Travelling to Stromboli

A benefit of my PhD, travelling to amazing places! This particularly trip was for a field school on Stromboli, so expect a few posts on the lovely volcanic island! Particularly during the early summer and winter periods, getting to Stromboli can be a long experience... I chose the overnight ferry from Naples (Napoli) after flying in from London to the airport during the day. Getting to the port was easier than expected (I even prepared to walk the ~6 km just in case!). Immediately I was struck by how close Vesuvius (Vesuvio) was to Naples and how it has been allowed to spread so far up the flanks, which must surely be a nightmare for the local government to manage! On the overnight boat there is an excellent view of Naples and Vesuvius, unfortunately covered by cloud at the summit, it is certainly impressive in its commanding position. When catching the overnight ferry from Naples I would highly recommend that you get a cabin (I didn’t....), these boats are very very basic! Getting up at around 5 am (local time) to see Stromboli in the morning sun (and of course the volcanic activity) is scenic and very hard to capture on camera. An attempt of mine is below, including a nice ash rich explosion which occurred close to docking. The smaller rock on the left of the pictures is Strombolicchio which is the remaining part of the volcanic conduit of the older edifice that lies to the NE of the current summit area. Travelling overnight and arriving at Stromboli during the early hours was very rewarding, despite the early hours and somewhat basic boat, it is certainly something everyone should do, once maybe, it is much quicker to travel via Hydrofoil from Milazzo/Lipari but that's a story for another blog post! 

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