I started this post before we left Sicily to tell you about our trip up Grand Mountain. I didn’t finish it before we left and then I didn’t have Internet for four days. Here is the delayed post.
Originally prepared to post March 22, 2016
Our adventure yesterday was an off-road climb up Montagna Grande (Grand Mountain), the largest mountain in this part of Sicily.
It wasn’t strictly off the road–there was a road, but what a road. We had to turn around a couple of times, first because of a huge boulder in the road, and second because there was a washout. Now, I was not excited about backing up a narrow mountain road, and I was relieved when the guide suggested we get out and walk while the driver turned the truck around.
The day was hazy so the pictures are not clear. If you look carefully between the trees and the haze/clouds, you can see Mt. Etna in the picture on the right.
We climbed up to the very top (6148 ft). The weather was warm enough at the bottom, but the wind was howling a hurricane at the top. The pictures make it look calm and fine, but it was difficult to even take a picture. I thought the wind would blow the camera out of my hands, and it did blow my sunglasses off my face. The picture on the top right is the back of our guide looking up at the summit of Grand Mountain. Ah, doesn’t seem the least windy, does it.
After the climb to the summit, we descended some and stopped at some picnic tables (paid for by the EU, as our guest from Denmark informed us), and enjoyed a lunch of typical Sicilian food provided by the mother of the driver. My favorite was the dried figs with walnuts inserted between the layers. I didn’t get a picture of it, but Motta Camastra is famous for the walnuts that grow there.
Finally, we saw a couple of old structure. The only good picture I have is one the driver told us was the first house on the mountain. The walls were made entirely of stone with no mortar between them. Oh, how the wind must howl through the holes in the winter.
We did have a few companions on the trip, but the only picture I got was of this placid cow. The rest were mountain goats and a few sheep. I was sitting in the middle of the back seat, which is not ideal for getting good photos.
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