A Day In The Life...

We recently returned from a port visit to Sicily, Italy. Normally as part of the Engineering Department, engineers rarely get the opportunity to go on tours and enjoy the sites of the ports we visit. However, through some creative managing, we were able to put together a port-and-starboard rotation where everyone was able to enjoy some time off the ship.

A visit to Augusta Bay is where we stopped this month. A-Bay lies nestled between two Italian cities, Saracusa and Catania. More of a industrial area it is 45 minutes away from NSA Sigonella. After the long bus ride we are able to shop at the NEX and eat at the food court where the local Taco Bell always had a long line. There's also a new APPLEBEE's on the base and for the first couple of days was crowded with sailors.

A lot of tours were scheduled this time around primarily because this was our last visit to Sicily. Tours to Saracusa, Mt Etna and the bar where The Godfather was filmed were the highlights.

Me and a few of my friends took advantage of the Mt Etna tour which included a wine tasting at a winery. We left early Monday morning headed to the winery. We arrived at the winery around lunchtime. It was located at the base of Mt Etna. We were given a tour of the small plant before spending a few hours tasting the various wines they produced. Afterwards we were given the opportunity to purchase some bottles of wine. Next we headed toward the top of Mt Etna. Mount Etna is one of the most active volcanoes in the world and is in an almost constant state of eruption. Although it can occasionally be very destructive, it is not generally regarded as being particularly dangerous and thousands of people live on its slopes and in the surrounding areas. As we traveled up the mountain side, you can see several rooftops of homes that were engulfed when the volcano last erupted. The eruption also completely destroyed the Rifugio Sapienza, on the southern flank of the volcano. Footage from the eruptions was recorded and used as the landscape of the planet Mustafar in the film Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. When we arrived at the top it was cold but not freezing. Enough to keep the snow on the ground. I was surprise to see the amount of people at the top of the mountain. Maybe it was a holiday or something. Unfortunately the cable car that would travel along the hillside wasn't working that day. But all in all it was an enjoyable tour.