Pyxis - Siracusa (Syracuse), Sicily (Mt Etna)

Siracusa (Syracuse), Sicily (Mt Etna)

Pyxis

Karen & Richard

Mon 8 Jun 2009 22:58

Monday 8^thJune – Siracusa (Syracuse), Sicily (Mt Etna)

37:03.596N 15:16.722E

We had a slightly better night but not brilliant, although the wind was quiet it was still a bit rolly.

Nevertheless, we got up early and went off to find the train to Gierre - Riposto. Richard had found a narrow gauge train that circumnavigates the base of Mt Etna, starting in Riposto and finishing in Catania. Its first stop was at Gierre, so his idea was to pick it up at Gierre. This was going to be a long trip, 3½ hours covering 110 km.

Ferrovia Circumetnea, Source: Parco dell'Etna website

When we arrived, we found a couple who had been waiting ages for the previous train which had not turned up. Oh dear. We went in search of coffee and an espresso later we found them still waiting.

A train did turn up eventually but it was going the short hop to Riposto, not round the mountain. The conductor gave us a free ride to Riposto where we picked up tickets for the next journey round the mountain in 35 minutes time.

Whilst waiting, we popped down to the marina in Riposto and Richard asked the price – this turned out to be obscene so we won't be going there, even though the view of Etna from the marina is quite impressive.

The trip around the volcano was quite an experience. It started in a very old train which turned out to be the local train serving the towns around Mt Etna as well as a fairly niche tourist market. Two other couples were doing the tourist bit with us; the couple we had first met, one of whom works on the railways in the UK, and an Austrian couple, one of whom knew all about narrow gauges and the history of the area. OK, so it was an anorak tour, but good too.

Etna is the largest active volcano in Europe, rising to over 3300m, with its last eruption in 2008. The landscape is quite varied as you travel around – varying from vineyards, to citrus groves, to lava flows, to urban sprawl . The train climbs to 976m at Roccacalanna before dropping back down to near sea level at Catania.

About a third of the way we had to change train and the train had fewer carriages (1 instead of 2). Then, about half way round, the train stopped and we had to get on a coach. For me this was a nice break as it was a fairly modern, air-conditioned bus and we all got to cool off a bit. Then, just as we were all thinking this was it till the end, the driver pulled into a train station and we were off on the train again. Probably track works – just like the UK ☺

Once back in Catania we were tuckered out and so we decided to head for home; the tickets we had for the narrow gauge train covered us for the metro so we took this to the mainline train station for the trip home to Siracusa. Since the mainline train trip was an hour and a half each way, it was quite late by the time we got back. Luckily the dinghy was still there despite a large fishing boat having turned up nearby (and probably wondering why we were in its place). Still, the guys on board were all friendly as we retrieved the dinghy.