My hydrofoil named Calypso broke down in the Mediterranean Sea en route to volcanic Stromboli this afternoon after stopping at the Aeolian Islands of Vulcano, Lipari and Salina. Consequently I was forced to bag a stay in Stromboli and find a squat in Lipari, where the boat wound up, that I’ll use as a base camp for exploration of the seven islands during the next few days. These islands, of course, mark the spot where King Aeolus gave Odysseus the “bag of wind” that almost got him back to Ithaca — and led to the expression “windbag” — in Homer’s “The Odyssey.”

Aiming to explore the archeological museum on the island of Lipari tomorrow morning (there’s a room dedicated to obsidian, which put this place on the map during prehistoric times), swim on the island of Panarea tomorrow afternoon, and climb up/down Stromboli tomorrow evening/night to observe the ongoing eruption and watch nature’s fireworks at the rim of the crater for a few hours.

You can join me @

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=38.46892,14.95398&ll=38.46892,14.95398&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

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About Joel

Joel Stratte-McClure has been a global trekker since the 1970s. He lived in France for over 30 years, working as a journalist, before he turned his attention to a unique life-time-project of walking the shores of the Mediterranean. The first 4,401 kilometers are explored in his inspirational and entertaining first book "The Idiot and the Odyssey: Walking the Mediterranean." The next 4,401 kilometers are covered in the gods-filled sequel, "The Idiot and the Odyssey II: Myth, Madness and Magic on the Mediterranean,” published on Valentine's Day 2013. The last 4,401 kilometers will be discussed in the last book of the trilogy currently entitled "The Idiot and the Odyssey III: Alexander the Great Walks the Mediterranean."