Bill-on-the-Hill

The last full day of our Volcano Discovery outing, and we've saved the best for last. This was the day for descending the Valle del Bove, a massive collapse structure on the side of Mount Etna. I've been in a lot of mountain valleys in my life, but it's fair to say I'd never been in one quite like this before, and with a fantastic going-away banquet afterward in Nicolosi town to boot.

Bill and Pete in the Valle del Bove, having a typical brotherly competition to see who can look more nonchalant while surrounded by wonders.

Yes, we really did just come down that -- and there are two thousand feet of it left to do.

The parade plunge-stepping into the Valle del Bove. This shot only hints at the Stygian nature of the place; to the eye, the rock is much darker, and to the feet, the grade is much steeper, than the photo suggests.

Bill-on-the-Hill

The big thing about this day was that it stank. Well, actually, that was the whole idea, because our destination was the active crater of Mount Etna, one of the world's most active volcanoes and its second largest source of malodorous sulfur dioxide and other evil gases. Why, you say, would anyone want to go to such a place? Read on ...

Bill-on-the-Hill

Fourth day of the trip, and time to start doing what we came for, namely hiking into some weird places -- like, say, the crater of an active volcano.