“Sicily to Rome” 2011 (RTS1102) - DAY3

“Sicily to Rome” 2011 (RTS1102) - DAY3

13 May 2011
/Manuel Marabese
One of the nicest part of Sicily challenges our day: roads recently asphalted, sun, forests and nearly no traffic. Leaving the fishing village in the morning the guides lead the two groups of riders through Parco delle Madonie and Parco dei Nebrodi where some (wild) animals can be spotted between the trees and on the fields overlooking the northern coast of the island. Today is my turn to prepare the picnic... but no picure sorry! I was too busy to keep an eye that everyone was enjoying their meal that when I had a moment free... the picnic was gone! This is a good sign, isn't it? The afternoon road carries the scars of the big brother of the area: Mr. Mount Etna Volcano, or simply 'a Muntagna (the mountain) in Sicilian. 3340m high and 45km wide makes him the largest in the entire continent (ok, ok, Teide on Tenerife is a couple of hundreds meters higher but Canary islands don't count as European continent, sorry guys). Today His Majesty seems even more scary than usual: a thick smoky blanket is rising from the main crater. In these days a big eruption happened and yesterday the airport of Catania has been closed for the whole night due of the ash cloud.