Emily: Fire Fighting Skills & Mount Erice

Buonasera!

Good evening from Sicily!

We have had quite the productive day!  We started off the morning with learning how to fight fires aboard the ship.  We were taught how to put on proper fire fighting gear.  Morgan got to be the model for the gear.

Richard helping Morgan apply gear.  Courtesy Jack Seubert

Morgan donning fire fighting gear.  Courtesy Jack Seubert

After learning about the gear, we moved on to learning how to use the fire hoses on board.  We have two options for putting out fires: the main source is through a fire pump system where the main hose is attached to.  The second is using a back up pump that is gas generated.  We then each took turns trying both methods.  I was amazed at the force the main house put out.

Emily using the main fire hose.  Emily Kovacs

Back up fire pump.  Emily Kovacs

After learning about how to fight fires aboard the ship, we had the early afternoon off to work on field journal entries and run errands.

Our afternoon was spent roaming around Mt. Erice with another one of our fellow interns Kelsey Martinsen.  Mount Erice sits at 751 m above sea level. At the top of the mountain there is a town and castle.  This mountain top has been inhabited for over a thousand years.  Today it is a well known tourist attraction and scientific astronomy site.  It is accessible by taxi or cable cars, which we chose as our transportation. 

Cable cars going up Mt. Erice.  Emily Kovacs

Heading up.  View of Trapani.  Emily Kovacs

We spent the afternoon strolling through the town and visiting the different landmarks.  We visited the Norman Castle and took in the gorgeous views of Sicily!

Strolling into Erice with Morgan, Kelsey, and Jack.  Emily Kovacs

Norman Castle, Erice.  Emily Kovacs

Panoramic Northeast view of Sicily from Erice.  Emily Kovacs

As of right now, we will be leaving for Albania tomorrow afternoon.  Our route will take us from the Mediterranean Sea to the Tyrrhenian Sea, then cut through the Messina Straights, on to the Ionian Sea and finally making our way into the Adriatic Sea.  

We will probably be out of WiFi signal once leaving Trapani's port.  We will keep you posted on our whereabouts as soon as we are able to!

Speech with you soon!

FKCC at the top of Mt. Erice.  Courtesy of Jack Seubert