September 16 , 2001 Gaeta, Italy September 3 , 2001 Stromboli: The Lighthouse Of The Mediterranean August 26 , 2001 Cefalu: Another Medieval Jewel August 23 , 2001 Sicily: Land of Lovely Desserts August 15 , 2001 En Route to North Africa August 10 , 2001 Ormeggiatori August 8, 2001 Supermarkets and Amphora August 6 , 2001 Sailing South in Sardinia August 2 , 2001 La Vie en Corsica July 30, 2001 Jonathan Joins Us July 27, 2001 One Sea, Seven Colors July 24, 2001 Say What? July 23, 2001 "Va Bene" July 21, 2001 Venturing Into Italy July 20, 2001 And The Mistral Blew July 18, 2001 The Spell Of Menorca July 12, 2001 Culture And Concerts July 7, 2001 Cha Chas July 6, 2001 Red Dust July 4, 2001 Rare Birds July 3, 2001 Clear Empty Water June 27 , 2001 Quick Friends June 22 , 2001 Reconnecting June 13, 2001 Eastern Hemisphere June 6, 2001 A Weekend in Cartegena May 30 , 2001 A Time Or A Place May 29 , 2001 Several Lovely Sails May 21 , 2001 Free At Last May 25, 2001 On The Hard May 18, 2001 A Boat Again May 14, 2001 Time Warp to Morocco May 03, 2001 Still On Stilts in Malaga

 September 3, 2001 

The Lipari Islands, off the north coast of Sicily, are also called the Aeolian Islands, named for Aeolus, the Greek god of wind, who gave Oddyseus a well tied bag containing all the contrary winds. Unfortunately, his crew opened the bag and released these winds. So it is they we blame for the weird weather in the Mediterranean Sea! The islands are volcanic in origin and Stromboli, in the northeast, is called the lighthouse of the Mediterranean as it has continuously erupted several times an hour for thousands of years, guiding sailors from Odysseus to people like us.

On Wednesday, August 31st, we climbed 3,036 foot Stromboli. We climbed in the dark to avoid the heat of the day and to be able to see the fireworks of the eruptions, which only show up after the sun sets. We started at 8 P.M. on a gentle zigzag path cut through cane fields. We arrived at the summit at 11:30 P.M., after a grueling climb which included scrambling hand over hand up large lava rocks and wading through soft, steep dunes of lava sand. Totally exhausted, we spread our sleeping bags out on the volcanic sand and rock of the trail, ten minutes walk from the summit. Several times every hour throughout the nite we were awakened by the thunderous roar as the volcano erupted. Invariably, we would sit up enough to look down at the vent on the peak below us where a huge spume of firey gas and rock were being flung into the air and then we would watch as the burning rocks rolle down the mountain towards the sea. At dawn, we awoke and walked the short distance to the summit to watch the sun rise and blot out the fireworks for another day. The descent was shorter down a steep trail of deep volcanic sand where we just dug in our heels and slipped and slid down, much like walking in drifted snow.

In retrospect the climb was absolutely spectacular and worth the sore muscles that still plague us. It was a fine farewell adventure for this season and for our departure from our German friend, Klaus, with whom we had been sailing in company since Menorca and who was our guide up the mountain. He is on his way to Greece, while we are now working our way up the mainland coast, having sailed from the Lipari Islands to the town of Vibo Valentia, just north of the Straits of Messina yesterday.

Our sailing season is almost over as we slowly head for mainland Italy, where we hope to leave the boat at the end of September, to return in the spring to explore more of Italy before the heat and crowds of the high tourist season.