01 June 07
Features
ISLAND SPECIAL - Stuck on Elba
For 4,000 years, Elba has been known for its iron ore. All across the
eastern part of the island you will see spots of deep-red rock on the
landscape. A trip to an abandoned mine (all of them closed in 1984) can
be a fascinating experience, as I found at Bacina near the Rio
Marina's
mining district, where the Calamita mine museum recently opened. A guide will take you into the bowels of the earth, 300m below sea level, where the temperature drops by 10 degrees and the darkness is complete. Thousands of bats, train tracks and several miners' uniforms strewn through the tunnels complete the ghostly feeling.
From
visiting such
places to mountainbiking, snorkelling, kayaking and diving, there is
clearly so much more to Elba than the beaches, though these,
admittedly, are magnificent. On the southern shores the sea
the
colour of antique glass shimmering in shades of turquoise
crashes
against white cliffs, and on the northern shore it seeps into creeks
among tall rock faces, gently lapping onto quiet stretches of sand.
August sees the beaches filled with in-theknow Italian sun-seekers, but the rest of the year is quieter and you can almost always find a strip of beach all for yourself. Everywhere you look the scenery is breathtaking. There are ports like Marciana Marina filled with luxury yachts, the picturesque village of Marciana itself further, and the even prettier village of Capoliveri.
From Marciana you can reach the summit of Monte Capanne via cable car. Well, a sort of cable car it's little more than a small metal cage suspended from a cable, with barely enough room for two people standing. Yet the panoramic views from the top make the journey worth it.
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