Monday, June 27, 2011

A Perspective From Mt. Etna

The past two days we have had an adventure that most never have accomplished. We mountain biked and hiked Mt. Etna. The first day we arrived to our lovely lodge, Kikajon. Our room had two big beds, a bunk bed, and a private garden. After we got settled in and had lunch, we went to mountain bike Etna. The task was more difficult than I think any of us thought it would be. The next day we got up, sack lunches in hand, and headed out to Etna. Instead of climbing up Etna, they changed plans. We got on a truck and rode to the top, only to hike all 2,900 meters down. This was so wonderful because the altitude got to some of us, and it would also be extremely difficult to both climb and hike on the volcano. The sights were unbelievable. At the top of the volcano, Jon and I screamed to the top of our lungs. We felt as if we were on top of the world. We could see miles of Italy's landscape, including cities and the ocean. We played in the snow as we watched the volcano smoke. Then we began our four hour hike down. As beautiful as the sights were, my favorite thing I saw was six different people coming together to take care of one another on our journey. We went to our own pace and talked about many things. Our travel manager told us that from the mountain our perspective has an open view, therefore opening our hearts. That is exactly what we did on Mt. Etna.

Niki Pulliam


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Adventure Details

Duration 15 days
Destinations Athens
Rome
Pompeii
Focus Biology
Culture
Earth Science