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10.8: Hiking around the island and ontop of volcano Stromboli
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The commercial trekking companies collect tourists into a group, leavin Stromboli village at afternoon, They all walk up along the northern approach to the crater, then they are sent back to the village along the eastern descent. The tourists are given mouth protection masks, they are not intended to protect against possible volcanic gases. Instead, the masks are necessary because the large amount of people create strong dusty clouds when descending over the fine volcanic sand.
Thus, it may be appropriate to search for an alternative access. Watching the volcanic eruptions after sunset is and will always remain an extraordinary moment of special remembrance. Of course, if you feel well within a huge flock of tourists, you are welcome to pay for a commercial trekking operator. Otherwise, a DIY approach may be the better choice. The one presented here avoids the problematic ascent over the eastern trails occupied by tour operators. Generally, tour operators and volcano guards do not want to encounter mavericks on their mountain. So, our proposal is to first enjoy the spectacular walk from Stromboli village to Ginostra along the southern coastline. It is not an easy walk, but if you're used to hike in the alps for instance, there should be no problem. And the rewards are there. In Ginsotra, you wait for the late afternoon, then you climb the volcano from there, following a path nobody seems to use nowadays.
I believe that those undertaking the ascent on their own are aware of the associated risks and the kind of equipment required (enough water, lamps etc...). Be aware that access above 400m s.l. may be formally forbidden if not accompained by authorized guides. The volcano is usually gentle, but may become more impredictable for a couple of months once in a while before stepping back again to its normal friendly mode. Use google.
 | I.) From Stromboli village to Ginostra along the southern coast line
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The coastal trail from Stromboli village to Ginostra took us around 3 hours 45 minutes, not including breaks (at least one break to go swimming is compulsory) at an adequate walking pace. The trail follows what roughly 50 years ago may have been a partly built path linking the two villages. Nowadays, this trail officially no longer exists in its whole extent because of some possibly dangerous sections nearby Ginostra. Falling rocks rolling along huge ramps off the volcano want to be avoided. However, as long as weather is dry (no rain fall), the danger can be considered not being an issue.
It proves unavoidable to walk short sections (a dozens of meters) through water two or three times where the coastal configuration requires this. Water is not deeper than your hips are high, so no special provisions need to be made for your backpack etc. However, solid walking capabilities on potentially slippery stones under water are a plus.
In Ginostra, a charming (really!) assembly of a few houses including church and post office awaits you, all this embedded in a Mediterranean vegetation one expects to encounter. It may be a nice idea to visit one of the two restaurants if necessary, thus sitting the hottest hours of the day accompanied by a sequence of Cappuccini.
I may add at this point that the volcano is off-limits above 400m.s.l. By coincidence, you can hike up higher to the fire spitting craters, but you need to pay a guide. And follow the official trails (which are only two: One for going up, one for going down). Since police men seem to accompain the (huge) troops of tourists arriving at the peak at sunset to admire the fire spitting, you are advised to be very well prepared in finding suitable communication channel with the police forces. No kidding, that's pretty severe.
| II.) Ginostra
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In Ginostra, a charming (really!) assembly of a few houses including church and post office awaits you, all this embedded in a Mediterranean vegetation one expects to encounter like it is. It may be a nice idea to visit one of the two restaurants if necessary, thus sitting the hottest hours of the day accompanied by a sequence of Cappuccini.
| III.) From Ginostra to the crater of the volcano Stromboli
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Since the idea is to reach the crater at sunset, a fairly well thought time schedule could make your day. We paid the bill at 5:55 PM. The path climbing Stromboli from Ginostra first leads towards the north, then passing along a pretty large solar power plant hidden by bushes. After reaching the steep northern coast at Punta d'u Curovu (6:20PM), the trail sharply turns east, and things become a little more complicated. Because the entire volcano seems to be officially off-limits (except when paying for guides), most of the trails are nowadays unused and hence difficult to hike along because of all sort of nasty bushes obstructing your way. Don't try this in shorts, wear strong long pants instead. It is a pity those trails are not maintained, even more the whole thing is a sort of natural parc probably sucking public subsidies. Also, interest in good terrain topography seems not to be that developed because there are as many different trail indications as there are different map publishers. Nor do local people seem to know about the state of their trails. Don't even try to ask for a suited trail. Or ask the same question to at least two different people in order to get two contradictory answers. So what? Before leaving, consult your google earth and your intuition.
While continuing our climb, at around 7:20 PM the vegetation suddenly vanishes, letting us enter a metaphysic moon-like landscape. The first smoke ejections give us a big welcome, we reach the top of the crater around 7:55PM, just in time for the compulsory sun set scenography.
| IV.) The crater of Stromboli
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From the english wikipedia: Stromboli is remarkable because of the length of time for which it has been in almost continuous eruption. For at least the last 2,000 years, the same pattern of eruption was maintained, in which explosions occurred at the summit craters with mild to moderate eruptions of incandescent volcanic bombs at intervals ranging from minutes to hours, something which proved a considerable tourist attraction. This characteristic Strombolian eruption, as it is known, is also observed at other volcanoes worldwide. Eruptions from the summit craters typically result in few second-lasting mild energetic bursts emitting ash, incandescent lava fragments and lithic blocks up to a few hundred meters high. Stromboli's activity is almost exclusively explosive, but lava flows do occasionally occur - an effusive eruption in 2002 was its first in 17 years.
The mildly explosive eruptions are also occasionally punctuated by much larger eruptions. The largest eruption of the last hundred years occurred in 1930, and resulted in the deaths of several people and the destruction of a number of houses by flying volcanic bombs. Large eruptions occur at intervals of years to decades, and the most recent large eruption began in 2002, causing the closure of the island to non-residents for several months. The eruption started with a lava flow (29 December 2002) along the "Sciara del Fuoco" flank that rapidly reached the sea. On 30 December 2002, a huge volume of rocks collapsed from the "Sciara del Fuoco" generating at least two landslides and many tsunami waves. The highest wave was 10 m high and caused serious damage at the Stromboli village. On 5 April 2003, a strong explosion from the summit crater ejected rocks that reached Ginostra village, damaging some houses. The eruption terminated on July 2003.
On 27 February 2007, two new craters opened on the island, with lava flowing into the sea from one of them.
| V.) From the crater downto Stromboli village
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