TRAVELLIVE 09-2016
In a late afternoon in the early autumn, I’m standing at the balcony overlooking the playground of my apartment building. Children are excited to go outside after a heavy rain. Some boys are noisily fighting to catch a plastic ball. Under the shade of trees, my daughter and her friends are drawing strange images on the stone chairs with a pen of tree’s branch dripping with water. The space is noisy yet peaceful. Autumn comes and brings with it a lot of expectations such as milk flowers in every corner or green young rice for delicious dishes. Some people are complaining that their skin is getting drier despite cool weather. Children are eager to meet their friends after a long summer holiday, participate in outdoor activities on the weekend, or gather and make crazy things at one’s house while their parents are worried about their workload. Who will take care of the kids, take them to school, contact with teachers, help them with homework, and clean the messes they make? You see, whether or not autumn is wonderful depends on our mood. While reading this letter, perhaps, you are a bit busy preparing for a new business trip or getting tired of work. But spend a few minutes this autumn to take up some intriguing things, letting the autumn winds help you find out your own tranquility!
In a late afternoon in the early autumn, I’m standing at the balcony overlooking the playground of my apartment building. Children are excited to go outside after a heavy rain. Some boys are noisily fighting to catch a plastic ball. Under the shade of trees, my daughter and her friends are drawing strange images on the stone chairs with a pen of tree’s branch dripping with water.
The space is noisy yet peaceful.
Autumn comes and brings with it a lot of expectations such as milk flowers in every corner or green young rice for delicious dishes. Some people are complaining that their skin is getting drier despite cool weather. Children are eager to meet their friends after a long summer holiday, participate in outdoor activities on the weekend, or gather and make crazy things at one’s house while their parents are worried about their workload. Who will take care of the kids, take them to school, contact with teachers, help them with homework, and clean the messes they make?
You see, whether or not autumn is wonderful depends on our mood. While reading this letter, perhaps, you are a bit busy preparing for a new business trip or getting tired of work. But spend a few minutes this autumn to take up some intriguing things, letting the autumn winds help you find out your own tranquility!
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
travel<br />
Text and photos: Nhung Nguyen<br />
Typhon’s greatest recorded instance of wrath was in 1669<br />
when Etna burned down ten entire villages and all the<br />
city walls of Catania. But while Typhon forces people to<br />
remember its wrath, Etna attracts explorers from around<br />
the world with by its imposing nature.<br />
THE BEAUTIFUL GIRL OF SICILY ISLAND<br />
After trips to cities on the European mainland, I decided<br />
to try Sicily - a beautiful island with a rich<br />
history to the south of Italy. The great poet<br />
Goethe claimed that "to have seen Italy<br />
without having seen Sicily is not to have<br />
seen Italy at all, for Sicily is the clue to<br />
everything". Like the last arrow pinning at<br />
the heart of the visitor, the majestic Etna<br />
made me give my love to the exciting land of<br />
Sicily.<br />
Mt. Etna is one of the 16 volcanoes studied<br />
by IAVCEI (the International Association<br />
of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth’s Interior) and<br />
among the few volcanoes that are constantly active. With<br />
a height of 3,350m, Etna is the highest volcano in Europe<br />
and attracts a large portion of Sicily’s visitors. In Sicilian,<br />
Etna is called Muncibeddu - the beautiful mountain. As<br />
its name reflects, Etna is like a beautiful haughty woman,<br />
daring the toughest and most patient travelers to summit<br />
her peak.<br />
WHILE TYPHON<br />
FORCES PEOPLE<br />
TO REMEMBER<br />
ITS WRATH,<br />
ETNA ATTRACTS<br />
EXPLORERS FROM<br />
AROUND THE<br />
WORLD WITH<br />
ITS IMPOSING<br />
NATURE.<br />
TO CONQUER THE CHALLENGES<br />
I departed from the bus station at Catania - the second<br />
largest city in Sicily, after Palermo. In two hours, my bus<br />
went around from the foot mountain to Rifugio Sapienza<br />
Station. Along the roadside were several houses hidden in<br />
dust from the last eruption. The only things we could see<br />
were their roofs and low groves. At the next stage, the car<br />
cable system brought me from Sapienza Station halfway up<br />
the mountain to 2,500m. In 1971 and 2001, Etna was like<br />
an awakened queen, aggressively burning the entire cable<br />
system.<br />
Upon getting out of the car cable, I was<br />
greeted by strong winds slapping on my face.<br />
How special this greeting was! For the last<br />
stage, you can reach the peak by climbing<br />
or jeep. I told to myself, with such stunning<br />
surroundings, only “weak” travelers need<br />
jeeps. So I accepted the challenge!<br />
The soil on Etna is jet black from constant<br />
eruptions. Plants are nowhere to be found.<br />
In the world of this haughty woman, there<br />
is only black soil, white snow, and blue sky. I walked in<br />
silence, following the hikers. Sometimes I stopped to<br />
breathe the fresh air, look around, and take photos carefully,<br />
as though any careless action would awake the Etna, the<br />
gypsy woman. The stage which is more than 2500m high<br />
above sea level is not easy at all. Wriggling along paths<br />
winding up the mountain, slowly clinging to large patches<br />
of ice, and avoiding the high suspension jeeps lumbering<br />
upwards were my best memories. Though as many trips I<br />
will take, I will never forget this journey.<br />
In Greek mythology, Etna was the prison where the fire breathing<br />
hold in captivity. Perhaps, as Typhon never sleeps, Mt. Etna is the
Change language