Sicily is one of those place where it is hard to judge distance. Due to the hilly terrain, travel distances and times are longer than you might otherwise suspect. The road from Mussomeli east toward the main highway is not well signed, so we had a bit of an adventure off the main road driving down rutted dirt roads through beautiful farm landscapes. I could tell by the sun we were going in the right direction; we were just paralleling the main road (1). At one point a cowherd gestured us to the side of the narrow dirt lane so his cows could pass. The cows eyed our car skeptically as they walked past. Eventually, we got back to the main road, then to the autostrada.
As the car climbed Mt. Etna, the road became quite steep with constant switchbacks. At about 2,000 meters, we arrived at the Funivia (cable car) station at Rifugio Sapienza on the south slope of Etna. The Funivia whisked us up to 2,500 meters. After a few minutes to acclimatize to 8,000 + feet (2), we clambered up the volcanic ash to some summits in the area. The views to the south and west were spectacular.
Unexpectedly, we observed a large number of ladybugs on the barren volcanic ash. On a very few sheltered slopes, some very hardy flowering plants had begun to grow.
On our descent on the Funivia and the car, the water bottle I had opened at the top of the Funivia shrunk to about 1/2 its normal size, signalling the relative paucity of oxygen at 8,500 feet.
(1) The main roads in central Sicily are narrow with what appear to be many frost heaves, generally an adventurous journey.
(2) Altitude always troubles me; one of the reasons I cannot sleep on planes.
Cow eyeing our car skeptically
The Funivia
Views toward the summit
A smoking vent was quite warm
View to the west
Craters down below
A ladybug on the volcanic ash
Hardy plants beginning to colonize a slope
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