Stromboli The Volcano

Day 17: Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Pictures taken from our veranda on ms Rotterdam.


Stromboli
Photo by Pat Tyler


Stromboli volcano, one of the Aeolian islands, located north of Sicily, persists with activity which has been reported for thousands of years. This activity results in a considerable number of explosion-quakes — several per hour — and in continuous volcanic tremor.

village
Photo by Pat Tyler

The Village of Ginostra

Surprisingly, there are two villages perched on the sides of this continually active volcano. The smaller Ginostra, is a fishing village and rarely visited by tourists. Stromboli, the larger village has hotels and restaurants, and some of the inhabitants rent out rooms to summer visitors. There are about 350 people living in the two villages. With a total area of less than 8 square miles, there are no roads on the island. They travel by boat between the villages.

2-villages
Photo by Pat Tyler

Two Villages

This picture gives a glimpse of both villages. The light specks on the shore of the right and left sides of the cone are buildings in the villages. Wiki Travel Organization tells us: The villages, which are almost unchanged by tourism, are worth a closer look, especially the rather hidden Ginostra with the smallest european port (one boat only!) at all is nice to see. There is a nice strand with fine black lava sand in Stromboli, where one can relax and swim in the sea.

It took us about 28 minutes to pass this phenomenon of the Tyrrhenian Sea on our way to the Strait of Messina, which separates Sicily from the Italian mainland. While our pictures are of the passing of the island, we are privileged to have Ernst and Gertrude Meyer's picture collection taken on their shore excursion to Messina and Mt. Etna, the active volcano on the island of Sicily. Sicily next!

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