The Aeolian Islands

Less than a two-hour drive north on the autostrada and we arrived at the ferry in Milazzo, a town on the north coast. For a departure spot as popular as this is with tourists, you'd think the parking situation would be well-organized and easy. Well, uh, no...this is Sicily, remember? Luckily we found a spot right on the street, and even luckier, the car was still there when we returned, no ticket. There are two different types of ferries, the slow one (two hours) and the hydrofoil (one hour). We took one of each.

The Aeolian Islands are comprised of an archipelago of seven distinct islands of varying sizes, volcanic in origin. Two of the islands, Vulcano and Stromboli, are still active volcanoes. These islands rise sharply out of the Mediterranean Sea, forming a mountainous topography. The resident population subsists on fishing, farming, quarrying volcanic pumice, and tourism.

We explored the island of Lipari, the largest and most visited and popular with tourists. The scenery was breathtaking, with blue-green water shimmering in the sun, dotted by fishing boats and ferries. One of the highlights of our stay was a private 1.5 hour tour of the perimeter of the island in a taxi, driven by an area entrepreneur, eager to make a few euro in the off-season with his 2-day-old Fiat van. After stopping for many photos ops along the way, he sold us a bottle of homemade dessert wine out of the trunk, Malvasia, made right on the island.

We also ate great food, drank local vino, toured an archaeological museum, visited the inside of a few churches, and took plenty of photos, as usual. We resisted the temptation to rent scooters, deferring to the younger, more daring crowd.

After returning to the mainland, we drove to a beach area in Oliveri, where I could not resist the opportunity to plunge into the warm, clear water, "Euorpean style", for a swim, before leaving for home. It's funny, the moments one remembers after a trip... Shameless! Ciao Ciao!