So does anyone want to spend £1000 and come on a trip to Sicily with me – April 10th to 17th?
It appears that Nigel No Mates (that’s me) has been the sole person to book a tour for these dates and the trip is at risk of being cancelled unless three more people book. I’ve got two weeks before I find out if it will get the axe.
And I was so looking forward to this trip – it was going to be volcano number 2 (Mt Etna) and volcano number 3 (Stromboli), as well as the bonus volcanoes of Vulcano and Lipari. Not to mention hiking in the Italian Spring time, luscious Italian pasta and pizza, and of course the very drinkable Italian red wine.
For this particular trip I had had a massive argument with myself – do I do the trip independently (I mean, it is only Sicily) or let some other sucker organise the convoluted trains and ferries required to get to each volcano, as well as all the different accommodation I would need. The issue I ummed and ahhed over was: was I cheating by doing a tour? Did the quest to climb 40 volcanoes by 40 seem less of a worthy challenge if I just tagged along on a tour?
I sought out the wisdom of friends and family and social media. In the end, I figured I’d rather be enjoying a glass of red in the sun rather than trying to interpret Italian ferry departure times or trying to squeeze into tiny public toilet cubicles with all my bags because there was no locked tour bus keeping an eye on them. Perhaps that’s just me being lazy. But at least if I was doing the frantic independent option the trip would be a sure thing.
Fortunately I haven’t booked my flights – the tour operator doesn’t recommend that until the trip is actually guaranteed. And, by all accounts, I can move the trip to tour dates later in the year so I don’t miss out. While that is great, the fact is I want to go now. So if anyone has any cash left over from Christmas and New Years and could be tempted by some volcano-walking exercise and other Italian delights, as well as getting to hang out with me, then let me know.
Just to add this isn’t a press or sponsored trip. I am travelling out of my own pocket.
Katrina Megget 
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