Catania(Sicily) & Stromboli island (16-18/09/05)

We set off to catania right after work and this time the flight was on time! We reached catania at around ten plus and rested to prepare for the next day trip to stromboli island.

This island is on the north east of Sicily island and we had to set off at around 5 am. We reached the port at around 7 am , just in time to sit the ferry to this island which is around 2 hours off the shore.

After 2 hours, we reached the island. This island is indeed isolated with nothing much spectacular except for the craters, lavas and of course the shores.
We walked around the island after putting our stuff in the guest house. There after we took a boat tour around the island and to another island. It was indeed a fun ride with lots of water splashing onto us. The boat was a speed boat- so basically, though the weather was hot ( 28C), we still felt OK.
Hehe, we are too used to 16-24C temperature. I have to get use to the hot and humid weather in a week. Nonetheless, some of us swam in the sea and indeed, the water is clean but not crystal clear.

There after, we rested before climbing the mountain to witness the spurting of sulphuric acid from the active volcano.
The whole journey was grueling yet challenging. We had a hard time climbing up and had to endure the cold wind up there but the witnessing of the active volcano was rewarding!
I met a new friend=D yupz, a very nice friend and we had fun together. Ok, better not reveal too much but heh, it’s a pity that we didn’t meet earlier.

After staying up the mountain for around 2 hours, we rushed downwards which took us half the time we went up. All thanks to the bright moon and we were good=D

We only had our dinner around 1030 pm. We tried the arancini- one of the delicacies in catania.It is basically in the form of orange- there are lots of kinds of fillings e.g. spinach, pork,butter,potatoes,etc with the risotto.

We caught the earliest boat back to catania and reached terra firma after a grueling 4 hours boat ride. This is first time I experienced seasick as the sea was rough. Actually, I think it was the first time for most of us.
After resting half an hour in the house, we came out to try out all the delicacies in catania – canolo ( a roll with a choice of choc or cream ), arancini ( I tried spinach this time), ice-cream ( my new friend treated 4 of us), panini ( with horse meat and lots of different kinds of mushrooms ) and finally grinate ( crushed ice with a choice of fruits).All of these I ate in less than 2 hours. I was so bloated!
Oh ya, my new friend bought baba ( another kind of delicacy which is dipped in wine ) for me and another friend of mine. I tasted it when I reached Milan- my house.
It was indeed delicious as it melted into the my mouth =D

This is my last trip in italy and I am heading home to Singapore.

I am indeed satisfied!