Quick editor's note: We are not sure if we will have an internet connection or not at our next apartment in Taormina. So there may be a gap in time between posts and pictures (about a week). So if you don't see any posts for awhile don't worry (talking to you, parents).
Today we took a trip to visit the seventh aeolian island - Vulcano.
Before heading to the island, we made another attempt to send a package back home so we could lighten our load. We started this saga two days ago. Since we didn't have a box, I asked in three stores on the way to the post office and somehow no one had a box from all the souvenirs that they could give us - even the bookstore. We gave up and went to the post office. Luckily, the post office sells boxes, so we purchased one and then needed to fill out the address forms. Of course, there are no pens for anyone to use and we didn't have one with us. At this point we just said forget it - we took the box home to fill out the paperwork and decided to come back another day.
When we returned today, the same guy helped us. He helped us get all the paperwork done and taped up the box for us (you can not imagine how pathetic a job he did...) and when he finished, he said it would cost more than 40 Euros to send the package - more than double what he had told us two days ago. There is no way we were going to pay that much to send a box home, so I asked him if I could just take some things out to get the box below the weight threshold so we'd only have to pay 16 Euros. He was so stressed about this request (because he'd already printed out the label, taped the box, etc.), that he put his head in his hands for a while, then got up and went into the back room twice, and then talked with three other employees about what to do. Did I forget to mention that he didn't speak any English?
Finally, one of his co-workers walked him through cancelling the transaction, and then we started the game of "how much do I have to take out of the box before its under the threshold". I don't know about the rest of you, but I have no idea what 200, 300, or 500 grams feels like. We played this game three or four times and finally I got the weight to be the right amount. I thought we were in the clear at this point, but for some reason, the most stressful part of the transaction was only just beginning. He started telling me something about the address form, but there were just enough words that I didn't understand, that made it impossible to comprehend the point he was trying to make. He tried three times, and it was an epic fail. He then tried to get all of his four co-workers to help explain it to me in the little English they knew. After getting the entire post office involved, it turns out that all he was trying to say was that because the package weighed less than 2kg, I didn't need to fill out the address form I was holding. You'd think he could have found simple words to make that point so that we didn't have to make a huge scene...I think we ended on a good note with him at the end of it all, but it was quite the trying experience.
Finally - we got on the hydrofoil to Vulcano. After arriving on the island, we walked around a while until we found the start of the trail to climb yet another volcano - the Fossa Di Vulcano (the hole/pit of Vulcano). This is a sleeping volcano that is constantly venting sulphuric gases - at the head of the trail there are signs warning people to be careful of the vents because the temperature is searing, and the gases can make you "intoxicated".
We climbed up to the top of the crater, and there we had the chance to walk down into the crater. The smell of sulfur was so strong that it was hard for me to breathe, so Mike decided to head down into the crater on his own. It was pretty cool to see the inside of the crater (even though there was no molten lava), and there were also great views of all the other islands that we've visited. Once Mike climbed back from the crater floor, we walked along the rim of the crater, and then climbed back down. 
Back in the main town, we went to visit the other attraction on the island - the Laghetto di Fanghi - the large natural pool of thick, warm, sulfurous muddy water. People come here to roll around in the water and cover themselves with the mud from the bottom of the pool. We've spent the last few days preparing for this activity - buying cheap bathing suits, towels, and flip flops - because once the mud gets on these things, they smell so bad that you have to throw everything away. The smell is so strong you can smell it down the street from the pools.Once we arrived at the fanghi, we had a choice - into the mud, or not. Since we were there, we decided to go with it. The pool is pretty warm and there are bubbles coming from the floor where the temperatures are very hot. There are even areas approaching the pool where gases are coming out of the ground. We covered ourselves with the mud and then spent about 15 minutes in the pool. People were going crazy - covering their faces, putting mud in their hair...it was pretty insane. We're not sure if we enjoyed the experience, but it was an experience.
Afterwards, we took a quick shower and tried to go in the water at the adjacent beach where there were more air vents under the water, so the water was very warm. Unfortunately the water was very dirty and there were several jellyfish, so we just changed out of our stinky bathing suits and went to catch the ferry back to Lipari. Once we were back home, we threw out some other clothes that were too stinky and took some serious showers before heading out to dinner.
We still stink, and it seems that we'll be this way for a few days...
Tomorrow we leave the islands and head back to Sicily, where we'll be in Taormina for about a week and then in Palermo for another five days.
Gelato Gusti per il Giorno:
Mike - Banane e Stracciatella and Banane e Pistacchio
Aviva - Lemon Granite and Cioccolato e Caffe.
No comments:
Post a Comment