Etna

Wandering in the region of Catania, you cannot miss Etna. She is towering (approx 3.357m) and ever present, when not covered in clouds. Every morning, she is greeting us when we walk out of the house. Lately she is smoking like a chimney. Being a founding member of the Most Active Volcanoes Club, she frequently puts on spectacular firework shows. Her history of eruptions is long and volatile. In 2021 she produced so much lava that it added 30m to her height. It is weird to imagine a mountain that self propagates but that's the essence of volcanoes. It is also spectacular that she is made entirely out of solidified lava. Lava that you encounter from kilometers away, and that slowly breaks down into rich fertile soil that feeds lush forests in her foothills. A very different scenery than the dry desert fields where we live. There are vineyards that grow in these lava fields. Their wine must taste volcanically feisty.

The only drawback of Etna is her over commercialisation, which is hard to escape. There are paid tiers and restrictions, supporting a hustly but vibrant business model of excursions and tour operations. This is the fate of many popular mountains yet a familiar sadness to experience. I mumble about the lost sense of adventure and Yana teases me that I turned into a grumpy grandpa. Despite that, Etna is impressive. There are fuming craters, airy solidified lava, and a landscape that could easily be Marslike, or Moonlike. A much easier way to space travel. There is also a surprising population of ladybugs, that despite all odds seem to be thriving at 2500m on nothingness and dried lava.