Naples and Beyond

Our trip to Sicily began in with a late start in snowy Viterbo. Rather than rushing out through the frozen slush, we postponed our departure until a more civilized 11 AM when we boarded the bus and headed for Naples. The delayed start meant we didn’t do much in Naples beyond drive around for a quick tour and then head to the waterfront to board the ferry. Below is a picture of the Bay of Naples from an overlook above town. In the background is the island of Capri.

Our boat was a combination passenger and cargo ship with the cargo in the form of tractor-trailers which were backed onto the ship. The two lowest decks were reserved for cargo, with two upper decks for passengers. Sicily is not a hot tourist destination at this time of year. In fact, it is just coming out of the lowest depth of the off season. Thus, our group of 66 were essentially the only passengers other than the truck drivers who mostly camped out overnight in chairs in the lounge. Below is a shot of the check-in lounge and the trucks on deck.

Our room was a typical cabin. It could sleep up to four, but we were two, leaving it less cramped than it might have been. We had our own private bath with shower and the beds were not bunked.

After a restful night on relatively calm seas we awoke to a perspective of Mount Etna which is only available from the water. Etna is some 3300 m or 10,000 feet tall and recent weather conditions meant there was snow cover on well over half of the mountain. It is also an active volcano. The black splotch high up on the right side of the mountain in the picture below is lava from a very recent eruption. The residual warmth of the cooling lava kept snow from accumulating on top of it. Most of the time the activity is far up the mountain where it doesn’t bother anybody. Sometimes it creeps down to the level where people have built unsanctioned buildings and takes them out which makes the local authorities happy. Other times it threatens actual cities and towns causing cries of outrage that the government isn’t doing anything about it. Come on people – it’s a VOLCANO! It will erupt.

We made port in Catania, shortly after breakfast and were met by our bus for the stay.