Fiery nights & MalvasiaThat is my attempt at using my fancy SLR to take a snap of Stromboli volcano erupting. I still haven't mastered how to use it in the dark but you get the picture of what a volcano erupting would look like right? You've seen it in text books and it is the exact same, except my photo looks like it is a flaming horse shoe and a campfire in some national park but those are really two eruptions. They happen all day long! During the day Stromboli puffs out smoke from its crater and in the evening you can actually see the lava spurting out -truly amazing!

If you choose to climb up for 3 hours (and down in 2) in the scorching heat you get to see it up close and you see many more eruptions as only a quarter of the eruptions make it out of the top. Considering the 35+degree heat we chose to do the lazy man's visit which was via a boat, swimming along the way and then sitting on the roof of the boat gazing out and cheering at each eruption and sipping the local Malavisa wine. It was exciting and we could've stayed there all night but our captain probably wanted to go home and most likely has heard the tourist yelps and clapping every night so might not wanted to have lingered for another few hours like we did. Now to the wine…. the Malvasia was offered to us at many local restaurants in Lipari and at our favourite Italian Nonno coffee bar - it is sweet and lovely but only a small bit is needed.

The wine is firmly placed in the hearts and minds of the residents of the Aeolian islands and for tourists it is a local specialty that is shared with pride. The delicately sweet wine is made in Lipari and comes in varying sweetness but it is made by leaving ripe grapes on bamboo mats in the sun for nearly 2 weeks and allowing the sugars to concentrate before pressing them and leaving them to slowly ferment in casks. Result - a sweet, refreshing wine with a golden or amber color. Perfect for being awestruck by a volcano that has been around for thousands of years! Stromboli is a must visit location!


One type of wine Malvasia di Vigona - you can read more on their site here