Italy 2001

 

Catania

 

Etna had just erupted a little over a week earlier and the lava devasted the chairlift station

 

I rode up most of the mountain in a Merceded 4x4, but it was so hot and sickening, with all of the bouncing, that at one of the stops I decided not to get back into the vehicle. Instead I just walked up a bit more and then all the way down alone on foot. The air was refreshing and the experience way better than in the 4x4.

 

 

A very neat and nearly cooled lava wall

 

One must wonder what this little insect was doing way up here in the lava fields

 

The full expanse of the lava field and Etna's peak in the background

 

Looking in the other direction, there were two major vents, more of the former chairlift operation, and Catania in the background

 

 

 

A lot of these sulfur gas emitting fissures were extremely hot. If you tossed a paper tissue at it, the paper would catch fire in mid-air.

 

Catania with Etna looming above

 

 

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