Stromboli expedition

In late September 2002 I found myself on the volcanic island of Stromboli, and undertook a night expedition to the top of the volcano. This is a concise account of that night, in few words and some pictures. Why? Sissy knows...

I set "base camp" in a really nice bed-and-breakfast named "La Locanda del Barbablu'". From the terrace, the view to the volcano was captivating:




The expedition started out in the late afternoon, on a narrow path leading up to the mountain. After a few minutes walk, we had a first view of the black, burnt northern slopes of the mountain known as the "Sciara del Fuoco":




A few more turns of the road, and a gaze at the sunset over the hazy sea surrounding the Aeolian Islands:




As the dark of night set in, we were faced with the first signs of volcanic activity:




But we could not have imagined the continuous explosions that we would witness once on top, at regular intervals of about 4 minutes, with one really great one every half an hour. I set up my tripod, and shot some of the action:










Finally, a few hours past midnight, we set out for our return to sea-level, flashlights in hand, through a slope covered by volcanic ashes in which we sunk deep all the way to our knees with every step:




It was memorable.