A strange world

Mount Etna, the most active Volcano in Europe is the pride and joy of every Sicilian. It has figured heavily in Greek mythology and it has stood as a constant reminder of nature's absolute power. Needless to say, a trip near the top is something one should do at least once in a lifetime but not more than once. When I fulfilled this duty to my ethnicity back in the summer of 1972 together with my wife Marcy, the volcano had recently erupted; something it  does this with great frequency,  many roads that led to the top were damaged. We did manage to get as high as was allowed and what we found was a world unlike any other that we had seen. A totally barren world full of dry lava and rocks. Vegetation was doing it's best to show it's puny face but it was only an effort. in futility.

Nevertheless it was a very exciting day made more so by my wife's fear of heights. Anyone visiting Sicily should not miss the trip. My daughter did id a few years ago and almost burned the brake  pads on her way down and the clutch on the way up. These photos were shot with the Canon Ft on Kodachrome II; the lens was the Canon 28mm F 3.5 FL.