The journey to Mount Etna

By Ashley Ann Mentley

There’s a familiar saying that it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey.  And while this may be true for many road trips through areas with beautiful scenery, it is not often the case when the journey involves an eight-hour flight overseas.

But when a trip is booked around flying on a specific airplane and the destination is of little concern, it certainly becomes more about the journey than anything else.  If anyone had seen the itinerary of my latest six day trip they probably would have thought it sounded like the opposite of a typical, relaxing vacation.  And that’s because my dad, a 59-year-old diesel truck mechanic who used to fly small planes when he was younger, had a bucket list item of flying on the largest passenger airplane in the world.

The Airbus A380 can hold up to 853 passengers, has two floors, an elevator and (for those lucky enough to fly first class) showers, beds and a bar.  Being so big, however, means these planes only fly in and out of select airports and Detroit’s airport is not one of them.  So instead we made our way to New York’s JFK airport where, after a whirlwind tour around the city, we boarded an eight-hour flight to Milan, Italy – one of the few airports in Europe where the Airbus can land.  After arriving (and in my case, not sleeping) we immediately took the train two hours north to Lake Como.  The very next morning we were back at Milan’s Malpensa airport boarding yet another flight, but this time to Catania, Sicily.

Many people asked why we were going to Catania and in truth, we didn’t know.  Aside from having already visited Milan two years prior and wanting to spend time elsewhere, we had no real ties or knowledge about the Mediterranean island of Sicily. What we do have, though, is a shared sense of adventure and impulse that has led the two of us on many interesting trips over the years.

And Sicily did not disappoint the explorer in either of us.  Our second day on the island brought us up the side of Mount Etna – Europe’s tallest active volcano.  “Active” is not a term used loosely either.  Etna erupted as recently as December 2015.  We traveled by Jeep, cable car, and a machine I can only describe as a snow tractor, 9,000 feet above sea level.  There, we were able to see the highest peak of Mount Etna as well as areas where past lava flows had destroyed all vegetation and buildings in their paths.

Though it had recently snowed and we were underdressed in our spring jackets and running shoes, the snow was already melting.  Not because of the sun, but because the black lava stone beneath it was still warm from previous eruptions.  The rock takes up to 20 years to fully cool, but Etna is in a state of constant activity and rarely gives the land around it enough time to reach that point.

Back down at sea level we found ourselves around endless supplies of pizza, pasta, gelato and local wine – distinct for being produced in soil high in minerals thanks to the lava stone.  And all this in a beautiful old city with history as far back as 730 BCE. With only three days on the island before we did the entire trip again in reverse, I only regret that I didn’t have enough time to try all the flavours of gelato. And as for the Airbus, while we may not have been lucky enough to experience the flight in first class, it was well worth it to know we flew on the largest passenger plane in the world and that my dad can check one more item off his bucket list.