We didn't make it to Greece this summer, but we got some major Greek vibes on our island tour of the Aeolian islands. This was our biggest outing of the trip and one we weren't sure about doing with the kids as it was nearly 12 hours long and a lot of time on the boat. A few day trips to the islands are offered from the port city of Milazzo. The Assody's opted to see Vulcano and Lipari the same day. I didn't think Maeve's sensitive nose could take a stop on the sulfuric volcano island and I really wanted to see the sunset and volcanic light show of Stromboli, one of the world's most active volcanos so we opted for the afternoon tour to Panarea and Stromboli. My mom messaged me asking us to be safe. What was she talking about? Three days after our tour, there was a large eruption on Stromboli sending tourists running down to the beach in a panic. Whoops! All was safe on this day though and it was a day we'll never forget!
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| Port town Milazzo |
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| Panarea Island |
Our first stop was Panarea where we had a few hours to explore. It was a very small island and the only roads were barely wide enough for two golf carts. We were all in need of treats before setting off. It was reported to be a 20-minute walk to the island's sandy beach. We set off, quickly got lost and returned to the port to hail a golf cart taxi. What a *thrilling* ride that was (video below)!
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| Stromboli in the distance |
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| Our attempts to walk were met with a good deal of resistance. |
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| Maeve and I rode in the back. Hold on! |
We made it to Cala Zimmari and had a fun, relaxing hour on the sandy beach. We had to hail a golf cart taxi home and the line was so long! We made it in the nick of time back to the boat before its departure, albeit with a lot of stress! The cold granita soothed all our nerves!
Back onboard we started our sail to Stromboli. We passed some really cool rock formations, the residence of one ultra yacht and some really nice sailboats.
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| Earlier in the day, there appeared to be clouds over Stromboli, but as we approached it was clear that it was actually smoke. |
One side of Stromboli is green and sparsely populated. The other side is a giant landslide where the fires and lava typically fall down. The populated side has a little town and a long black sand beach. We set up shop on the beach. The kids were having a great time building with the volcanic rock (without water shoes, it was too uncomfortable to swim). Maeve got in a much-needed nap, while I read and the boys explored town, but she woke up in an absolute funk. Thankfully the return of Jude with pizza finally cheered her back up.
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| Pete got the kids these souvenir t-shirts of the volcano |
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| Explorers |
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| Definitely Greek feels |
We departed Stromboli for the third part of the trip- sailing around to the other side of the island to see the sunset and the volcanic eruptions. The kids settled in with their ipads and Pete and I had a really nice evening taking in the splendor around us. It was hard to choose where to look and which side of the ship to be on! Maeve enjoyed the sunset with me and Jude joined us to watch a few eruptions. When we encouraged him to stay for more he replied, "Nah, I'll just watch the videos you take on your phone."
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| Why someone would choose to build their summer home on an active volcanic island is beyond me! |
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| Coming around to the rugged side of the island. |
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| I hope she'll grow up to be as sunset-obsessed as I am! |
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| It was hard to capture the little eruptions. We saw 3 or 4 like this before the boat returned back to Milazzo. |
We got home around midnight with two sleeping children. A great day!
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