Zafferana/Etna - Day seven

We got up early and had breakfast on our last full day in Sicily, ready for what was going to be an interesting adventure - hiking and touring on Etna.  Due to strong winds and the possibility of snow, we did not have the chance to ride the lift to higher elevations on Etna, but we did go up on a tour to Rifugio Sapienza with a guide from Etna Experience.  Our guide, Giovanni, did a great job describing the terrain we drove through, the lava fields, and once we were on Etna, some of the science behind the volcano and the many craters we saw.

Etna

We drove up from the Nicolosi side of Etna, where Etna Experience has a "base camp".  I decided to use their hiking boots and a heavy jacket that they provided, even though it was reasonably warm and sunny at 700 meters.  When we got to Rifugio Sapienza, closer to 2000 meters of elevation, I was glad I had both.

Giovanni led us up the volcano to a series of craters and described the development of the volcano, some of the history and some of the science behind Etna.  While it was sunny (foreshadowing), we could see Catania and the Mediterranean in the distance.  Giovanni noted that it was the only place in Europe you could ski and visit the beach in just an hour or so.  

We hiked through the snow to a very large and extremely deep crater, at which point the clouds rolled in and it began to snow.  In about 10 minutes, visibility dropped to about 100 feet and the wind was blowing about 30-40 miles an hour.  We spent another 20 to 30 minutes hiking around some craters and then proceeded back to the van.

 

Dinner

As we did in on other days, we returned to our hotel, changed and walked downtown to look at the shops.  Since it was early, none of the restaurants were open, so we stopped and had refreshments - a beer for me, coffee for my wife, at a small place on the piazza called Donna Pippina.  The baked goods and the arancini there were excellent.  

We found a place that was open only on the weekends, since we were not visiting during a high tourist season, on the main square in Zafferana, an enoteca called Il Castello Di Bacco.  Here we had some delicious food, focused on local specialties, including a pasta with pistachios in the sauce and a Sicilian fried pizza.

Bow tie pasta in a cream sauce with pistachios

Fried Sicilian pizza

After a very good dinner, we walked back up the hill to our hotel to prepare for the long trip home.