends, we got to see the famous sunset from the boat as we headed home and I guess as sunsets go it was OK (bearing in mind I am a Yorkshireman 😉)
As a writer I enjoy the peace of the wilds. It helps me think, especially when I am running or even hiking. Be it the countryside or top of a mountain, I have started and finished stories in my head while surrounded by nature. So when my dear wife suggested we climb Mount Etna on a recent visit to Sicily, I was all for it.
Mount Etna’s eruptions have been documented by us mere humans for 2,700 years and is one of the worlds most active volcanoes, and the highest (11,014ft), most active in Europe. But this doesn’t make it one of the most dangerous. Because it is so active, and constantly releasing steam, the eruptions have less force. Needless to say, it is also very well monitored.
We drove up to the base a few days before we intended to climb and spoke to a local guide, Nino Scandura. We struck a deal and as there were no other people choosing to go on the day we wanted, it would be just the three of us. A little more expensive but, truly, it was worth it. To say he was extremely helpful and professional would be an understatement. He was fantastic.
We started the climb by cable car, yeah… I know what you’re thinking. Why didn’t we walk? To walk the 10,000ft from the bottom would take too long, trust me 😂. Honestly? I was a little disappointed at first, especially when he said after the cable car we get a bus. But when you alight from the bus at 10,000 ft and realise that walking a few yards takes a lot of effort, it makes sense. We were told it was not suitable for anyone with Asthma or a heart condition, and once we got off the bus and began to climb I could certainly understand why. The air was so thin any strenuous activity leaves you breathless. Although… we chose not to take the bus back and trekked all the way down to the cable car, it was hard going. The hike to the summit and back was a mere 10k but took us five and a half hours. I run 10k in 42 minutes! When you are hiking up to the summit it is so quiet, so peaceful and you have time to consider life.
It was my wife’s birthday a few days before and I’m not sure how Nino knew this but after a gruelling climb to the summit he produced a bottle of red wine. I thought it was a joke and cynically asked. “Do you have a corkscrew?” He replied. “Of course, Happy birthday, Gillian.” And produced three glasses, he then poured us all, a glass of very welcome wine.
We hiked our way around the summit while Nino explained the history of Etna and pointed out the four active craters. There was quite a lot of gas emissions and the smell of sulphur hung heavily in the air. This didn’t help our breathing, but as we are both physically fit we coped fine.
Eventually it was time to hike our way back down. Now that was scary. I’ve always found climbing up something relatively easy, not so much coming down though. We had to change route at one stage due to the wind blowing the sulphur across our chosen path. There’s only so much of that stuff you can breathe in. Underfoot was tricky too, hence the walking poles, gloves and helmets. Hiking across the lava fields was akin to walking on shards of glass. Nino explained that to fall would rip your skin to shreds… comforting!
So there you are. If you ever get the chance to visit Sicily I recommend Etna as an adventure. I can also strongly recommend Nino as a guide. As well as being an expert on Etna, he supplied the walking sticks, boots, helmets and gloves as part of the deal. He asked for my WhatsApp details and when I arrived back at our base he had sent me over thirty photographs and videos of our hike.
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