Luna Rossa

That's what you get in Ginostra. Its the first time we have stayed where there were no vehicles. I knew it would be a bit rustic, but the peace and quiet was well worth the trip. We took a ferry from Milazzo, passed through Volcano, Lipari, Selina and left Panarea for the island of Stromboli. It took a couple of hours hydrofoiling over pleasants seas. On the south-west side is the little village of Ginostra, where we spend an idyllic 5 nights in Luna Rossa (Red Moon). When we disembarked, I realised for the first time, the village was up the mountain (or rather the volcano), nestled on the side of the forever erupting Stromboli! All the buildings were white square blocks, with flowers, fruit trees, rocks and steps, lots of steps. This was not designed for anyone with disabilities or problems walking up steep paths. We struggled up with our lightweight suitcases (that was a blessing) and got a shout from our hostess. A quick stop at her parents restaurant and up we went. It was worth it...what a view when we got there. We had apartment no.1 with our bedroom window looking out onto the Eolian Sea and exactly where the sun set every night. The apartment was typical island rustic Italian, supplied with mossie nets and a small fridge. The floors were all tiled, blue wood furniture and firm mattresses on the double bed (2 singles pushed together). The doors and windows were all old and fitted perfectly to the whole scene. As it was end of season, 2 from the 3 restaurants were already closed, which only left the offer from hostess's parents open for that night. The meal was ok, but we really got stung on price. It was double what it should have been. Once bitten twice shy, we did not make that mistake again. Next day we brought some food and stuff in the little Bazaar and as we had use of a fully functioning kitchen, we cooked our own for the rest of the stay. We did get the best sunset we have ever seen in the Mediterranean. We actually saw the sun hit the water and then quickly disappear into the sea. You normally get a mist or cloud at the last part and you don't see that magical sun kissing the sea. We saw that every night we stayed there, real special. There's a series of paths all over the village that lets you get around. Everything was clean, no rubbish on the paths or even in the rough grass. The locals keep the place clean. All rubbish taken off on the ferries. I walked right round to the lava flow the next day and saw all the steaming cloudy rocks. No balls of fire but plenty of steam. It took about 45 minutes, with some rough walking, but I did it ok in sandals. We spent most of our time just chilling on the terrace and was even covered in small black particles of ash one day. The only transport was with a donkey (if required), who had from time to time and a good shout at each other. That was the only local noise. There was some humming from the occasional ferry and a load of noise one day from some building work, all materials are carried by helicopter. But the passing into night was the real treat, just after the sun had set, there was a deathly hush, where you could hear a pin drop. Sometime later the crickets would start with the odd bit of birdsong. But all night, that was it. A dream place to stay.