Taormina & Mt. Aetna

Mt. Aetna's craters are still smoking. Steam rises up from the ground we were walking on, the ground is very warm.
see all photos »

At about 10a.m. this morning in full sail, we passed through the Strait of Messina between the Italian mainland and the island of Sicily. It was very interesting in the fact that you could tell by the water surface and the change in color that we were passing from the deep part of the Tyrrhenian Sea onto the shallower part of the Ionian Sea.

The National Geographic tour people gathered in the Forward Lounge for another talk by Erla Zwingle titled " Merchants, Crusaders, Pirates & Admirals: How Venetians Dominated the Eastern Mediterranean". I have really enjoyed her talks, she is very knowledgeble and has a good way of imparting her ideas.

The thin air and strong smell of sulphur made it difficult to breathe ...

We enter the Strait of Messina with Mt. Aetna looming in the distance
see all photos »

The Venetian Empire depended on trade so basically their empire was not about religion but about money and power and the goal was to make their trading routes secure. The empire lasted from 1000 A.D. to about 1700 A.D.

I also learned that the term "slavs", as in Slavic nations, came from the fact that as merchant traders, the Venetians not only traded product as we think of it but also people or slaves. As they got most of their slaves from the Dalmation area, it became known as the slavic countries.

We arrive at the port town of Giardina Naxos, settled initially by the Greeks. Taormina is above it, with yet another town far above it. Towns didn't trust each other back then...
see all photos »

After lunch and docking in Naxos on Sicily around 2 p.m., we grabbed a tender with the rest of our tour group and headed towards Mount Etna. We took a bus up to 8000 ft, then took a cable car up to 9500 ft and from there we went in large four wheel drive vehicles up to 11,000 ft (and enjoyed a very bumpy ride). I think we are being prepared for the 4x4 tour of the island of Corfu.

The thin air and strong smell of sulphur made it difficult to breathe and most everyone was coughing. We hiked out along a couple of craters with geologists/vulcanologists, the only way anyone is allowed there. The mountain is steaming in many locations including some of the path that we walked on. Somehow it just looked like we were on another planet.... quite an experience.

Our tour guide explains the advantages of an Aetna Life Insurance Policy :-)
see all photos »

Our bus dropped us off in Taormina (the old town above Naxos) around 7 p.m. and we explored on our own. There was a parade of people singing and holding candles and we found out later that it was the day of the Festival of Saint Anthony. We walked a while window shopping & then found a place to eat, Ristorante La Buca, which was a couple of levels lower (this city is built on a mountain) with a view of the ocean. I ate a Seafood Salad ( with Mussels, Calamari, etc), Tortellini with Porcini mushrooms and Beef Fillet with Spinach. Of course, we ended the meal with espresso and then caught a taxi to head back to the Port of Naxos. We arrived back on the ship around 11 p.m. and we are to sail around midnight.....