On the Island Vulcan...o

Uncle David, this one’s for you…

Captain’s log: Stardate: 66217.6. My position: approaching a mysterious island that appears to be releasing steam. I am beaming to the island’s surface. My mission: to explore this strange island, and discover the source of the steam.

The day was Monday, and I arrived at the port of Stromboli, around 10, hoping to catch the 11 o’clock boat to Vulcano. As I talked to the people within the ticket office, it became clear to me that this voyage would be difficult, once again. The boat had left early, due to high winds, if I understood the alien language. This meant that I would need to wait until around 3 for a boat to Vulcano. I proceeded to wait near the ticket office and fix the music playlists on my computer’s iTunes. I bought my ticket when the office opened, and went to the dock to wait. From that point on, the boat ride actually went as it was meant to, and so was surprisingly smooth. In passing near their systems, I saw many other strange and intriguing islands.

Europe: My current frontier. These are the voyages of the explorer: Erin. My three-month mission: to explore strange, new volcanoes, to seek out new knowledge and new wisdom, to boldly go where no UWRF student has gone before.

Captain’s log: Additional entry. Since my boat ride went smoothly, I beamed to the island without worry. I was totally unaware that I was about to run into more rough travels.

The location I was planning on residing for my four nights on this strange island, was booked through the website: airbnb.com, where I was told I would be staying in a guest home on Antonio’s property. He told me to call him when I got to the port, so I did. Upon doing so, one of those lovely little automated messages informed me that the customer I was trying to reach was not available. Mom called me in response to my frantic texts, and she emailed Antonio, telling him that I was waiting at the port and trying to reach him, but without success. I tried communication with him via text also, with no avail. Then I waited, trying to call again from time to time. After around an hour, I was beginning to feel fear again, especially since the place I was staying at was simply called “An Aeolian Villa”, so it definitely wasn’t a normal hotel…and I tried asking people if they had heard of it, or of Antonio, and no one had. So, I began wandering, and found a tourist office. I asked again if they knew of the person or place, and they didn’t…I was near tears, and the guy at the desk could tell. So he offered to let me use internet, and I took advantage of the offer. I looked up the phone number and resort page for myself, and saw the number on the screen…which had a + in front of it…Then it dawned on me, in this strange and foreign place, I was supposed to dial the +…so I tried calling Antonio again, and it worked. Of all the stupid things, I didn’t have the + in the number, and so couldn’t call. Gah!

Captain’s log: Continuing. After wandering the area I beamed to, it was clear to me that these beings speak only their own language, with very few of them understanding me when I speak to them.

Antonio called his uncle, Tanino, and instructed him to pick me up, as he, Antonio, was stuck on a different island. Tanino brought me to his home, and showed me the guest house that was reserved for my residence. In his foreign language, he instructed me that dinner was at 9, and I was to join him. During this meal, which consisted of strangely familiar pasta and tomato sauce, we had a conversation. How we managed to actually communicate with each other is unclear to me, as I could only understand a very little of his foreign language, and he could not understand mine. The only thing about that conversation that is clear to me is that we did successfully communicate. This man told me of his friend, who wrote a book about the minerals of Vulcano. I was very interested and excited to learn more, so he told me we’d go meet his friend that night. We left around 10 for the restaurant his friend owns, where I spent the entire time goggling at the book, like a silly little school girl. The book was entirely in Italian, other than mineral names in both Italian and English, at the back of the book. I also tried my first Italian coffee at this restaurant. I opted for decaffeinated, as adrenaline was already coursing through my veins, giving me enough energy to continue. Tanino also brought me to a bar, where he bought me a glass of liquor from the island.  This liquor was very smooth and very tasty. It was a new experience and a long night full of adventure. But it was time for me to retire until the sun rose again.

Captain’s log: Stardate 66223.3. My position: in the town at the sea port of the island Vulcano.

I spent the first two full days rejuvenating and trying to organize my plans, memories, and pictures and performing important maintenance tasks like cleaning clothes. On my third day on this foreign island, I finally explored more of this region. I found a pharmacy, where I bought bug spray (which was a true necessity in this land), the INGV office, which was inoperational, and I climbed to the source of the steam.  The source was more than 10 fumaroles, located on, next to, and inside of a large crater. On my first trip to this crater, I only did a little exploring and investigating, getting as close to the larger fumaroles as was allowed, and walking around the near side of the crater, before returning to home base. I also collected some samples on this trip, as I was fascinated by the mineral shapes, mostly botryoidal on a VERY small scale.

Captain's log: Stardate  66226.1. My position: atop the crater releasing all of the gas on the island of Vulcano.

I returned to the summit of this crater today, and spent much more time there, walking the entire perimeter of the crater. I was enthralled with the fumaroles and the rocks I saw, as I was unused to rocks with this texture. I got as close to the fumaroles as was allowed. It was fascinating to walk around the rim of the crater, though I wish I could have gone all the way up to the fumaroles. That would have been a much more educational experience for me, I think. However, there was a risk of asphyxiation, so I wasn't allowed farther. It was still an excellent experience for me, though.

Overall, this was a very exciting adventure, full of new experiences for me. But, my mission was complete. I had found the fumaroles: the source of the islands gas emissions. It was time for me to move to my next location to begin the next adventure.