STROMBOLI, ITALIA [AEOLIAN ISLANDS]

August 28-31, 2015
Stromboli is the northern most island of the Aeolian Islands and is known as the 'Lighthouse of the Mediterranean' due to its steep active volcano. There are a couple of small settlements on the island, strategically placed where the usual lava does not flow. Film-makers and celebrities such as Dolce and Gabbana own villas on the island, although we didn't bump into any during our visit.

Stromboli from afar

Stromboli from afar

Approaching Stromboli

Approaching Stromboli

Approaching Stromboli

Stromboli, like Panarea, has a limited number of things to do, which means that it is a relaxing retreat. One can walk around the main village and check out the views, take a boat ride to the Sciara del Fuoco and see the steep lava scar down the side of the volcano, or hike the volcano and watch the eruptions up close. Our schedule didn't allow us to hike the volcano but we did see lots of flash photography happening during the eruptions from our boat.

The village of Stromboli is clustered on the sloping landscape near the shore. It is where the ferries land and where most of the populated activity is located. The coast is filled with black volcanic sand and stone which continues into the water. This was my first time on a black sand beach so I was excited. After meandering through some small streets we found ourselves at the little piazza San Vincenzo which includes the Chiesa di San Vincenzo. It is quite picturesque with the slope of the volcano in the background.

Black sand beaches

Black sand beaches

Black sand beaches

Black sand dunes

Black sand beaches with volcano in the distance

The volcano

From the upper part of the village of Stromboli

From the upper part of the village of Stromboli

From the upper part of the village of Stromboli

Chiesa di San Vincenzo

Chiesa di San Vincenzo

Chiesa di San Vincenzo

Chiesa di San Vincenzo

There is another tiny village on the island, one that we did not have a chance to see, called Ginostra. It is on the south-western shore and was only connected to Stromboli by a path which encircled the volcano; however, the path has been badly damaged and is no longer in use [from what I have read]. This means that traveling by boat is the only way to commute between the two. The village was just equipped with electricity in 2004.

Stromboli is one of the most active volcanoes in the world and is famous for its small but regular explosions of glowing lava. The activity has been going on for around 2000 years and doesn't seem to be stopping anytime soon. We had the opportunity to sit on our ferry, watch the sunset and wait for the lava bursts. The activity wasn't as strong as other nights, but we did get a few exciting moments. Unfortunately, I had terrible timing with my camera, and a not so steady hand.

Smoke from the volcano

Lava

Blurry but…

Side note:
Stromboli the food is not from Stromboli the island. It was created by the owner of an Italian restaurant outside of Philadelphia after the movie Stromboli. This was highly disappointing for PJ. 

PANAREA, ITALIA [AEOLIAN ISLANDS]

August 28-31, 2015
PJ and I are not ones to truly 'relax' on our vacations; therefore, in true fashion, we decided to hop on a ferry to Panarea and Stromboli on our last day. The ferry ride was long, I believe it was over 2 hours, and it was another hot one. The ferry did allow us to see Tropea from a different view that we would have never been able to see otherwise so it was a good start.

We bid farewell to Calabria for the day and headed on our way. 

Panarea is the second smallest of the Aeolian Islands at 3km long and 2km wide [that is significantly smaller than Block Island for any New Englanders out there]. It is also the most fashionable island in the group and attracts a jet-setting exclusive and expensive crowd. Luxury yachts are typically found in the marina and the island is completely car-free, limiting the only modes of transportation to golf carts, vespas and ones own two feet. 

The Island feels more Greek than Italian, with whitewashed walls and vibrant blue and green tiles. Due to the high end cliental, the food and lodging are also luxury and expensive so we opted to get some local Sicilian food porta via and sit amongst the colorful flower-lined paths. We grabbed some arancini, which are deep fried, cone-shapped rice balls stuffed with a combination of things, and headed to a shaded location. We ordered one arancino with speck and peas and the other with spinach. They were delicious and the cost and the view weren't bad either.

Once on the island, ones only options are to relax, take in the scenery, enjoy a drink or two and eat. There are pools, swimming areas, hiking trails, a few shops, etc… It was so hot that we set out for some shade until our boat excursion to a nearby swimming area departed. We did get in some exploration before we headed out and enjoyed the time we did have on the island.

Panarea

Small island as we arrived in Panarea

Small island as we arrived in Panarea

Panarea

The Stromboli volcano in
the background

Our secondary excursion was to take a ferry to what I think was the island of Basiluzzo to swim and have a small lunch with traditional food. The water was amazingly clear and we were able to jump right off of the boat and swim around. There must be a high salt content in the water, similar to what we experienced in Tropea, because it was extremely easy to float. After cooling off and filling up on tasty food we headed back to get the others that remained on Panarea and then headed off to Stromboli.