Corsica

When we arrived at Bastia, Corsica, (by ferry from Livorno, Italy), the rain was falling so hard we couldn't walk around the town. We drove on to Corte, near the center of the island, and found the rather primitive campsite, below an old castle on top of a large rock in the middle of town. As we drove through Corsica we saw little or no agriculture or fruit trees, and no sign of mining or other reason for the existence of the villages. The red poppies are in bloom along the roads, there are beautiful purple blooms, and big yellow bushes everywhere.

Every village was sure to have its little sidewalk cafe, right at the edge of the road. Often there were only one or two tables, sometimes extending onto the roadway, rocking in the breeze as traffic flew past - there's just no room with these narrow streets. All this, of course, right at the level of the exhaust pipes of the speeding vehicles.

We drove on to Ajaccio, the capital of Corsica, and saw a monument marking the birthplace of Napoleon, then stopped for a few minutes in Sartene. Didn't see much to explore, but one old store with sagging wooden floors had a big sign for Villeroy & Boch dishes and table ware, from Germany. Those products look out of place in this part of the world.

Propriano appeared to be a resort town with bars, restaurants, hotels, etc. There are cactus, ice plant, and palm trees in this part of Corsica, also acres of cork trees, with many cork products for sale in the tourist stores. Many of them are stamped, "Made in Italy."

Bonifacio, on the southern tip of Corsica, is an exquisite ancient jewel. All of the island was interesting, but Bonifacio makes the trip to Corsica completely worthwhile. It sits high on a long, narrow promontory on the edge of a 200 feet high cliff, with town walls, a fortress, interesting shopping streets, and multicolored apartment buildings along the harbor below. Renovation of many structures was underway in Bonifacio, but the little streets and shops were ready for the tourist trade.

At several places in Bonifacio, we could see an arch extending across the narrow walkway, from building to building. We couldn’t tell if the arches were there to keep the buildings apart, or to hold them together! Later we found they were water aqueducts, directing rain water from the roof of the building, to the city’s huge cisterns.

At the ferry dock the next morning, we were told that space needed for our RV (larger-than-a-car) was sold out for the rest of the month. We said we would wait. When it happened that space was available, the French ticket clerk was so disappointed to be proven wrong, he almost didn't sell us a ticket. An Italian ticket clerk would have cheered our good luck.

The glorious 30 minute ferryboat ride to Sardinia, with the view of Bonifacio, the colors of the cliff, the clear blue water, was outstanding. The cost was $28 for the camper and the two of us.