I live next to a bloody big volcano

Mt Etna.

Best bit -  Trying to climb out of
a  crater that's made crumbs.

When I was a kid I was a bit wimpy and afraid of everything. Now I live next to a bloody big volcano. 

"Looks like vienetta" - Kenny"

Together with a mad scotsman (Kenny), another EVS volunteer (Daniel) and our local friend (Adriano) I steamed up, down, round, over and under these craters of brittle black volcanic stone. The slopes we scaled were interspersed with sparse fields of bright white snow. It looked a bit like vienetta.

When the offer of coming to Catania arrived, one of the things I was most excited about was living next door to a live volcano. When I arrived I wanted to go see it every weekend.

The troup. Looking chuffed.

???

Didn't though. I was defeated by illness, metres of snow, flaky Sicilians and most of all, Public Transport. There's one bus that goes up, and one that comes down, and if you miss it; you're stuffed. 

So, I had to make do with sneaking glimpses of it down by the beach, or occasionally through Catanias high baroc buildings. One evening walking back from the train station in a nearby town we even saw it erupting. I felt small.

Looks a bit pathetic.
Totally not pathetic.

The troup. Looking sombre.

I'd all but forgotten about my mighty neighbour, when Daniel told me that his mate Kenny had a friend that could take us. I met Kenny, a fifty something scottish ex-pat, and thought that he was a bit mad and a bit of a pain in the arse, but he had the car so needs must. As it turned out he was a lot mad and a big pain in the arse, but fortunately he was even more childish than me, and led the way in falling down the crumbly craters and scrambling out. 

Speechless

We tried walking up to the top but half way we realised we were woefully under-equipped for that kind of a journey in the snow, (which was blinding) so just pottered around the craters about halfway. 

Cop that family of 4

We threw snowballs at each other and the passing cable cars (Adriano couldn't have looked more embarrassed) and had a merry old time. 

We went home tired and satisfied, and I promised myself to come back soon. There're still the craters further up, the wooded northern slope and some wooden camping barns to visit.  

The lesser spotted three-legged mountain fox
feeds itself on a diet exclusively of  biscuits.