After leaving Taormina in the morning, I got to Messina and then Milazzo easily by two buses and hopped onto the fast Siremar hydrofoil to the nearest Eolie isola, Vulcano. The peaks loomed above the horizon even from afar and I had no freaking idea what to expect, armed with only Lorenzo's recommendations and a booklet of limited tourist literature on the cluster of volcanic islands from Messina. When I got off, my nose followed the sulphuric scent to the mud bath and I checked promptly into the beachfront Hotel Rojas (30euros only for a lovely room with a balcony!) with the help of the chubby and jovial Antonio.
The hotel's bar counter was stocked with a handful of snacks and seeing that I was stumped for choice, Antonio cheerfully recommended the Sicilian Arancini rice ball stuffed with cheese and ham (2euros), which was one of the things I had looked forward to trying in Sicily. It looked small and compact but filled my stomach easily, especially when washed down with my favourite Birra Moretti and a cigarette. Contented like a cat, I crossed the road, paid the 2-euros entrance fee for the volcanic thermal bath. The mud pool was thick, warm and bubbling as I slipped in gently and caked my grinning face and arms with the smooth greenish-grey mud baking quickly in the sun...ah.
It was an amazing vista - imagine a backdrop of volcanic hills and the open bath bubbling away while the pungent sulphur lifted by the sea breeze filled the air... A kind old gentleman said in a a splatter of Italiano and Francese that I shouldn't stay in the volcanic mud for too long, gesturing some kind of toxic sign. I figured he was trying to tell me that the sulphur was bad for my body if I stayed too long so I tiptoed to the rocky beach 5 metres away and plunged into the cold Mediterranean sea which was also bubbling and warm! I squatted over the bubbling spots, and thought how scary it'd be if the sea opened up now and the molten lava skined me alive! Ay-ya-ya!
With some time to kill and no map (since the tourist office was closed), I strolled around the tiny village and located the other black volcanic sandy beach which was deserted and I stared at the sea til i got bored and hungry. Dinner found me easily at Il Palmento, one of the few ristoranti, established circa 1968! I chatted to these 2 affable elderly Italian men at the menu stand which advertised the ristorante's local fresh catches, wood-oven pizzas and pastas. They were immensely curious about me and proclaimed 'Che una brava bella!' to travel on my own and even came to shake my hand when they left the ristorante later. The other amused diners and even the Indian-looking pizza chef looked at me, wondering if I was somewhat of a celebrity.
Ravenous and tired, I sipped the vino bianco and proceeded to slurp down one of the most exquisite pastas I had ever tasted. The spaghetti con sarde was screaming at me when I surveyed the menu and I didn't even ask the nerdy bespectacled waiter if it was any good. It didn't look appetising when it arrived shortly but my god the taste! I never knew such a combination could work so well - fresh sardines, tender fennel stalks, golden raisins, capers and pinenuts in a light pomodoro sauce sprinkled with fried toasty breadcrumbs for only 8euros! Buonissimo. Utterly divine.
After leaving Taormina in the morning, I got to Messina and then Milazzo easily by two buses and hopped onto the fast Siremar hydrofoil to the nearest Eolie isola, Vulcano. The peaks loomed above the horizon even from afar and I had no freaking idea what to expect, armed with only Lorenzo's recommendations and a booklet of limited tourist literature on the cluster of volcanic islands from Messina. When I got off, my nose followed the sulphuric scent to the mud bath and I checked promptly into the beachfront Hotel Rojas (30euros only for a lovely room with a balcony!) with the help of the chubby and jovial Antonio.
The hotel's bar counter was stocked with a handful of snacks and seeing that I was stumped for choice, Antonio cheerfully recommended the Sicilian Arancini rice ball stuffed with cheese and ham (2euros), which was one of the things I had looked forward to trying in Sicily. It looked small and compact but filled my stomach easily, especially when washed down with my favourite Birra Moretti and a cigarette. Contented like a cat, I crossed the road, paid the 2-euros entrance fee for the volcanic thermal bath. The mud pool was thick, warm and bubbling as I slipped in gently and caked my grinning face and arms with the smooth greenish-grey mud baking quickly in the sun...ah. 
It was an amazing vista - imagine a backdrop of volcanic hills and the open bath bubbling away while the pungent sulphur lifted by the sea breeze filled the air... A kind old gentleman said in a a splatter of Italiano and Francese that I shouldn't stay in the volcanic mud for too long, gesturing some kind of toxic sign. I figured he was trying to tell me that the sulphur was bad for my body if I stayed too long so I tiptoed to the rocky beach 5 metres away and plunged into the cold Mediterranean sea which was also bubbling and warm! I squatted over the bubbling spots, and thought how scary it'd be if the sea opened up now and the molten lava skined me alive! Ay-ya-ya!
With some time to kill and no map (since the tourist office was closed), I strolled around the tiny village and located the other black volcanic sandy beach which was deserted and I stared at the sea til i got bored and hungry. Dinner found me easily at Il Palmento, one of the few ristoranti, established circa 1968! I chatted to these 2 affable elderly Italian men at the menu stand which advertised the ristorante's local fresh catches, wood-oven pizzas and pastas. They were immensely curious about me and proclaimed 'Che una brava bella!' to travel on my own and even came to shake my hand when they left the ristorante later. The other amused diners and even the Indian-looking pizza chef looked at me, wondering if I was somewhat of a celebrity. 
Ravenous and tired, I sipped the vino bianco and proceeded to slurp down one of the most exquisite pastas I had ever tasted. The spaghetti con sarde was screaming at me when I surveyed the menu and I didn't even ask the nerdy bespectacled waiter if it was any good. It didn't look appetising when it arrived shortly but my god the taste! I never knew such a combination could work so well - fresh sardines, tender fennel stalks, golden raisins, capers and pinenuts in a light pomodoro sauce sprinkled with fried toasty breadcrumbs for only 8euros! Buonissimo. Utterly divine.
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