We went to Naples?

A couple weeks back, Mike and I finally got off the island.  The kids had both traveled to the mainland, and of course Sam has been to Germany, but we hadn't left Sicily since arriving here.  The kids had a swim meet in Naples, so we headed up there for a couple of days. It is about a 7 1/2 hour drive and includes a ferry ride.

Driving up the ramp on the ferry.  Once we got to the ferry and bought the tickets, we watched the very organized unloading and loading of the ferry.  It actually was a pretty fast switch out.

Once we were parked, we went upstairs.  They had a large area to sit, a bar for coffee and restrooms.

You could also go outside..

Tommy was not digging being near the side rail of the boat, so Sam had to move in a little for this shot.

This is our view waiting to disembark.

The tom-tom accurately placed us in the water =)

There were a lot of bridges and tunnels on the way to Naples....

If you look closely, you will see an old castle on top of this tunnel

There are windmills all over Italy

and, of course, mountains...

and cities on top of those mountains!

And be sure to look out for cattle on the highways!  I am not exactly sure how they get over the fences, but these signs were all along the route.

Finally to our destination, Napoli!

There is a lot to see in Naples, but I will share with you the sites we saw....

Unfortunately, the little time we had there didn't allow us to see too much more than the base.  So we will have to take another trip to see what Naples has to offer!

However, the day we left was Sam's birthday, so before packing up the car, she opened her presents.

She got "The Hunger Games" in Italian, to help her practice her skills

And tickets to see the band One Direction in Milan next year.  This is about as excited as she gets!

Then we headed out, and stopped for breakfast on the road....

The Italian's idea of fast food is a little different than ours, and their gas stations smell a lot better!

Lava Tube Hike

This weekend, Mike and I went on a lava tube hike up Mt. Etna with the spouses club.  We had 2 guides to lead us and teach us a little along the way.

We drove up the mountain through a park area and stopped and parked at this little restaurant. 

Then we started on our hike.  Now, this was called a lava tube hike, so I figured we would be hiking in a lava tube.  In reality, it was about a 4 mile hike to the lava tube and then we were in the lava tube for about 10 minutes, then we had to hike back to the car.  So it was really a Mt. Etna hike that included exploring a lava tube.

The views along the way were amazing.  First we were in a forest, but at a clearing, we had a beautiful view of the summit.  That is smoke coming out of the volcano, not a cloud, and as you can see, we already have some snow.

After a little while in the trees, we were out in the sun walking among lava rocks.

This picture shows one of the trails that the lava took down the mountain.

After a while out in the sun, we were back among trees, and every once in a while there was a cute little area where you can sit and rest before moving on.  But there was no sitting for us!  Our guide was kind enough to point out that these walls were man made.  Thanks, otherwise we might have thought, as Mike said, that it was just a really organized volcano.

Then, back to the sun and lava.  It was really cool to see this lone tree among all the stone.

And up higher on the mountain there were trees and some beautiful fall colors.

Finally, after 4 miles of hiking up the mountain, increasing our elevation by more than 1000 feet, we made it to the lava tube.

Not sure what I expected, but I didn't know that this hike included rock climbing!

After climbing down the wall, we were in the tube!  If I understood our guide, the lava that this tube is made out of dates back to the 1500s.

Headlamps and flashlights were a necessity!

The beginning of the tube was tight and the ground was covered with loose rocks you had to carefully walk over.

Thankfully, there were areas where the top of the lava tube was open.  Some of the holes were created by increasing pressure when the lava was running through the tube, and the gas explodes.  Others are areas that were weak and crumbled in.

You can't really tell, but this was a cool area.  There was a small hole letting light in and an area that was dripping water.  Above this little puddle you could see the water evaporating.  If you look closely, you can see the steam in the picture.

This is a pile of lava rocks under an area that had caved in.  Our guide told us if we picked up a rock and put in on top and make a wish, then the wish will come true.  I gave it a shot, I'll keep you posted ;)

The light at the end of the tunnel!

We climbed out of the tunnel a different way.  It was an easier climb, more like stairs, thank goodness because I wasn't sure how I was going to make it back up the wall!

Once out of the lava tube, we found a comfy rock and sat down to eat our lunch.

Then we headed back to the car.  It was mostly downhill on the way back!

 

The contrast between the barren lava stone and the lush trees was really cool.

While we were walking, there was some sort of race going on along the trail.  By the time we got back to our cars, they had set up the finish line!  A great way to celebrate finishing our 5 or 6 hour hike!

You may be wondering why Tommy and Sam weren't there.  It was not because they were not invited, they are just lame.  Neither one wanted to put that much effort in to seeing Mt. Etna.  So Mike and I enjoyed a beautiful day, seeing some cool scenery without having to hear anyone whine about are we there yet, or how much longer, or I am so tired when are we going to leave!  Someday they will wish they had gone with us.