Mt. Etnae

Fantastic excursion at Mt. Etnae, an active volcano. The biggest active volcano in the world??

Last eruption on one the day before I went, 6 Nov!!!

The whole valley is made of Lava. Learnt many things on that day. The eruption doesn't really explode from the summit. It can be happened at any area of the region.

That was a big eruption on 2002. It created 16 lava streams and 100+ craters.

Now we can see the streams from far. They are really huge and now frozen..

Miracle happened was some trees can survive during the eruption. Now, they are half-buried in the lava land.

For the new trees to grow on lava land, it would need about 100 years.

That was the first snow on Mt. Etnae. Over the weekend, I saw, 1/4 of it is covered with snow today. (this pic was taken at 1000m from the sea level)

The hill is big, covered with lava ash and pebbles. we climbed on it and it was really cold and windy. I was shivering/sneezing and need to put on my gloves.. But the experience was great!

(this is 2000m from sea level)

After that we went down to a cave which covered by lava. I have to be real careful!!

It's a bit slippery and the steps are small...

That's why we are equipped with helmets and torch lights.

(This is around 800m from sea level)

Love Etnae!! Mission #1 completed!