This was not a good sign for the most active volcano in Europe.
It was later revealed that this volcano is always in a state of smoking. Luckliy, it's eruptions are not explosive. Instead, the lava flows down the side of the mountain, leaving enough warning for inhabitants to leave.
Several of us were dressed for the 85 degree weather down in Tauramina, not the chilly weather of high upon a mountainous volcano. A couple of us purchased fleece jackets.
The weirdest sensation was that of our legs being so incredibly warm from the hot lava, and absolutely chilled above the waist. It was like the human body was divided in the different elements of menopause without the rollercoaster ride.
The mountain guide wanted to demonstrate how hot the rocks really were. He dropped a newspaper on the ground. Within 7 seconds, it ignited and burned to ashes. It was amazing. The rocks were still that hot from an eruption 5 months previous to our climb.
At one point, I decided to head up the back after a French woman lost her balance and fell on the rocks. I was soon after marked the sheep-herder. It didn't help that we all had little ski poles and walking sticks.
The tour guide, Rolando, ended up taking my stick since I didn't need it. I grew up hiking in mountains. While we were walking, a small group of us later created this story based on evolutionary species found only on Mt. Etna, for instance the volcanic sheep (no wool since their wool kept igniting) and the volcanic sheep-dog named Etnae.
We had got about 1/2 way up the mountain, when we heard this
"Whoo Hooooooooo" from the summit to our left. We immediately recognized that voice- it was a member of our touring group! When the mountain guide asked us if we knew him, I said yes- but Dr. Lunardi shook his head in negation.
A few minutes later, the few straglers that meandered up the mountain found the touring party. Apparently, they went into one of the mountains openings and had a snowball fight in the mountain. It was crazy to hear that they were so high up on an active volcano they could have a snowball fight in a cravass.
The rest of the hike was spent with 4 of us in the back, with Rolando, baying like sheep. At one point, the mountain guide grabbed my arm, and we ran down the volcano. It was awesome! The dust and ash that we kicked up on our decent was so thick, we literally could not see 3 people back in the line. The whole partyl had to stop to empty out our shoes. It was then that I realized the soles of my shoes had significantly softned due to the intense heat still radiating from the last eruption (October 2002-January 2003)
