Magical Day: Earth, Water, Fire and the Green Flash!

Tyrrhenian Sea, Passage to Island of Sardinia, Italy--- I swam against the half knot current to keep up with the boat. Below me was 1000 feet of water, beside me two miles away, with steep sides leading up was the active Volcano, Stromboli sending puffs of smoke into the sky. Looking down into the water, I could see a variation of blue colors with shooting rays of light bouncing around like a static electricity color ball you buy at Spenser’s. I couldn’t help screaming for joy for the rest of the crew to join me. They did and a kid-like giddiness overtook us. Well, the captain had a big smile on his face and that’s about as silly as he gets.

Earlier that day, leaving the sulfuric soil of Vulcano was not hard for me say good bye to. We had been there two weeks, one week too long. We stopped for diesel (gas-oil) in Lipari, the next island over, and then headed a little out of our way to the Volcanic Island of Stromboli. We were there, it was there, why not?

Known as the “Light house of the Mediterranean,” I had seen photos and post cards of this active volcano on book covers and post cards in the city. I thought those photos were captured at a special time when it had erupted. Boy was I wrong, it erupts every day, all day. We arrived in the evening and with no wind, took the main sail down and just bopped about, swam and then enjoyed salads and a cauliflower curry with rice meal as we watched the puffs of different colors of smoke billow out in time periods of every three to fifteen minutes. It looked like a B-rated western movie with Indians giving smoke signals.

That was happening on one side of the boat, then, on the other was a breathtaking sunset. It was hard to choose between the two as to what to look at. But then the Green Flash was mentioned, something that had alluded me ever since I found out it existed. The conditions were perfect. So we sat and stared into the sunset watching for the second after the sun disappeared over a clear horizon. And there is was. For only a mila-second, a green that was so purely green. As green as the most beautiful emerald you can imagine, a pure rich green that just blinked at us and was gone.

This time, everyone that saw it let out a yell.

And then, after that with the sun missing from the sky, allowed darkness to fall on the Volcano overhead. And the fireworks began. What we couldn’t see in the light of day was made clear. Along with the puffs of smoke shot Crimson Red Sparks and bits of lava appearing like it was in slow motion, shooting straight up and falling back into the crater above. This gave the entire boat an unexpected thrill and each time it happened, we sounded like we were at a sporting event and an instantaneous cheer went out without thinking each time there was an eruption. The evening was a homerun.

Soon it was time to begin our 3 day voyage to the last Italian Island. We turned to head due west. Behind us was Stromboli. And in the darkness we strained to continue to watch what truly is the Lighthouse of the Med.