Sicily, Easter 2010 - Mt. Etna

On a late afternoon we decided to take a bit off a roadtrip south to Mt. Etna and its lovely little villages.

The road proved to be a bit curvy and cracked by recent earthquakes (the night before) which left their marks all the way up the mountain. The temperature at the parking lot, which is adjacent to the skilift and restaurant showed only 7 C! We had left sea level at 18 C!!! The recent eruptions of 2007 had left a path of destruction, devastating the skilifts and several other buildings. The road and parking lots as well as the skilift all seemed to have been re-constructed very recently.

The peace and quiet up there were unbelievable! Besides the birds and the wind, not a sound!!!!

Lava fields!

At 1500 meters! (3000 feet)

One big pile of snow!

Pictures of recent erruptions!

Dead tree but still standing!

This is where the lava flow made its way down the mountain

This could be somewhere in Washington state if it wasn't for the Fiat outside...



O.k. I was going blind looking straight into the sun and freezing, but who cares, right? Once it was Carlo's turn he was squinting just as I was!




While not taking pictures of ourselves we noticed these extraordinary nest-looking woven balls... We thought they were birds nests at first, but we actually noticed a catterpillar crawling out of it! We must ask Mimo, who will surely know what these things are!




Notice the catterpillar?

Descending back to sealevel! It really felt like we were on a different planet!

New life growing out of almost nothing but lava and dirt.

Brrr...very chilly...

The city of Taormina in the center of the picture

What a view!

Tell-tale signs of the earthquake which shook the mountainside the night before!

They look like blak markings, yet they were hollow and at least several inches deep!

Finally, once we reached a lower altitude, the spring flowers returned and I tried to take a few shots, yet the light was not very good...

Wild Fennel growing along the roadside. (That big flower sticking up in the middle)

Wild lupines and small violets... It was beautiful!

We stopped in a small town named "Linguaglossa" where we purchased some of the best salciccia to grill for Eastermonday and a few pieces of pork cutlets. :D The "macellaio" butcher-even posed for us!

Easter, Sicillian Style

This easter, we flew down to Sicily to spend five days with Carlo's family.

The weather proved to be lovely, and experiencing an easter procession in this very catholic and southern medditerranean way was very special.

There were 12 or 15 very large wooden floats which were carried by at least a dozen men from a church on a preset course through the city. It would take more than three hours and most traffic came to a standstill. With drums as the only music accompanying the procession along with the off and on cheer and outburst of "Gesu!" or "Viva Maria!!!" it was a quiet affair. Strangely emotional for me and I have to admit, the lifesized statues depicting the last supper, crucifixion and rising of Jesus made this extraordinary event in history come to life. We followed on foot for a while and then ascended to the terrazza of Carlo's friend Mimo, whose apartment is located very central at the town's square. Great views from above!

Maria and then Jesus in the coffin. Not sure why he was represented laying in a coffin, but I guess it was to symbolize his death.

The drummer boys...

The last supper

All the flower arrangements were made of real flowers and were color coordinated with the dress of the figurines! So beautiful!!!

Actually, the floats were carried by TWO dozen men! They had to make frequent stops as the floats must have weighed a ton!

Notice the cushions on their shoulders? I first thought they looked a bit like the hunchback of Notre Damme until I discovered that they all had the padding to cushion against the wooden beam rubbing on their shoulders...

Some floats were a bit smaller and easier to carry, it was a spectacle seeing them meander down main street...

Spring has sprung!

Finally, spring has arrived and the trees and shrubs are pushing their little green leaves out towards the light. Also, on our balcony things are underway. Many seeds from last years snapdragons and little daisies are popping up everywhere. We also planted some chilli seeds and will hopefully harvest our own crop this year. :)

Chillies ...

and Morning Glory, which popped up after only four days !

Snapdragon seedlings from last summer...

Hibiscus, Oleander, Olive Tree and Lavender... they all need a bit more sunny days, but will blossom nicely this summer...
Green leaves!!!!