Taormina to Mt Etna

Last night we had the most wonderful meal at a local restaurant, Al Saraceno - the most wonderful fish and everything beautifully presented and very good service. 

There was much mirth at the table at the expense of Ant and Leslie who are NOT HAPPY that the air conditioning at the hotel is not working; none of us are. Hopefully we'll get a sea breeze tonight. Not sure if Ant and Leslie won't de-camp later on to better digs. We'll find out in the morning.

After a very humid night, I got up early and walked down into the historical centre of town. The sunrise greeted me as I started out; and down in Taormina I had the place to myself apart from a few early risers amongst the locals who were setting up their bars or pasticerria for business.

Following my walking guide notes, I ticked off Palazzo Corvaja (a medieval Sicilian palace dating from the 10th century - a mix of Arab, Norman and Gothic battlements and mullioned windows); the Odeon (a small theatre built by the Romans when the town became a military colony in 21 BC and used both for theatrical and musical performances for the elite); and the Naumachiae (a 400-foot long brick wall of 16-foot high niches that, around the middle of the AD 2nd century, formed a wall between an Imperial Roman gymnasium and an ancient cistern).

Continuing down the main drag, Corso Umberto, I came to the attractive Piazza IX Aprile that had nice views over the coast; past the 15th century Sant'Agostino church; through the Porto di Mezzo with its 12th century clock tower; a quick detour up stairs to the Palazzo Ciampolo built in 1412; and finally to the Piazza del Duomo (complete with 13th century cathedral and Baroque fountain).

The sun cast a nice early morning light over the still-waking town as I passed through and then up the via crucis once more: the steep pilgrim climb up to our hotel at Castelmola in time for a quick breakfast and to finish packing for our departure.

We drove into the valley of the Alcantara river, irrigated by a complex system of basins and canals dating back to the times of the Arab domination of Sicily. We stopped at a unique canyon cut through an ancient lava flow of Mt Etna for a short walk down to the river.

From here we travelled on towards Francavilla, where we walked through a pleasant and terraced landscape of orchards and fruit trees (limes, lemons, persimmon, loquat, fig) as well as olive and chestnut trees - the area irrigated originally by the Arabs - until we reached the Alcantara river again where there were a series of gurne (natural pools) with lovely turquoise colour. 

We then continued by bus along the Alcantara river, up to the charming little town of Linguaglossa, where our driver Christian lives. After lunch we enjoyed a refreshing granita here.

But lunch was a real highlight: we visited a Mt Etna winery, Il Gambino, at Castiglione di Sicilia, where we were treated to a generous wine-tasting of the most wonderful wines and a lunch of cheeses, salami, grilled sausage and a nice dessert.

After our granita in Linguaglossa, we drove along the scenic via MareNeve, the road of the sea and snow. From here we could see the most recent lava flows, some of which date back only a few years, reminding us that Mt Etna is still an active volcano!

Our bus then took us to the Sartorius Mountains, a completely different landscape, and from here we had a lovely walk partly through the forest, partly over older lava flows. 

It was then on to the southern side of Mt Etna via Zafferana: again completely different in landscape. By now it was getting late in the day but the landscape was quite picturesque, lit up by the late afternoon sun. 

We settled into our base for the next 2 nights, a charming hotel on the southern slopes of Mt Etna and the highest hotel on Mt Etna.