Mt. Etna

As our Ford Fiesta races up the north side of the base of Mt. Etna, so too comes the Town of Linguaglossa. A small town of no more than 50,000 people it is the pit stop on the way to the volcano. We stop by the train station and ask about accomodation for the evening. The Church processional and bingo games are occupying the day of most townfolk. The station agent tells us there is a pensione called the Villa Refe just up the street. We decide to have a look.

Maria greets us right at the gate. Her starched blue dress and her messy brown hair remind me of the traditional Latin mother: generous, happy, and kind-hearted. I'm glad to find out that she speaks Spanish fairly well, so we get along with conversation just fine. We find out that she has two sons that work on the grounds and one uncle in Chicago.
She shows us the rooms and all is fine. Angela keeps harping on breakfast at 8. Fair enough. In the swealtering heat, what else are you going to do.




6/28
The next morning we take in breakfast with fresh oj and cafe con leche. The black and white cat stares at us with strange intentions. Lisa gets all freaked out and decides to feed her some milk from the table. Angela later scares the cat away with her booming voice. There's no way I would ever break curfew with this one.

(6/28 in the afternoon)
Today's quest is Mt. Etna. Roughly 3300 feet, it's an active volcano. We drive up in our lawn mower of the car before we reach Piano Provenzana - the last town where cars can travel. We take a 4 wheel drive bus up the mountain, as the wheels are larger than our rental car. The ride proves to be bumpier than Space Mountain.

This was the car:














Mt. Etna fun facts:



It is an ACTIVE volcano. This means that this volcano erupts frequently. How frequently, this is up to you. There have been almost ten major eruptions in the last 100 years. The last big one was in the summer of 2002. Eight tourists died. It was a lateral eruption - spewing out from its sides rather than the top.

There are 25 crators fromed on the north side, 5 on the south side. But can you tell me how many crators are found on uranus?



The lava in the 2002 eruption reached over 7 km. long. It knocked out more than 30 homes and the town of Piano Provenzana . It almost knocked out Linguaglossa, but the park service managed to stop the lava flow 3 kilometers from town.

The lava would have buried a person 20 feet deep.

The 2002 eruption also created a collapse in the Volcano - 40 meters long and 15 meters wide. Travelling Lisa tells me this is similar to how when the roof of a pie collapses when taken out of the oven - due to gasses.

The crators are strangely colored - the colors representing different minerals. white = sulfur; black = bassalt; gray = magnesium; red = oxidised (rusted) rock.

Lisa explains to me about igneous rocks. They are created by volcanoes. Volcanoes erupt when magma gets lifted up from opening in a crust.

Volcanoes are usually caused by earthquakes.

Travelling Sherman asks more dumb questions. Lisa tells me I ask the same questions that her 12 year old students used to ask - including the autistic one named Patrick.

Toby likes post cards and view finders. He has 2 dozen at home.

The pizza shop at Etna reminds me of my 4th grade cafeteria experience.
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Overall, Mt. Etna is a great trip. A must for anyone who goes to Sicily...