greek theaters and volcanos

Finally some visuals!!! Today I hiked around the Greek ruins of Siracusa and saw some amazing stuff. Besides the above theater, there was a massive quarry where they extracted their stones and in turn created some huge grottoes and catacombs where they held prisoners. One of them was so big it was surreal to think that they could've done that in the 5th century BC let alone today.

This is from the inside of the Orecchio di Dionigi (Dionysus's ear) where it went back around a corner into complete darkness.

Here's a link to a brief film of Stromboli erupting. It erupts every 20 to 30 minutes, sometimes quite large while other times the lava just trickles out over the edge of the crater. The big eruptions were preceded by a huge grumble from inside the mountain and then the lava shot into the air. This film really doesn't do it justice... you just gotta go there to experience it yourself.

I'm off to Noto tomorrow and then on to Agrigento before heading back up north to Palermo. More photos to come... eventually. Ciao a tutti!

where have i been?!?!?

After New Years and a few days in Roma, I traveled south to Atrani on the Amalfi coast. It actually just walking distance from the city of Amalfi, but it's smaller and quiter and less touristy... and amazing. A few days on the coast there and then I headed for Sicilia. Got on a train that headed south where the train got on a boat and went across the ocean and then the train got off and continued on across northern Sicilia.

I got off in Milazzo and got on a boat the next morning for the Aeolian Islands. I stayed in Lìpari, hiked down to the crater of a volcano on Vulcano, and saw another volcano on Stromboli spew lava in the pitch black darkness of the night sky... absolutely amazing and terrifying all at once... especially as you could hear it growl from inside the earth as it shot lava into the air.

Now I'm in Catania, back on mainland Sicilia, and will be here for another day before I head further south to Siracusa. Having a blast as the weather has been gorgeous the entire time... but I think it might rain for the first time tomorrow. Spero di no... ciao ragazzi. Ci sentiamo.