Corsica

Once we disembark from the ship at Bastia, we head straight for Capo Corso, the so-called finger, stopping for lunch in a characteristic little restaurant whose tables occupy the little square of Erbalunga. It is low season but there are still a few tourists. A few steps from the little square, a narrow alley leads us to admire the Tower overlooking the sea. Of these Towers on Capo Corso there are many, and they were built by the Genoese for spotting the not-rare Saracen attacks. Having set off again, we pass near various localities with Italian names, recalling when this island belonged to the Kingdom of Sardinia. We make a very brief stop at the tourist marina of Macinaggio, rather insignificant, then we find a panoramic spot from which to observe the tip of the Cape.

Returning south but along the road on the other side, which is rather mountainous, we arrive at Nonza to visit the ruins of a Fortress located on a cliff that overlooks a beach of dark sand. The sand, because of its colour, looks like a big blackboard, and indeed phrases and words have been written on it with light-coloured stones. We arrive at Patrimonio, a locality famous for its wine-growing. There are numerous characteristic cellars that also offer dining and lodging. We take possession of our room in one of these, then we go to take a look at the nearby San Florenzo, an elegant little town with a fine harbour for mooring yachts. We return to Patrimonio to dine in the restaurant of the cellar where we are staying. We are very satisfied with the meal. At the end we return to the nearby San Florenzo for a stroll among the alleys and the harbour.

Here too there are many characteristic restaurants serving mainly fish. We finally return to Patrimonio for the night.

Calvì and Porto Ota

In the morning, after leaving our accommodation in Patrimonio, we reach San Fiorenzo in just a few minutes, where we have breakfast at a café in the main square. From there, taking a road that climbs up into the mountains, we go to Calvi, walking up to its fortress, which is partly occupied by a military garrison. More interesting than the fortress itself is the view it offers of the coast. Once back down in the town, we have a quick meal at a snack bar, then continue south, stopping at a few scenic viewpoints to see the Gulf of Galeria and, from above, the Gulf of Girolata. The road along the eastern coast is a succession of hairpin bends climbing over hills and mountains, offering occasional panoramic glimpses of the coast. In the late afternoon we arrive in Porto Ota, a tourist resort made special by a formation of red rocks that forms the backdrop to the small tourist harbour.

Here we have dinner in a restaurant, then with a long walk we head back up the road leading to the hotel where we spend the night.

Calanche di Piana and Ajaccio

This morning we go straight to the small harbour, hoping that the sea conditions will allow us to take the excursion we want to do. Fortunately we immediately check that it is possible. We have breakfast at a café and then go to the other side of the reddish rock formation that divides the harbour in two. From here our boat departs, which will take us to see the calanques from the sea. On the way out, the boat sails offshore at the mercy of rough seas. I make the imprudent move of going outside to observe the stormy sea and am completely swept over by a wave that gives me a shower. Fortunately it is a warm sunny day. I will stay in the cabin with the other tourists until we reach the stretch of coast that closes the Gulf of Porto to the south. This is the point where the Calanques are most spectacular; the rocks take on peculiar shapes, some renamed with fanciful names.

Caves and arches also open up, which we go to see up close. On the return trip the boat sails close to the coast, avoiding waves and seasickness. Back at the harbour, we pick up the car again and drive the hairpin road that winds around the calanques. We stop at a rest area to see another peculiar rock formation, then continue to the nearby village of Piana, which gave its name to the entire Calanques complex. In the very touristy little square there are characteristic restaurants with outdoor terraces, and we take the opportunity to have lunch. Afterwards, transfer to Ajaccio, the city of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, though we cannot enter his birthplace because it is already closed. The little streets leading there have establishments that in some way evoke the figure of the great Emperor.

We take a tour of the city, parking near the port, have something to drink at a café, then set off again for Propriano, where we will sleep in a hotel. Before going to bed we go to the port area to have dinner in a restaurant.

Bonifacio, Porto Vecchio and the beaches.

From Propriano we move on to Bonifacio. Along the hilly road we stop at a place for the best breakfast of the tour. Bonifacio is the most beautiful town on the island, set on a white cliff that plunges into the strait separating Corsica from neighbouring Sardinia. The town is an intricate maze of narrow streets crossing one another, from time to time letting glimpses of the Mediterranean show through. Following an up-and-down route that skirts numerous shops catering to tourists, we reach the point where a long staircase carved into the side of the cliff begins. I walk down it with only one of my friends almost to sea level, where a cave opens up in which tourists pile stones one on top of another, like the ones in the mountains used to find the trail again after a snowfall. The sea breaks its waves on the rocks below us.

We laboriously climb back up the staircase, rejoining the friend who stayed behind waiting for us, to stroll together among the town's characteristic little shops. We can better appreciate the splendour of Bonifacio and its cliff by moving away from the town, towards the nearby beach of Piantarella. We then drive back up the coast to the beaches of Rondinara and Santa Giulia, which with their clear waters recall tropical paradises. After lunch at the restaurant of a golf club, we go to Porto-Vecchio for a quick taste of its historic centre, its fortress and its exquisite pastry shop. We spend the night instead in a hotel in Sari Solenzara, where we retire after dinner at a local restaurant.

Corte

In the morning, after breakfast, we move inland on the island, reaching the historic City of Corte where we enter the Fortress. We stroll among towers and patrol walkways and visit a temporary Exhibition dedicated to the islands of the World. One part of the Fortress overlooks a deep precipice while the other, the one we entered from, overlooks a large Square. Having left Corte we take the road that passes through an area hit a few days earlier by a flood that caused a lot of damage. We stop at a place along the road that bears some signs of what happened. We continue north and, passing through Bastia, crossing a hill shrouded in fog, we head to Patrimonio. The Hotel where we had slept the first night and where we have dinner is full, but the owners have another one a short distance away where we stay for the night.

Departure

After having breakfast in a Bar we go to Bastia where we take the ship bound for Livorno.