With volcanic eruptions, stunning scenery and fine food there's a lot to get excited about on the Aeolian Islands, writes HOLLY HUNT
IT’S SEPTEMBER, and we’re on a last-minute flight to Sicily. Out of the Tyrrhenian Sea, on the northeastern tip of Sicily, jut the volcanic Aeolian Islands.
A Unesco World Heritage site, the islands fulfil romantic and adventurous daydreams. This is a place where you can stand at the tip of a mountain in the dark gazing into an erupting volcano; where you can swim in water so clear you can see rocks hundreds of feet below; where a meal is a sensuous journey for your taste buds; where lemons and oranges ripen in the gardens of white-washed houses draped in pink bougainvilleas; where the streets are immaculately clean and the walls decorated with brightly painted patterned tiles; and where the sun shines and people move slowly.
Francesco and his friends were taken aback as our travel weary bodies stumbled in the door of the Santa Marina Hotel on the island of Salina. They were celebrating their first guest-free night of the season. But that didn’t seem to matter. He showed us to a room with a white-washed balcony overlooking the sea. We negotiated, he relented and we all headed back up to the roof to join the party. We drank sweet wine and listened to Francesco play jazz guitar.
Everything on Salina moves slowly. In the square of the main town the church clock has slowed to a stop – indicative of the island vibe.
Apart from snorkelling and cruising about on a moped the other main activity on Salina is eating. Sicilian cuisine bears traces of all those that ruled the island over the last two millennia: the Greeks brought olives, capers and pistachios; the Arabs cinnamon, spices and raisins; and the Spanish peppers and tomatoes. But the local food is predominantly Italian with pizza, gelato and pasta ruling supreme.
Here pasta is an art. At the family-run Trattoria Cucinotta we were served pasta that blew all my preconceptions of carbohydrates out the window. Homemade, perfectly cooked pasta with fresh sweet tomatoes, aubergine, basil and ricotta cheese. For the first time I tasted pasta the way it is supposed to taste – delicious.
Pasta alla Norma is one of the only dishes on the islands you will taste without fish. Fresh sardines, swordfish and squid are staples of most restaurants. Don’t forget to wash down the food with the locally made, and world renowned, sweet Malvasia delle Lipari wine.
Along Salina’s one road we met farmers in Piaggio Ape 50s with crates of the nearly moulding grapes, picked late to enhance their sweetness, to the rear. The Piaggio Ape 50 is the most common mode of transport on Salina where you see the three-wheel truck, powered by a 50cc engine, with up to three farmers crammed in the front seat, elbows bulging out the windows.
Erupting volcanoes don’t usually feature on tourist trails, but for over 20,000 years the volcano on Stromboli has been spewing out molten lava every 15 minutes or so.
In the early evening Stromboli’s main square is filled with hikers pulling on boots, testing torch lights and filling water bottles. In groups of 20 or less we hike up the 900 metres to the top of the volcano. Our guide, Marco, shepherded us up the mountain while pointing out caper plants and rock formations, and later in the dark he somehow managed to keep us all together. I sat on the ground, the night wind whipping around me, and let the black volcanic sand run through my fingers. Stars sparkled above as the mountain erupted in orange fireworks of magma. Far below we could see the lights of yachts as they rocked on the gentle sea.
You can understand how Ingrid Bergman submitted to the approaches of Roberto Rossellini on the black sand beaches of the island in the film Stromboli. How could one resist in such a Never Never Land? The Aeolian Islands are indeed a place to fall in love.
Get thereFerry or hydrofoil from Palermo to the Aeolian Islands but, from mid September, you can fly to Catania (Aer Lingus flies from Dublin via London Gatwick) and take a bus to Millazo, from where you can catch a boat.
When to goTo escape the crowds and drive a bargain on everything and yet still manage to see almost all the highlights visit in September.
Where to stayOn Salina the Santa Marina Hotel is a nice place ( hotelsantamarinasalina.it). On Stromboli try La Lampara (lalamparastromboli.com), a small pensione with a rooftop terrace. On Vulcano the Pensione Giara ( pensionelagiara.it) offers affordable rooms close to the main town.