Travel Tuesdays: Mt. Etna, Sicily, Italy

Happy Travel Tuesday! Last week I took you along to the town of Taormina, Sicily. Join me this week for the second part of that trip, up the volcano of Mount Etna!

Mount Etna is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. It is actually sometimes visible from Malta, where I was living at the time, and I remember it erupted while I was there--but luckily not on the day I was in Sicily. ;)

The word Etna comes from the Greek word meaning "I burn." In Greek mythology, the forges of Hephaestus, the god of blacksmiths, artisans, metallurgy, and fire, were said to lie beneath it. The Italian name for Etna is simply Montebello, "beautiful mountain,"--Mungibeddu or Mongibello in Sicilian. In the Arthurian legends, "Mongibel," associated with the region of Mt. Etna, is the name of the otherworld realm of Arthur's half-sister, the enchantress Morgan le Fay. There is a story of Arthur returning a lost horse that had strayed into the subterranean kingdom beneath Etna.

My adventures on the mountain were much less dramatic. A bus took us most of the way up the mountain and let us out near the top to hike, take pictures, and shop in the vast array of of tourist traps. I actually bought some beautiful cut volcanic stone trivets as Christmas gifts, but unfortunately I don't have any pictures of them. So here are my pictures of the mountain. Enjoy!

This was the part of the mountain I climbed. Not such a long way, but...

This is what I was wearing on my feet. Definitely not the best shoes for hiking on gravel. It was two steps forward and one step back, and I got very dirty. But it was totally worth it. :)

It was actually pretty cold up there, and I was glad I had brought a jacket to wear over my cotton summer dress!

At the summit!

Looking back down the trail I had hiked.

Another view.

And this is my favorite picture. New life, up from the ashes.

Well, thanks for hiking with me. If you want to watch actual eruptions, check out the sweet video below. And join me next week to explore the city of Catania below the mountain!