Two Go to Corsica

[DBK]

We had a pleasant walk this morning to the Cascades des Anglais which gets its name because it was a favourite beauty spot of early English visitors. We parked at the Col de Vizzavona and walked back to the start of the trail which here is part of the GR 20 I mentioned in an earlier post. The first part of the walk is on a good track but this ends at a bridge. If you come this way don't cross the stream on the bridge but keep left. We almost went wrong here as there are no signs pointing the way.

The next bit of the path was a bit more demanding and had us scrambling around boulders.

The falls themselves are best described as "pretty" rather than "impressive" but the weather was very pleasant and at an altitude of 1,100m it wasn't too hot, although Charlie enjoyed a dip.

I took a few photos.

But if you decide to have a swim the local council will deny any liability for the consequences!

For no other reason than there was a convenient boulder to rest the camera on I shot a short video - just in case anyone has forgotten what a waterfall looks like.



The walk there and back took us almost exactly two hours.

We will head for the coast tomorrow and spend our last few days in Corsica on a beach.

 

[Roseandpeter]

We are currently at a camper stop very close to cc 29032. Not far from porto vecchoi. You pass camping a la page and about 50metres later come to I Pini. 10euros with a Guardian. Free camping amongst the cork and pine trees and about 50 metres from a beautiful beach. We really like it, although there are only outdoor showers and water available, plus very clean public loos close by. Very quiet and relaxing.

 

[DBK]

We are currently at a camper stop very close to cc 29032. Not far from porto vecchoi. You pass camping a la page and about 50metres later come to I Pini. 10euros with a Guardian. Free camping amongst the cork and pine trees and about 50 metres from a beautiful beach. We really like it, although there are only outdoor showers and water available, plus very clean public loos close by. Very quiet and relaxing.

That sounds like a good find. Enjoy.
Did you use Park4Night to find the place. It shows something near the aire.

 

[Roseandpeter]

Yes you're right, I used park4night. The two stops are very close together and similar, but I Pini is closer to the beach. A few cars use it too but they are all gone by about 6pm.
We are planning on the early ferry out of bastia a week today. Did you notice if their were vans overnighting at the port?
Thanks Rose

 

[DBK]

Yes you're right, I used park4night. The two stops are very close together and similar, but I Pini is closer to the beach. A few cars use it too but they are all gone by about 6pm.
We are planning on the early ferry out of bastia a week today. Did you notice if their were vans overnighting at the port?
Thanks Rose

I didn't see any vans when we drove off but we sail this Thursday so will try and see if there is anywhere suitable - if I can remember.

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[Roseandpeter]

Cheers that would be most helpful

 

[DBK]

Our retreat from Corsica is in its final stages. Today we drove close to Bastia from where we will catch the ferry back to Italy on Thursday.

The drive here had two memorable moments. This rider had either a near miss or he was very skilled and perhaps the latter is true as there was no wobble from him.



The next notable event of the trip was our visit to a ruined bridge.

I've mentioned Genoese bridges a few times but none are more renowned in Corsican history than this one.

A bit of history. The Genoese had ruled Corsica since 1284 but despite their prolific gifts of towers and bridges the Corsicans resented their rule. A tax rise in 1729 kicked things off and after much skirmishing Pascal Paoli established Corsica as an independent state in 1755.

It didn't last, falling just 14 years later to the French at the Battle of Ponte Novo on 8 May 1769.

The damage to the bridge in the photo above is relatively recent, it happened in WW2, but here at the Ponte Novo the French inflicted a final defeat on the Corsican forces.

1769 isn't that long ago and after centuries of Genoese and before that rule from Pisa you can understand why not everyone here feels very French.

The bridge is next to a small village where there were signs of preparation for something and notices suggested the something was happening this coming weekend. May 2019 was the 250th anniversary of the defeat but I can't see the locals celebrating that. I suspect they're marking the date when Pascal Paoli left Corsica for exile in England where he no doubt kept the flames of independance if not burning at least still alight.

We are staying for our last few days at Camping San Damiano CC65502.

And closer up.

From which image you can probably guess we are beside a beach. The site has cheaper pitches at €25 by the road, some midrange ones in the middle or for the fiscally impecunious premium pitches behind the beach.

That's us behind the big tree on the left and to the right of, to use a phrase I`ve only recently come across a "Great White“. I'm sure the occupants are very nice but we haven't seen them so far.

This is our our pitch.

And this evening we had some interesting views. We are facing east so no sunsets to see but the setting sun lit up the clouds.

And a bit north lies Bastia and the ferry port.

But the highpoint was the blood moon which occurs when the moon rises just as the sun is setting and takes on the red tinge of a sunset.

Sorry about the washing, I was trying for a MH themed image! I'll ask them to take it in for the shot.

I'll try again tomorrow with a longer lens. This phenomenon isn't unique to Corsica, check you own sunsets tomorrow.

 

[DBK]

I managed to get a reasonable shot of the "blood moon" last night.

But my attempt to get a MH themed shot was a failure.

This is our last full day in Corsica so I used it to buy some souvenirs.

This is Corsican lonzu, a smoked pork fillet. I've no idea what it tastes like but it has a use by date of May next year so we have plenty of time to work up an appetite for it - and at €27 we are going to eat it.

More reasonably priced was this sausage. We've really grown to like them but we know nothing about the different types.

We had a brief swim this morning, the water was pleasant after the initial shock. Charlie fetched lots of stick but swallowed too much sea water and was a bit poorly this afternoon but seems fine now.

Tomorrow night we will be back in Italy.

 

[Grianan]

What a great thread ... I’ve enjoyed armchair travelling Corsica this evening. Thank you!

 

[DBK]

And....we're in the queue at Bastia.

Getting here had its moments. We kept seeing signs for the port but with a 2.6m height restriction. It took us a whole to catch on what these were about. Coming from the south it is a dual carriage way with two lanes and as you approach one of the several roundabouts the lefthand lane carries a sign saying Le Port but with the 2.6m limit. What happens is the lefthand lane ducks under the roundabout while the righthand lane goes around it conventionally. So just stay in the righthand lane.

Charlie was oblivious to all this.

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[hilldweller]

Another box ticked off.

Dog is saying "Oh Please! I just get to like a place and you move on".

 

[Roseandpeter]

Thanks you probably save us some grief when we catch the boat on Saturday. Currently on les pinedes acsi site in calvi. Lovely beach and a nice night last night sipping wine in the marina watching how the other half live. Mind you, I was thinking how I wouldn't swop. Quite happy in my van, thank you

 

[Roseandpeter]

We just got back from a lovely scooter ride on the coast road to Galeria. It was very scenic, but I wouldn't want to do it in the van. Pretty rough road and narrow. It's possible as we saw a few vans doing it, but too stressful for us....

 

[Roseandpeter]

I have tried to upload pictures of our trip a few times, but it always tells me that the file is big

 

[hilldweller]

I have tried to upload pictures of our trip a few times, but it always tells me that the file is big

What computing power do you have to scale them ?

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[Anthea M]

John a lovely thread thanks for sharing photos , places of interest , foodand camperstops !
I feel another book in the making!!?

 

[Roseandpeter]

What computing power do you have to scale them ?

Just my android phone
:/

 

[GAVLAD]

Brilliant read and fab photos.
What I want to know is how you can turn a purple-ish tomato into something which looks like a restaurant dish?

 

[hilldweller]

Just my android phone
:/

I've never done it with a phone but if your go into Google Play you can download an app that will do it for you.

Go into playstore. search for image resizer. The first one here is Photo and Picture Resizer. Install it and see how you go.

I always resize to 1000 wide for forums.

 

[DBK]

I have tried to upload pictures of our trip a few times, but it always tells me that the file is big

There are two solutions to this problem I can think of. One is to check if your camera can make a smaller copy. Mine takes a full sized RAW image and a much smaller jpg. The small jpg is what I upload here

But before I used to resize the images using an app called Photo Resizer. There are several with similar names but this is the best one I've found. It looks like this in the Google play store.

And my review is showing first


It is easy to use and I suggest you reduce your images to say 1600 pixels wide.

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[DBK]

Brilliant read and fab photos.
What I want to know is how you can turn a purple-ish tomato into something which looks like a restaurant dish?

Mrs DBK's knife skills! But seriously it is just sliced tomato and depending on the dish other veg. Cucumber is best peeled first with a potato peeler and for best taste de-seeded, it is much sweeter.

 

[DBK]

We are planning on the early ferry out of bastia a week today. Did you notice if their were vans overnighting at the port?
Thanks Rose

Nothing seen on the way in today. You come straight off a main street in the town into the port. There were vehicles parked either side just after the entrance but I think they were people going into the ticket office. I didn't see any car park.

I can only suggest seeing what P4N suggests locally. The town is bustling, remember Bastia is France's second busiest port.

 

[DBK]

Compared to out ferry to Corsica the return was faultless, left on time and arrived ten minutes early, bigger boat too with lots of reasonable seats. It also had wifi but not free so I went Internet cold turkey for four hours. 

But the best bit was we were first off the ship. I mean literally first over the ramp. If I can sort my dashcam footage out I will be able to show this event in pictures tomorrow


We drove what should have been a short distance to this evening's stop except I missed a turning left and had to go on another three kilometres to a roundabout to turn around. But this did give us the opportunity to meet two very scantily clad ladies standing beside the road. And I do mean scantily clad. They recognised us on the return trip and we got a blown kiss.

Here, and far from the debauchery, is an agriturismo, CC5831, and it is superb although it comes at a cost, €25 a night or thereabouts, the office (aka "the shed") was shut when we arrived at seven this evening.

The main reason for coming here was it has a good restaurant and given our expected time of arrival it made sense to use it.

We shared a plate of tagliatelle with mushrooms as a starter.

The main course, which they only did for two* was sliced beef with parmigiana cheese and rocket leaves.

The beef was a T bone and it was very tasty and tender. Here in close up on my plate.

All washed down with a red recommended by the waitress, who spoke excellent English.

And this was the view from our table.

And no biting insects! Thoroughly recommended place.

Bill = €64 including coffee, wine and water.

*Or for three as Charlie had two slices I slipped into a poo bag for him!

 

[DBK]

Before I forget, and only because if I don't record it I will forget this, we had two interesting questions asked in Bastia port.

Have you turned off your gas? Oops, no, forgot, doing it now.

Have you any plants? Only Basil the Herb
From a supermarket.

Basil was allowed into Italy!

 

[Roseandpeter]

The restaurant stop looks great thanks for looking for overnight near bastia port. we have decided to go for the 13.30 ferry so we are looking at stopping at marina di pisa when we dock, before heading off early the next morning. However.... Your pictures are tempting me to change tack and go to the restaurant. Yum.... I hope they cook on Mondays

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[DBK]

... I hope they cook on Mondays

Sadly no, the restaurant is closed on Mondays.

 

[Roseandpeter]

Thanks for letting me know, better than turning up hungry I installed photo resize so now going to try posting a photo from our scooter ride yesterday.

 

[funflair]

Thanks for letting me know, better than turning up hungry I installed photo resize so now going to try posting a photo from our scooter ride yesterday.

That worked

Martin

 

[DBK]

We have escaped Italy after a long drive today of almost exactly 400km to Camping Domaine de la Bergerie near Vence, a little north of Nice CC72746. The original plan was to stop in Italy but the place I chose, an agricampeggio, seemed to have closed so for another hour and a half of driving it seemed worth pushing on to the place I planned for tomorrow.



We started this morning at about 10:30 from just south of Pisa and arrived here at 19:00. We were also delayed by a non-existent Lidl supermarket. The satnav swore it was there but it wasn't. Then there was the filling station where the pumps didn't work. All normal for Italy.

The coastal autostrada wasn't bad but Genoa was slow. An accident slowed us but because of the collapsed bridge you have to drop down to the port road where the traffic was also slow. And getting around Nice on a Friday at rush hour...

Total cost about €40 for tolls but I'm only guessing on the French costs as all we heard was a beep from the tag.

But we are now somewhere cool and grassy.

A few years ago my brother and I cycled from Nice to Avignon and we stayed our first night at Vence. I must look at our blog and see how much of our route we can revisit.

Edit: This is our cycling trip. https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=1mr&page_id=263386&v=5I

 

[Grianan]

We have escaped Italy after a long drive today of almost exactly 400km to Camping Domaine de la Bergerie near Vence, a little north of Nice CC72746. The original plan was to stop in Italy but the place I chose, an agricampeggio, seemed to have closed so for another hour and a half of driving it seemed worth pushing on to the place I planned for tomorrow.

View attachment 312354

We started this morning at about 10:30 from just south of Pisa and arrived here at 19:00. We were also delayed by a non-existent Lidl supermarket. The satnav swore it was there but it wasn't. Then there was the filling station where the pumps didn't work. All normal for Italy.

The coastal autostrada wasn't bad but Genoa was slow. An accident slowed us but because of the collapsed bridge you have to drop down to the port road where the traffic was also slow. And getting around Nice on a Friday at rush hour...

Total cost about €40 for tolls but I'm only guessing on the French costs as all we heard was a beep from the tag.

But we are now somewhere cool and grassy.

View attachment 312355

A few years ago my brother and I cycled from Nice to Avignon and we stayed our first night at Vence. I must look at our blog and see how much of our route we can revisit.

Edit: This is our cycling trip. https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=1mr&page_id=263386&v=5I

We have escaped Italy after a long drive today of almost exactly 400km to Camping Domaine de la Bergerie near Vence, a little north of Nice CC72746. The original plan was to stop in Italy but the place I chose, an agricampeggio, seemed to have closed so for another hour and a half of driving it seemed worth pushing on to the place I planned for tomorrow.

View attachment 312354

We started this morning at about 10:30 from just south of Pisa and arrived here at 19:00. We were also delayed by a non-existent Lidl supermarket. The satnav swore it was there but it wasn't. Then there was the filling station where the pumps didn't work. All normal for Italy.

The coastal autostrada wasn't bad but Genoa was slow. An accident slowed us but because of the collapsed bridge you have to drop down to the port road where the traffic was also slow. And getting around Nice on a Friday at rush hour...

Total cost about €40 for tolls but I'm only guessing on the French costs as all we heard was a beep from the tag.

But we are now somewhere cool and grassy.

View attachment 312355

A few years ago my brother and I cycled from Nice to Avignon and we stayed our first night at Vence. I must look at our blog and see how much of our route we can revisit.

Edit: This is our cycling trip. https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=1mr&page_id=263386&v=5I

Never realised you were crazyguyonabike .... I read all your blog posts before we did our big cycle tour ?. Great inspiration and good for planning too.

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