Dad and Diane came to visit us in October and together we explored Corsica for a week. None of us had ever been there, but Richie and Bonnie told us it's their favorite spot in Europe, so we went to check it out. We flew into Bastia where we spent the first night, rented a car, and drove counterclockwise around the island, spending almost all of our time along the west coast. Corsica is an incredible place, October is a great time to go, with few tourists, low prices, and great weather.
Diane at Plage d'Ostriconi on our first full day. Beautiful clean sand, great mountains in the background, and we pretty much had it to ourselves.
With Dad at Plage d'Ostriconi
We went for a little hike north of Plage d'Ostriconi
Great vine-entangled pathways around Pliage d'Ostriconi
We stayed our second and third nights in Calvi, a little town with a very long, sandy beach. We met up with Lea, Ryan, and baby Stella, who were also exploring Corsica by car, and Richie and Bonnie, who were biking with their tandem. We all stayed at the great little Calvi Hotel, right on the beach, and shared some nice meals together.
Breakfast with Ryan, Lea, and Stella at a cute little bulongerie overlooking the harbor. Delicous quiches!
Walking back to Calvi Hotel along the beach after breakfast.
Ryan, Stella, and Felix
Great Pain au chocolat for breakfast with the gang, sitting on the sidewalk watching the people go by. Stella's got the biker look already - nice job, Bonnie!
Diane and Felix on the road to Porto
The road between Calvi and Porto
Just south of Calvi is a long, narrow peninsula sticking out into the sea. We hiked along it's rocky spine to the lighthouse just off Diane's left shoulder.
A great day for a hike!
Calvi in the background and a secret little beach on our walk home.
From Calvi, we drove south to Porto, which is a tiny little town nestled in a valley. We stayed at the port in a room above the cafe in the far left building of this picture. Great red rock surrounding the city with towering mountains behind.
From Porto, we drove inland and up the mountain to Evisa. The vegetation changed dramatically and surprisingly. The vegetation by the sea is very mediteranean, or similar to southern Portugal, with lots of dry shrubs, some eucalyptus, and some oak. Up in the mountains, the forest canopy is much taller, with huge pine trees and more broad leaf trees, and a lot of black granite. The forest really reminded me of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Great piney smells.
Breakfast overlooking a valley on the way up to Evisa.
We went for a hike near Paisolu d'Aitone, up to a very rustic rifugio called Abri Forestier Bocca u Salta. We crossed a great river along the way.
Diane crossing the river on the way to the rifugio.
Great Northern-Michigan-ish rock for climbing.
Lots of inquisitive, colorful lizards
Abri Forestier Bocca u Salta. We didn't know much about this refugio, but suspected that it was fully staffed and served obligatory 3-course meals like other refugios in France. This one turned out, instead, to be a good alternative to a tent on the long hike up to Capu a Cuccula, one of the tallest peaks in Corsica.
The upper floor of Abri Forestier Bocca u Salta
Great pine trees.
Diane, Felix, and Dad.
near Abri Forestier Bocca u Salta.
Lots of pigs and cows just roam free around Corsica.
Next, we headed south towards Bonifacio. Along the drive, we stopped at Sartene, parked on the sid eof the road just northwest of Figari and hiked about 2.5km down a rough dirt road through beautiful scrub to a quiet little beach with white sand - Cap de Roccapina. We went for a swim, hiked up the spine to the north, and visited an old Genoese tower.
Overlooking Cap de Roccapina from the Genoese tower.
When the Genoese ruled Corsica in the 16th century, they built 90 towers like this one around the edge of Corsica. They were lookout towers, and allowed the people to defend themselves against attacks coming from the sea - word could spread across the entire island within 2 hours of spotting attaching ships.
Felix and Dad explore the Genoese tower, Torra di Roccaina.
Overlooking an empty and lovely beach on the other side of the tower.
Diane explores the great rock structures by the tower.
We hiked down to the beach and had ourselves a glorious afternoon swim and snorkel. Might have been my favorite beach! No public road to access this, we ended up hiking out along a private road and had to climb around the gate to get out!
We stayed at a great little bungalow, "Casarina village", at Plage de Maora, just north of Bonifacio, a short walk to the beach.
We spent the day exploring Bonifacio, an ancient port town built on the cliffs, leaning precariously over the edge.
Bonifacio
Great stone work in Bonifacio.
Boules in Bonifacio.
Thanks, Dad, Diane, and Felix! I had such a wonderful time with you!
