I was camping near Acireale, a quiet town in eastern Sicily. My tent was pitched on a cliff that looked straight out at the Mediterranean. It wasn’t anything fancy—just a basic campsite—but it felt like the perfect place to slow down. Every morning, I’d wake up to the sound of the sea and the sight of sunlight dancing on the water. A short hike down from the cliff led to a little beach that felt like it belonged only to me.
Sicily felt different from the rest of Italy. It was quieter, older, and full of little surprises. I spent the days wandering around Roman ruins and local towns, and the nights watching stars from my tent.
One evening, I took a train to Catania to walk around the city and grab something to eat. I didn’t really check the time. By the time I got to the station, the last bus back to Acireale had already left. Apparently, public transport in this part of Sicily shuts down after 10 PM.
I had two choices—wait till morning or walk back. I chose to walk.
It was around 22 kilometers. I figured I could do it if I just kept going. The road was empty, not a single car passed. After a while, I stopped checking how far I had left. I just kept walking, listening to the gravel under my shoes, the occasional bark of a dog in the distance, and the breeze coming in from the coast.
Somewhere around the fifth hour, I noticed something strange in the sky.
At first, I thought it was a fire—maybe someone burning brushwood in the hills. But the glow didn’t flicker like a fire. It pulsed. Bright red and orange. I stopped and stared for a minute.
It took me a while to register what I was looking at. Mount Etna was erupting.
Lava was pouring down its side in slow motion, glowing against the night sky. Smoke curled upward, and the sky over the mountain lit up like it was sunset all over again. There was no sound, no panic—just this strange, powerful sight of the earth coming alive.
I didn’t know if this was normal. I didn’t know if I should be worried. But I couldn’t look away. I stood there for a long time, completely alone on the road, just watching it burn. It was beautiful and wild and a little terrifying.
Eventually, I kept walking.
About an hour later, I found a small café still open. I walked in, dusty and tired, and asked for a bottle of water. A few men were sitting outside, and they asked where I was going. When I told them Acireale, they stared at me like I was crazy. One of them offered to give me a ride part of the way. He dropped me close to the campsite and asked for just 10 euros.
Lucky break. I don’t know how much longer I could’ve kept walking.
When I finally reached my tent, the sea was calm, the stars were still out, and far away on the horizon, Etna was still glowing. I lay down on my back and just watched the sky for a while, thinking about how the whole night unfolded.
It wasn’t what I planned.
But it’s the night I’ll remember forever!