Day 12 • Lipari, Panarea, Stromboli

Villa Enrica was fantastic. The room was spacious, bathroom well equipped, and most importantly the bed was really comfortable. We had breakfast on the gorgeous terrace, with breathtaking views of the sea and Lipari town.

whilst sipping our morning cappucinos...

morning sun outside our room

We booked excursions to the other Aeolian Islands right at our hotel. Today we were going to Panarea and then a night cruise around Stromboli to maybe catch a glimpse of lava explosions.

fresh fish

marina corta, lipari

The boat left from Marina Corta. There were about 50 people on the boat. We chose to sit on top, outside on the way to Panarea. Only 280 people live there all year round! The island is known for being a favorite of celebrities because its privacy. After the boat dropped us off, the passengers went their own ways. Some were going diving, some hiking, etc. We went for exploring, vistas, and picture taking.

on the boat



beautiful volcanic coastline



village at the sea

The island was serene and quiet. Unfortunately, the info announcements on the boat about the island when we were approaching were in Italian but we did get the most important info which was what time it would return to pick us up. The sun exposure on my hands was unbearable and so I relived it by wetting tissues in water and wrapping my hands in them. The extra strength cream wasn't doing anything and the little red bumps had turned into blisters. I was trying really had to not let it get me down but it was difficult to ignore.

beware of pooch

We walked around Panarea for a couple of hours. We found small unpaved paths uphills and across meadows. We felt as if we had the whole place to ourselves. Somehow we didn't come across any other passengers from the boat. We did see lots of lizards and cactus, small churches, and the ever present expanse of the blue sea.

panarea architecture is reminiscent of greece

church on panarea



stromboli on the horizon

The next stop was Stromboli, an active volcano for the last 2000 years with constant minor and major eruptions. The boat was dropping us off at the main port.

on the way to stromboli



me and the volcano



the volcano



the teeny port

There was an organized hike to the crater but we are not serious hikers and my sandals would just not do. We walked around the base of this volcano for a few hours.

we had the place to ourselves so it seemed



aeolian houses

We had a slice of pizza at a small shop then found a black sand beach and put our feet in the crystal clear water. It was our first time seeing black sand. It had a porous crunchy texture under the feet. Instead of true sand, it was more like tiny pumice stones, but soft on the feet and a great exfoliant! Before we left we found a nice sized black volcanic rock for a souvenir. The backdrop of the iconic volcanic silouhette was dramatic.

awesome stromboli



the black sand

Not many restaurants were open off season but we found another pizza place open near a small piazza outside a church and ate a couple of slices with a half bottle of Donnafugata Nero D'Avola while watching kids kick around a soccer ball.

il vino



i ragazzi

Back on the boat for the night cruise! We were on the sea for the sunset which was splendid with pinks and oranges.

sunset

We had no idea what to expect. The boat went out onto the black water then the engines were turned off. We drifted on the sea and all we could hear were the waves spashing against the boat. In the distance we could see a handful of other tour boats doing the same as us. Oh the stars! We'd never seen so many stars. We drifted like this for about an hour and during that time we did see some lava explosions. It was amazing and exciting. We didn't have cameras equipped to capture anything but we will always remember it. The passengers would ooh and ahh at the fiery spurts of lava. There was slight rumbling before seeing the orange fire plumes. It has the unpredictability of whale watching as there is no guarantee you will see anything but we were lucky to get a small glimpse.

On the way back to Lipari I was really seasick. I discovered that during the day when I can see the horizon I am fine but at night when I have no reference point, I get vertigo and nauseous. A fellow passenger barfed. I was trying my damndest to keep my pizza down...

Incredibly exhausted from trekking in the sun all day and only eating pizza we dragged ourselves back to Villa Enrica. Despite the exhaustion, i had trouble sleeping because of my hands. I wet a small towel with cold water and wrapped it around my hands and then I would be able to fall asleep but when it got warm again, I woke up to start the process all over again. Because I kept getting in and out of bed, Ken didn't get much sleep either.

view from outside our room