So It's been a while since I posted something about my Italy adventures, so in protest to the gloomy weather we are having right now in Skopje, I decided to share probably my favorite trip of the whole month I spent in southern Italy. I'm talking about the amazing cruise around the Aeolian Islands also known as Isole Eolie. So grab a cup of tea and enjoy my little recap from this trip.
The first thing I need to say is that we were running on "low fuel" because the day before we went to Palermo, got back in Reggio at around 1AM and were supposed to get up at 7 AM to go to the Islands. So, at the beginning we were over the whole trip even before it started. Little did we know how amazing it would turn out to be.
For those of you who don't know, the Aeolian Islands are a volcanic archipelago north from Sicily. So that meant that we first had to get to Sicily, travel another 3-4 hours by bus and then get on the boat to start the cruise. This trip to Italy in general was a lot of firsts for me. I've never been on a plane before, neither on a ferry, and definitely never been on a cruise boat. So you can say that I was quite excited.
Our schedule went a little something like this: a trip around some of the Islands, a two hour stop at Panarea Island and another two to three hours at Stromboli. As our boat was getting further and further away from the dock this whole thing became even more real. On our way to Panarea we gazed into the blue depths of the Tyrrhenian Sea and even saw a dolphin! Soon enough we were able to see a group of scattered islands on the horizon, looking small but we all knew that they were bigger than we could ever imagine.
After a two hour ride, we arrived on Panarea. Let me paint the picture: a small village that seems to go up, a big crowd of people and not enough electrical taxis to get you to the beach (because it's 45 minutes away on foot). While we were waiting for a taxi we decided to scratch off the beach and just explore the village of Panarea, and boy did we make an amazing decision. Let me paint another picture: Santorini, but in Italy. The whole village was covered in white, with tight passages, quaint souvenir shops and little electrical taxis driving through once in a while. The sun was at its peak but I was so amazed by the view that I didn't let the temperature bother me. When it was time to get back to the boat, we stopped at one of the most famous gelato shops on the island to try the famous Granita drinks. From all of the flavours we chose Lemon & Mint and it was honestly the most delicious thing ever! We left Panarea Island feeling happy and ready to go to the beach on our next stop: The volcanic island Stromboli.
If you've studied geography, the name Stromboli might ring a bell. Stromboli is one of the few daily active volcanoes in the world, and that phenomenon is known worldwide as a Strombolian eruption. So, the fact that we went to a volcanic island was cool, but what was even cooler was that because of its volcanic nature, the sand on Stromboli is black. Yep, black. I've never seen something like that in person before so the feeling was indescribable. Swimming in the incredibly clear sea, with a volcanic island in front of you and the most beautiful sea horizon behind you - talk about life goals.
This trip was one that I will cherish forever and look back at with joy.
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