Today I hiked Mount Etna, one of the world’s most active volcanoes. This Unesco World Heritage Site is the highest Mediterranean island mountain and the most active volcano in the world.

My friend Marisa, her husband, and I were part of a guided group that started out on a gondola which took us to 8,200 feet. Afterward, we hiked up steep, rough volcanic gravel, reaching 9,580 feet, the highest area we could reach (the actual summit is about 11,000 feet).

It was tough, but it’s amazing what you can accomplish when you put your mind to it!

And what an incredible experience it was, one I will never forget and one I will soon write about in more detail. In the meantime, here are a few teaser photos of the volcano that shaped Sicily’s history.