Seafood, you get in my belly!

Seafood sea food seafood! Bolognese pasta pasta pasta! Gorgonzola with proscuitto pizza pizza pizza! Vino! Limoncello! Chocolate hazelnut gelato gelato gelato! In my tummy down you go, yummy yummy yummy! Basta basta basta (Italian translation: enough enough enough)! Oh so good, I love you so much Sicilian food, mamma mia, oh so good, I eat you every day, ah la la la. In the morning you give me loving with frothy cappuccinos and little chocolate cannolis. I come back in the afternoon to find little family owned lasagna specialty cafes on the top of a luscious green hillside filled with exotic Mediterranean plants and palm trees. Oh mamma mia my life is so hard, twelve different types of lasagna to choose from, which one will I have today? Today I get some meaty lovin with fresh plucked succulent tomatoes, hand made thick slabs of lasagna layered one on top of another with oven crisp sizzling mozzarella and three creamy fomaggios (translation: cheeses) bubbling on top. Oh mamma mia, soo good I eat you all the days. Deep in my belly you go to make a little cushiony home which will soon develop into a little village of pasta and lasagna. Then I come back for dinner and I get SEAFOOD! Aye yaye yay yaa I love you Mr. Seafood. You float along the depths of the Mediterranean into the Guardini Naxos beach and a little Sicilian fisherman chillin on a rock hooks you up for me to eat you, ha ha ha. Fork and knife in hands banging on the table for more of you, Papa Nimo (chef from our favorite restaurant) comes out happy to see me for the fourth night in a row to tell me what he cooks for me tonight. While sippin on delicioso vino blanche, I see mama and son Salvatore coming from the kitchen to deliver the seafood masterpiece. Risotto chillin on the bottom with black mussels, white clams, little pieces of octopus, and baby shrimp piled high on one plate. Jumbo shrimp, a full sol fish from head to fin, chunk of squid and swordfish sprinkled in pepper sea salt oregano green onions and bits of raw garlic, all neatly displayed on the other plate with a piercing yellow lemon to saturate the perfectly grilled fish in. All accompanied with fresh bread with olio (translation: oil) by its side waiting anxiously to be dipped into the seafood risotto sauce. Motta Benne (translation: very good)! And lets not forget but of course a little homemade from mama, limonchello night cap to finish off the perfect Sicilian seafood bellisimo experience. Arrive derche ( have a nice day) gratzie (thank you) and chow chow (bye bye). Put a fork in me I am done, meaning done for about three hours until the intoxicating smells reach my nose again and somehow like a dreamlike trance I find myself helplessly floating into the next café.
Guardini Naxos the first Greek colony in Sicily, lays out endless rocky beaches with crystal clear rich blue water softly rocking back and forth but never creating huge waves. So clear and tranquil, peering into the deepest part of the water, I can see down at the depth of the waterbed the color of the polished stones. Lying vulnerably on its own, only surrounded by water, Sicily was like an open wound for warriors to invade into from both the East and West. Therefore way before even the Roman Empire the Greeks, Moors, far east, and nomads had already left their marks. So close to its northern Italian family, but yet so incredibly different due to mass colonization for many centuries. From the powerful untouchable Roman gladiators, up to the wealthy merchant Venetians following the economic ways of Austria and Germany, over to the north west richly fashion diva known as Milan. All encompassing their own distinct cultures that upon arrival in Sicily, you can actually here the difference in their unique dialect, smell it in their Mediterranean delicious meals, feel it in their warm big loving hearts and kind smiles, and see it in the impressive Greek ruins and abundant flora and fauna along the agricultural countryside’s. Such a shame that many fear to head south due to Sicily’s reputation of years of depression, poverty, and organized crime from the Sicilian mafia. After all, the movie Godfather was shot only 10 km. from our hotel and you just have to come across my intimidating five foot tall best friend Phoebe who is half Sicilian and you would go running the other way in utter fright. Nevertheless, Sicily is filled with so many hidden treasures waiting to be discovered.
Sitting on the ancient stone layers of the Greek theatre on the top of the hill Taromina, I imagine the ancient Greek civilization that originally hosted numerous theatrical performances; lifetimes later the Italians will have taken over and host their own performances; and now in our present world of 2007, the theatre remains intact to continue the ancient tradition of musical concerts playing into the wee hours of the starry night. Across the hillside I see the gigantic Mt. Etna encrusted in snow blowing out puffs of smoke from its opening. In shorts and flip flops bathing in the rays of the sun I think to myself, tomorrow I will start my journey to volcano Etna.
Oh shit balls maybe the whole daydreaming of climbing a volcano while laying out on the cliffs of a sunny beach sippin on ice cold beer wasn’t such a good idea. Volcanic ash in my hair, ears, face, and feet. Pants shredded on the bottom from the sharp lava rocks and hands cut from eating shit twice on the slippery slope. Bitter cold snow numbs my hands and ears while icy wind burns my eyes. Yes I have officially arrived 2,500 m high to the active 500,000 year old volcano Mt. Etna. I can just picture Erica laying out in her bikini back at Guardini Naxos while here my dumb ass is climbing volcanoes. Formed under the sea of Catania, two tectonic plates collided, one from Africa to the west of Sicily, and the other from the east in Asia and out pops Ms. Etna. Lucky me, with four main craters that occasionally have gas and lava bombs exploding out, on the morning that I arrive, I am told that there was a lava bomb explosion in the middle of the night and somewhere on the massive peak lava was flowing out. Unfortunately I did not get the opportunity to see the lava flow out but then again, its about a smoldering 1200 cindegrees hot and full of gas so I probably would not want to get too close unless I wanted to be cremated and then dissolved into hot liquid.
On our way over to Mt. Etna we drove through the beautiful countryside of Catania. Some of the flora and fauna sprouting out of the bottom of Mt. Etna were so far out of this world that they looked like something from outer space. The wild fennel for example is an eerie kind of yellow and sprouts out of these green cabbage looking sticks. On other parts of the mountain there are miles and miles of pistachio and chestnut trees, vineyards with farmers pilling the soil, and extensive wildlife of foxes rabbits exotic birds and butterflies. Mixed within all the rural hillsides rests these abandoned palaces that Sicilian royalty used to live in. Now only remains and parts of the palace still remain. In the poor villages along Mt. Etna many of the old homes are actually constructed out of the lava rock. In 1983 Mt. Etna had a huge explosion and lave flowed from 2,800 m. to 1,000 m. On the side of the mountain that the lava crept down, streets, homes, and wildlife were completely destroyed. There are homes that I saw that were completely covered in the lava that now only the roof peaks out from the top. People are aware of the danger of virtually living on a volcano yet, many still live there either out of poverty or just pure Sicilian stubbornness. Fortunately the lava flows so incredibly slow like goops of thick mud that the people do not have to worry about being wiped out. As I circled around one of the inactive craters I was dumbfounded to catch sight of some weird green little bushes sprouting out of the red orange and smoky black lava. At the bottom of the crater I look towards the sky and notice some people are attempting to climb this mountain side. So curious was I to see what was on the other side, that but of course, I decided to go see for myself. After all I am not one to miss a party so of course I had to see what all the commotion was about on the other side. In diesel flats and nice brown pants I begin my trek up the volcano. Naturally I am not climbing on the top part which is so hot and black that all the snow has melted off and humans can’t possible stand the heat. While I begin my ascent upwards I notice that I am virtually sinking into the thick ash and thoroughly began enjoying the sensation that the back of my calves were about to explode from shooting hot fire spiraling up them. This feeling continued the entire trek up the mountainside along with feeling like I was going to faint and fall of the mountain due to the high altitude and thin air. Nevertheless an eternity later after watching one person after another give up half way and head back down, I have arrived to the top. Although the wind is fierce and cold, since I am dripping in sweat it feels like a cool dip in the ocean on a sunny San Diego summers day. Standing on bright red and orange colored volcanic ash, hair whipping around my face, witnessing the most spectacular view of the entire crater below me and the vast landscape of Mt. Etna all the way down to the bottom, a moment of complete peace springs upon me. I say a little prayer to thank god for always guiding my heart in the right direction and making me stronger throughout any obstacle in which I felt physically paralyzed and could not cope. Or with helping me at times when I was mentally lost with no answer as to which way to go in my life. Sure I could have led a life of feeling sorry for myself when adversary would come my way or constantly settle in a sea of lame excuses but there was always something looming above watching me in the clouds ready to kick me in the ass if I were to stop swimming. Before beginning my little rock collection of various lava pieces and then clumsily sliding down the mountain adding to my ripped pants, I blow warm wishes across the Atlantic to my adorable elf size Nanny. Wishing she could feel more moments of happiness and peace that I just felt, infiltrate light through her blind eyes to see the landscapes of natural Sicilian beauty, send her warm Sicilian sun rays, and a thousand hearty Sicilian smiles.