I got 5-hr sleep in Copenhagen airport, but no luck at busy and noisy Hamburg airport, plug 1-2 hrs sleep during the three flights, I barely made into Catania in Sicily. I decided to walk in the Mount Etna hiking tour ($65, but negatives to $50) with my hostelmate Ryan who came from Seattle and prepaid one spot.
The mountain has a volcanic landscape, with solidified "rivers" of lava, and is used for skiing in winter. The Mount Etna summit hike (3,350 meters / 10,912 ft) is currently inhibited due to volcanic activities. The highest point to reach is Torre del Filosofo at 2,920 meters (9,580 ft) from the south (~ 1000 meters elevation gain) required a hiking guide after 2900 meters high. I planned to spend 6 € for public bus to DIY the hike to 2900 meters, yet got lazy and took the tour of 50€. There is only one bus a day runs to and from Catania to Rifugio Sapienza which is a little stressful to catch both way. However, I saw some hitchhikers on the way out. Although we got some information from the hiking guide, due to an unfit participant, we only hiked 14 miles with 500 meter elevation gain.
I was lucky that the weather was dry and cool (29c then dropped to 17c) in the mountain, but the ocean mist blocked the views. I am happy that I checked off this box. It looked like Iceland Valcano without ice/snow). I rewarded myself with ice cream from a famous shop, and shared healthy and tasty dinner in the hostel with new friends.
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