This post was written by Caitlyn Connely, a senior accounting major.
I never thought that one day I would be able to say that I hiked up a volcano, nor did I think I would want to, but here I am! My name is Caitlyn Connely, I am a senior accounting major with a love for wine. On our first full day on the island of Sicily, Italy, we got to hike up Mt. Etna and learn all about the volcano and its surroundings. For some background, this volcano is located on the east coast of Sicily and is one of the world’s most active volcanoes. Just this last year, it erupted fifty times, the most recent one being this past December.
We started off today’s adventures by grabbing some gear that was needed to head up to the top of the mountain. Luckily, it was blue skies and sunny all day which made the day even better. We hopped into some cable cars that took us to the top which was about a thirty-minute ride and let me just say, the views were incredible, you could see the whole city! From there, we drove some sort of a tank to the most active crater on the volcano, which had been smoking all day. The smoke is typically white which is a good sign, once it shifts to a greyish black, that can be a sign of an upcoming eruption. The tank (snowcat) we rode in was very interesting as I had never seen anything like it, it was definitely prepared for any and all weather conditions. When we made it to our destination, we met with a volcanologist who shared all about the volcano and the crater we were stopped at.
I learned that Mt. Etna, unlike other volcanoes, is a mix between windy and cold desert environments that allows for many plants to grow and creates very fertile soil, which is especially good for wine grapes. There are more than three hundred craters on the mountain but only four of them are active. One thing I found particularly interesting is that even though there are eruptions every few weeks with emergency plans set in place, the eruptions really aren’t something the citizens are worried about. The eruptions are typically very controlled and if there is any lava flow, they can create a path for it so the surrounding villages are safe. My favorite part was playing in some Italian snow, which is surprisingly different than our stubborn Oregon snow!
Ciao,
Caitlyn