Walking on Salina

There are some lovely walks on Salina, and Malfa is well placed for exploring the whole island. When I was here three years ago, I made a couple of day trips from Lipari and decided then that the next time I came to the islands I'd stay on Salina. I did a couple of walks then, and definitely wanted more!
The walk from Santa Marina to Malfa takes about an hour and a half (at least, down to my house on the harbour). On the way there are some spectacular rock formations, including layers of volcanic deposits that are banded in red and black. At this time of year, the spring flowers are out, and the whole island is green and fresh. I particularly like the capers, which grow wild everywhere and have beautiful flowers. Capers are a speciality of the islands, and figure a lot in local dishes in the restaurants.
Another lovely walk is to the village of Pollara, on the west side of the island. From Malfa, the road climbs fairly gently up to a point high above the village, then drops down steeply into what is the caldera of the last eruption of the volcano, apparently about 13,000 years ago. Pollara was the setting for some of the film 'Il Postino' (the Postman), which was a big hit a few years ago. The beach was one of the locations, and again it is quite spectacular with beautiful cliffs. Apparently it looks similar to parts of Hawaii, which is not surprising really as the islands are all volcanic.
There is another long walk up to the Valdichiesa and down to the port on the south side of the island, Rinella. At Valdichiesa there is a church called Santuario della Madonna del Terzito, dating from the 16th Century and a centre for pilgrimages.