This is Part II of our amazing adventure climbing the Mount Etna volcano. It was such an action-packed day that I’ve divided the blog and pictures into three parts.

We thought climbing through the lava fields was exciting. But we had an even bigger adventure yet to come. We were to visit a cave that was formed by hot magma lava flowing under the colder lava, creating a hollow space.

I had read on the website that we’d visit a cave and envisioned a small cave we peered into behind a rope. But we got there and found a hole in the ground with a rope leading into it – we had to rappel into the cave!

They handed out hardhats and flashlights to all – even to CeCe, who is 10, and Samantha, who is 7. And to everyone’s credit, we all just plunged in, holding onto the rope and lowering ourselves into the unknown.

Once down there, we were the only ones in the chilly, wet cavern that was formed by the lava flow. We had to exit out of a different hole, so had to make our way through the cave, ducking down low in spots. It really was very cool.

When we got to the other end, there was another rope, and we had to pull ourselves up and out. What an experience!

Next Up: Part III – Swimming in a Gorge!