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DBK
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Two Go to Corsica
- Thread starter DBK
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We did a bit of geocaching this afternoon. There are a lot of paths behind the beach and one of these led us to an interesting find. You often find little toys or plastic figures in them but the contents of this box were on a more thought provoking level. 
I think there were at least three packets of "prophylactics" which made me wonder what else people recorded in the log book.
This is what the surroundings looked like, lots of sheltered spots amongst the juniper and this is just behind a beach...
But back to reality. This is my (almost certainly incomplete) bird list so far.
Grey heron
Common tern
Short toed eagle
Red kite
Common buzzard
Kestrel
Raven
Hooded crow
Yellowhammer
Great tit
Blue tit
Spotted flycatcher
Starling (ordinary one but Corsica has spotless)
House sparrow
House martin
Swallow
Mallard
Mute swan
European bee-eater
Collered dove
Rock dove
Redstart
Hoopoe
Green woodpecker
Magpie
Jay
Treecreeper - based on distribution (Italian coast) probably short-toed
Blackbird
And there's a cockerel crowing next door but I don't think domestic animals count - or if you ring their necks.
Tomorrow afternoon, all going well, we will cross over to Corsica from Livorno.
I think there were at least three packets of "prophylactics" which made me wonder what else people recorded in the log book.
This is what the surroundings looked like, lots of sheltered spots amongst the juniper and this is just behind a beach...
But back to reality. This is my (almost certainly incomplete) bird list so far.
Grey heron
Common tern
Short toed eagle
Red kite
Common buzzard
Kestrel
Raven
Hooded crow
Yellowhammer
Great tit
Blue tit
Spotted flycatcher
Starling (ordinary one but Corsica has spotless)
House sparrow
House martin
Swallow
Mallard
Mute swan
European bee-eater
Collered dove
Rock dove
Redstart
Hoopoe
Green woodpecker
Magpie
Jay
Treecreeper - based on distribution (Italian coast) probably short-toed
Blackbird
And there's a cockerel crowing next door but I don't think domestic animals count - or if you ring their necks.
Tomorrow afternoon, all going well, we will cross over to Corsica from Livorno.
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Just to let you know John, we had a spare day between Verona and Milan so, guess where we are. It's lovely to be back at Camping Covelo, Iseo. Makumba is still here and pleased to see us. A couple of other Brits (tuggers) otherwise all German & Dutch. Weather not great but a couple of bottles of Franciacorta makes it better. Good luck on your trip, and keep up the good bird spotting.
Catherine & Shaughan
Catherine & Shaughan
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DBK
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Catherine, have a glass for Mary and I, that is a site we must go back to. I am not sure we will do it on this trip as it will be late June or even early July before we would be able to and I suspect the Italian Lakes will be getting busy then. I don't have a plan yet what to do when we leave Corsica but I am sure something will turn up.
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DBK
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We have arrived in Corsica but the island made us wait. The planned itinery was board at 14:00, disembark at 18:15. The actual timetable was board at 14:45 disembark 20:10. Explanation to follow.
But winding back the clock this is cliché shot #452, the view from the ferry queue.
There's a Moby ferry in the background but not the one we eventually boarded. They are hard to miss being painted with huge cartoon characters like Tweetie Bird, Daffy Duck et al.
Of course to reach this point we had to find the port. The satnav has a feature to find ports, fine, but for Livorno it listed three different ports. The trick was to go on the Moby Lines website and see the information there on finding the port. I won't bore you with the details but this is sound advice I think and what we should have done when we returned to mainland Italy from Sicily and had fun and games finding the port we wanted - Messina has a lot and they are spread over several kilometres. And the traffic around them is, er, Italian...
But this is the port for ferries to Corsica. It is a very old port with a round tower overlooking the vehicles in the queue - the fortezza Vecchia.
What the photo above doesn't show is the number of caravans on board. I photographed the car and small van lanes but in hindsight, given what was to happen a line of caravans would have been better.
As already suggested, dogs on a lead, are allowed on board except in places like the cafe where there is a No Dogs sign, in English. English was the third language used on board. The crew was Italian but announcements we made in Italian, French and English. A lot of the passengers were Dutch or German so I'm sure they felt welcome.
Given the delayed start I thought the Captain might give a few of the stokers a taste of the lash but it wasn't to be. As we came close to the port of Bastia I took this photograph which reminded me of our arrival in Sicily. The weather was identical.
We are now about 20 km north of Bastia on Cap Corse, the finger of Corsica projecting north. Google maps doesn't believe this so there is no blue blob today!
But winding back the clock this is cliché shot #452, the view from the ferry queue.
There's a Moby ferry in the background but not the one we eventually boarded. They are hard to miss being painted with huge cartoon characters like Tweetie Bird, Daffy Duck et al.
Of course to reach this point we had to find the port. The satnav has a feature to find ports, fine, but for Livorno it listed three different ports.
The trick was to go on the Moby Lines website and see the information there on finding the port. I won't bore you with the details but this is sound advice I think and what we should have done when we returned to mainland Italy from Sicily and had fun and games finding the port we wanted - Messina has a lot and they are spread over several kilometres. And the traffic around them is, er, Italian...But this is the port for ferries to Corsica. It is a very old port with a round tower overlooking the vehicles in the queue - the fortezza Vecchia.
What the photo above doesn't show is the number of caravans on board. I photographed the car and small van lanes but in hindsight, given what was to happen a line of caravans would have been better.
As already suggested, dogs on a lead, are allowed on board except in places like the cafe where there is a No Dogs sign, in English. English was the third language used on board. The crew was Italian but announcements we made in Italian, French and English. A lot of the passengers were Dutch or German so I'm sure they felt welcome.
Given the delayed start I thought the Captain might give a few of the stokers a taste of the lash but it wasn't to be. As we came close to the port of Bastia I took this photograph which reminded me of our arrival in Sicily. The weather was identical.
We are now about 20 km north of Bastia on Cap Corse, the finger of Corsica projecting north. Google maps doesn't believe this so there is no blue blob today!
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DBK
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Part 2 to follow soon to explain the delay on the ferry. Pasta calls now.
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DBK
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Burp, nice ravioli.
Did I mention the many caravans? I think I did and on a ferry where the bow doors are stuck firmly shut you don't really want them.
After hanging around at the head of the stairs for a good half an hour we were told drivers only could go to their vehicles, but not passengers. No explanation was given other than there was "a problem". Naturally we ignored this and we both went down to the van and there we sat for another 30 minutes or so as everyone reversed off. I won't laugh but some struggled and crew members took over. The floor of the deck had numerous projections either side of each lane for lashing vehicles down, and they were not reversing caravan friendly.
But we are "secure alongside" now as mariners might say. I just hope the weather perks up but not for a day or so by the forecast.
Did I mention the many caravans? I think I did and on a ferry where the bow doors are stuck firmly shut you don't really want them.
After hanging around at the head of the stairs for a good half an hour we were told drivers only could go to their vehicles, but not passengers. No explanation was given other than there was "a problem". Naturally we ignored this and we both went down to the van and there we sat for another 30 minutes or so as everyone reversed off.
I won't laugh but some struggled and crew members took over. The floor of the deck had numerous projections either side of each lane for lashing vehicles down, and they were not reversing caravan friendly. But we are "secure alongside" now as mariners might say. I just hope the weather perks up but not for a day or so by the forecast.
hilldweller
LIFE MEMBER
I've just seen how small that place is. Couldn't you afford a decent sized island ?
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DBK
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After showers on and off all morning it is dry now though there are low clouds on the surrounding hills.
We took Charlie to the beach a few hundred metres away and let him have a run off the lead.
There is small ruined fortress on the hill - and a geocache which I will look for tomorrow.
This a "sans mégots" beach.
The plastic tube on the left is a dispenser of ashtrays. Sadly it was empty but then I couldn't see any smokers so I guess that didn't matter.
A field beside the site has a lot of Loose flowered orchids growing it.
Superficially similar was this Early purple orchid.
And in close up.
I went scouting for the path leading to the fortress and I couldn't resist going up it a little way when I found it. The path was like a dried stream bed running through the maquis scrub which here consisted mostly of wild rosemary, a tall heather and myrtal. Maquis is a Corsican term but it was used to describe French resistance fighters who took refuge in the hills throughout southern France.
Growing beside the path was a small group of Tongue orchids.
There are several species of Tongue orchid and at the moment I'm not sure what these are. I discovered one species in Spain last year but this one is different as it has two spots on the lower lip, the Spanish one only had one. I shall return to them with with my book tomorrow.
There are several trees in the site including some olive trees one of which has been carved into this figure.
I suspect the position of the branches gave the carver the idea. It even has a belly button.
There is a ruined farmhouse here too.
I think the animals went through the arch, steps on the left, covered by growth now, lead to the first floor. Inside you can see at the first floor level the niche where the fireplace was and where the family would have lived.
We took Charlie to the beach a few hundred metres away and let him have a run off the lead.
There is small ruined fortress on the hill - and a geocache which I will look for tomorrow.
This a "sans mégots" beach.
The plastic tube on the left is a dispenser of ashtrays. Sadly it was empty but then I couldn't see any smokers so I guess that didn't matter.
A field beside the site has a lot of Loose flowered orchids growing it.
Superficially similar was this Early purple orchid.
And in close up.
I went scouting for the path leading to the fortress and I couldn't resist going up it a little way when I found it. The path was like a dried stream bed running through the maquis scrub which here consisted mostly of wild rosemary, a tall heather and myrtal. Maquis is a Corsican term but it was used to describe French resistance fighters who took refuge in the hills throughout southern France.
Growing beside the path was a small group of Tongue orchids.
There are several species of Tongue orchid and at the moment I'm not sure what these are. I discovered one species in Spain last year but this one is different as it has two spots on the lower lip, the Spanish one only had one. I shall return to them with with my book tomorrow.
There are several trees in the site including some olive trees one of which has been carved into this figure.
I suspect the position of the branches gave the carver the idea. It even has a belly button.
There is a ruined farmhouse here too.
I think the animals went through the arch, steps on the left, covered by growth now, lead to the first floor. Inside you can see at the first floor level the niche where the fireplace was and where the family would have lived.
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mikebeaches
LIFE MEMBER
Fascinating pics - thanks for posting.
Hope the weather soon perks up for you. Corsica is such a stunning place when the sun is shinning.
Hope the weather soon perks up for you. Corsica is such a stunning place when the sun is shinning.
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DBK
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A flower-heavy post tonight but as I write these entries as a diary to help remember what happened in years to come I make no apologies!
I don't think I've mentioned where we are. It is Camping la Pietra near Pietracorbara, CC28416 and also in ACSI, where it is the sole ACSI site shown in Cap Corse.
One of the reasons for coming here is there seem to be a lot of these in Corsica.
All the local car parks on the coast I've seen so far have them plus height restrictions and good aires are generally scarce. Mainland France this is not.
We explored the scrub behind the site on a track this morning and after lunch I took the path up to the castle. I went on my own as the path is steep and slippery in places and after Mrs DBK's fall in Spain a few years ago, which took two operations to sort out, she sensibly avoids such places.
I think I've identified the tongue orchid I found yesterday. They are very common around here, the Small-flowered tongue orchid, Serapias parviflora.
The yellow blob in the background above is a Vampirecup, Cytinus hypocistis. @jumartoo found one of these recently in Spain. They are parasites on the roots of Cistus shrubs.
Pollinated by ants these plants sit low on the ground and tend to hide under shrubs. I spotted this one more be accident than intent.
But like buses, Toungue orchids come in pairs. Nearby were a few of these, the Heart-flowered orchid, Serapias cordigera.
And the orchids kept coming, which was unexpected as they generally prefer limestone soils and only the southern tip of Corsica has limestone.
This one took a while to identify too.
It looked like a Bug orchid but wasn't quite right, until I read the description and discovered it is a sub-species of the Bug orchid, Orchis coriophora subsp. fragrans. The "fragrans" bit is because it is supposed to smell of vanilla - but I didn't discover this until I returned to the van so I can't say if it does. The main species gets its name (Bug) because apparently it smells like bed bugs. Presumably named in an age when such critters were more commonly encountered and botanists would recognise the smell.
The next one also took some chasing down as it isn't even illustrated in my main book (memo to self: get a better orchid book) but it was mentioned in the text and a bit of Googling threw up some photos which looked like the one I'd found. Ophrys exaltata.
But the next one has me stumped. It looks like a bit like an Early spider orchid - but without the spidery bit on the lip.
It remains a mystery for now.
But where were we before being distracted by orchids? Walking up to the castle I think and a possible geocache. The last stretch of the path has a botanical theme.
Along the path you encounter stones like the one above, there are at least 20, which name the shrub behind it.
Which looks like this.
This one is interesting.
Chèvrefeuille des Baleares translates literally as something like "goatleaf of the Balearics" as in the islands including Majorca. Which serves as a useful reminder not to trust literall translations in French. This "goatleaf" is a type of honeysuckle. I didn't twig at first but the stones have three names on them. The common French one at the top and Latin at the bottom. I'm guessing the name in the middle is the local name in the Corsican language.
From the top I could look back towards the campsite. In the middle of this photo.
And closer up.
That's our van dead in the centre. Behind us is a complex of swish lodges, constructed like log cabins out of whole tree trunks, they are currently building them and have almost finished I think.
The geocache was another blank.
The hint translated as "under a rock close to the abyss" but there were a lot of rocks and I was happy to regard "the abyss" from a respectable couple of metres only.
I don't think I've mentioned where we are.
It is Camping la Pietra near Pietracorbara, CC28416 and also in ACSI, where it is the sole ACSI site shown in Cap Corse.One of the reasons for coming here is there seem to be a lot of these in Corsica.
All the local car parks on the coast I've seen so far have them plus height restrictions and good aires are generally scarce. Mainland France this is not.
We explored the scrub behind the site on a track this morning and after lunch I took the path up to the castle. I went on my own as the path is steep and slippery in places and after Mrs DBK's fall in Spain a few years ago, which took two operations to sort out, she sensibly avoids such places.
I think I've identified the tongue orchid I found yesterday. They are very common around here, the Small-flowered tongue orchid, Serapias parviflora.
The yellow blob in the background above is a Vampirecup, Cytinus hypocistis. @jumartoo found one of these recently in Spain. They are parasites on the roots of Cistus shrubs.
Pollinated by ants these plants sit low on the ground and tend to hide under shrubs. I spotted this one more be accident than intent.
But like buses, Toungue orchids come in pairs. Nearby were a few of these, the Heart-flowered orchid, Serapias cordigera.
And the orchids kept coming, which was unexpected as they generally prefer limestone soils and only the southern tip of Corsica has limestone.
This one took a while to identify too.
It looked like a Bug orchid but wasn't quite right, until I read the description and discovered it is a sub-species of the Bug orchid, Orchis coriophora subsp. fragrans. The "fragrans" bit is because it is supposed to smell of vanilla - but I didn't discover this until I returned to the van so I can't say if it does. The main species gets its name (Bug) because apparently it smells like bed bugs. Presumably named in an age when such critters were more commonly encountered and botanists would recognise the smell.
The next one also took some chasing down as it isn't even illustrated in my main book (memo to self: get a better orchid book) but it was mentioned in the text and a bit of Googling threw up some photos which looked like the one I'd found. Ophrys exaltata.
But the next one has me stumped. It looks like a bit like an Early spider orchid - but without the spidery bit on the lip.
It remains a mystery for now.
But where were we before being distracted by orchids? Walking up to the castle I think and a possible geocache. The last stretch of the path has a botanical theme.
Along the path you encounter stones like the one above, there are at least 20, which name the shrub behind it.
Which looks like this.
This one is interesting.
Chèvrefeuille des Baleares translates literally as something like "goatleaf of the Balearics" as in the islands including Majorca. Which serves as a useful reminder not to trust literall translations in French.
This "goatleaf" is a type of honeysuckle. I didn't twig at first but the stones have three names on them. The common French one at the top and Latin at the bottom. I'm guessing the name in the middle is the local name in the Corsican language. From the top I could look back towards the campsite. In the middle of this photo.
And closer up.
That's our van dead in the centre. Behind us is a complex of swish lodges, constructed like log cabins out of whole tree trunks, they are currently building them and have almost finished I think.
The geocache was another blank.
The hint translated as "under a rock close to the abyss" but there were a lot of rocks and I was happy to regard "the abyss" from a respectable couple of metres only.
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A flower-heavy post tonight but as I write these entries as a diary to help remember what happened in years to come I make no apologies!
I don't think I've mentioned where we are.
One of the reasons for coming here is there seem to be a lot of these in Corsica.
View attachment 304909
All the local car parks on the coast I've seen so far have them plus height restrictions and good aires are generally scarce. Mainland France this is not.
We explore the scrub behind the site on a track this morning and after lunch I took the path up to the castle. I went on my own as the path is steep and slippery in places and after Mrs DBK's fall in Spain a few years ago, which took two operations to sort out, she sensibly avoids such places.
I think I've identified the tongue orchid I found yesterday. They are very common around here, the Small-flowered tongue orchid, Serapias parviflora.
View attachment 304901
The yellow blob in the background above is a Vampirecup, Cytinus hypocistis. @jumartoo found one of these recently in Spain. They are parasites on the roots of Cistus shrubs.
View attachment 304899
Pollinated by ants these plants sit low on the ground and tend to hide under shrubs. I spotted this one more be accident than intent.
But like buses, Toungue orchids come in pairs. Nearby were a few of these, the Heart-flowered orchid, Serapias cordigera.
View attachment 304910
And the orchids kept coming, which was unexpected as they generally prefer limestone soils and only the southern tip of Corsica has limestone.
This one took a while to identify too.
View attachment 304911
View attachment 304905
It looked like a Bug orchid but wasn't quite right, until I read the description and discovered it is a sub-species of the Bug orchid, Orchis coriophora subsp. fragrans. The "fragrans" bit is because it is supposed to smell of vanilla - but I didn't discover this until I returned to the van so I can't say if it does. The main species gets its name (Bug) because apparently it smells like bed bugs. Presumably named in an age when such critters were more commonly encountered and botanists would recognise the smell.
The next one also took some chasing down as it isn't even illustrated in my main book (memo to self: get a better orchid book) but it was mentioned in the text and a bit of Googling threw up some photos which looked like the one I'd found. Ophrys exaltata.
View attachment 304914
But the next one has me stumped. It looks like a bit like an Early spider orchid - but without the spidery bit on the lip.
View attachment 304908
It remains a mystery for now.
But where were we before being distracted by orchids? Walking up to the castle I think and a possible geocache. The last stretch of the path has a botanical theme.
View attachment 304906
Along the path you encounter stones like the one above, there are at least 20, which name the shrub behind it.
View attachment 304902
Which looks like this.
View attachment 304903
This one is interesting.
View attachment 304912
Chèvrefeuille des Baleares translates literally as something like "goatleaf of the Balearics" as in the islands including Majorca. Which serves as a useful reminder not to trust literall translations in French.
View attachment 304900
From the top I could look back towards the campsite. In the middle of this photo.
View attachment 304904
And closer up.
View attachment 304913
That's our van dead in the centre. Behind us is a complex of swish lodges, constructed like log cabins out of whole tree trunks, they are currently building them and have almost finished I think.
The geocache was another blank.
What a lovely selection of plants and painstaking work to identify them.
Thanks for posting.
OP
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DBK
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It helps when the names are written on stones.
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Great posts, your botanical efforts are appreciated 
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hilldweller
LIFE MEMBER
What on earth is the bright green patch, top right, on that beach shot ?
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DBK
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Mystery now solved I think, it's a Mirror orchid, Ophrys speculum.
The problem is these orchids are very variable and hybrids not uncommon so you can't expect to see an illustration which looks exactly what you've found. I'll put it down as a Mirror orchid until something better turns up.
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DBK
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Well spotted! It's a vineyard with netting over the vines.
hilldweller
LIFE MEMBER
BwB
LIFE MEMBER
Bumblebee Orchid?
Great thread, enjoying the read.
Great thread, enjoying the read.
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DBK
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Yesterday we drove north for all of half an hour to Camping de la Plage U Stazzu (CC66518) on the outskirts of Macinaggio, which has a couple of mini-markets, at one of which, the Spar, we stopped to restock before driving the short distance to the site.
After booking in I encountered an interesting problem - how to get in. Up the track to the left of reception surely?
Nope, that takes you into the dead-end of the former farmyard.
The trick to getting onto the pitches is to back up about thirty metres and drive down an unmarked and previously unobserved grassy track.
After lunch we strolled into Macinaggio, which takes little more than ten minutes. The harbour is modern but attractive.
The view is improved with one of these in the foreground.
After such a strenuous burst of exercise we took things very gently for the rest of the day, exerting ourselves only out of necessity in the evening to try the Corsican white bought in the Spar shop.
The wine did its job of reviving us so today we went on a little walk up the coastal footpath which here near the tip of Cap Corse has a special name.
It was used by customs officers (the French equivalent of the "Revenue Men" from Poldark and other novels) in their efforts to control smuggling.
We walked as far as the Chapelle de Santa Maria which was built in the 12th Century but you would struggle to guess this from its appearance as they have rendered it with cement apart from two small patches revealing the stonework.
Nearby was a ruined Genoese tower. There are 67 of these around the coast of Corsica and were constructed in the early 16th century.
This one has a concrete lookout post built on the top which I guess dates from WW2. The sun made a photograph from this angle difficult but the inside of the tower is hollow with a domed roof. There would have been wooden floors inside originally of course.
From further away you might be able to see the tower has a greenish tinge.
The island off the northernmost tip of Corsica, the Île de la Giraglia is formed entirely from Serpentine but clearly the rock isn't confined only to there because as we looked around we could see green rocks all over the beach and part of the path was solid Serpentine. This is a nature reserve so in our plea of mitigation we only stole a tiny pebble.
What I haven't mentioned so far about the beaches here is that they are effectively unusable for normal beach activities.
No not the cow, she was friendly, it is what you can see behind her. Those are not all rocks, it mostlh seagrass, metres thick of it in places. It must represent years of accumulation. I don't know if they stopped clearing it or something has happening to the seagrass beds. I haven't been able to find out. The only good thing about it is it doesn't smell.
I was being watched when I took the above shot.
We turned around after looking at the tower and letting Charlie have a swim at the two metre long bit of beach we found which wasn't covered in seagrass.
This is the Plage de Tamarone and the building on the left is the restaurant U paradisu, spelt with a lower case "p" for some reason.
Now what is missing in the following image?
Lunch of course!
A warm goats cheese salad. It was listed as a starter but the waiter said their starters were large so this was all we ordered and I struggled to finish it. With a carafe of white wine, water and an espresso it came to €37.50.
It is a dog friendly place as some many are in France and also Italy where I saw several dogs in supermarkets, either in a trolley with the shopping or being carried.
I took the shot above towards the end of the meal. When they first brought out the bowl of water for Charlie it had ice cubes in it which he crunched up with relish!
I used a bush on the way back but Mrs DBK used the restaurant's solar powered waterless loo.
The workings involved a rubber conveyor belt which took away the offerings to places unknown and the subject is perhaps best left at that.
After booking in I encountered an interesting problem - how to get in. Up the track to the left of reception surely?
Nope, that takes you into the dead-end of the former farmyard.
The trick to getting onto the pitches is to back up about thirty metres and drive down an unmarked and previously unobserved grassy track.
After lunch we strolled into Macinaggio, which takes little more than ten minutes. The harbour is modern but attractive.
The view is improved with one of these in the foreground.
After such a strenuous burst of exercise we took things very gently for the rest of the day, exerting ourselves only out of necessity in the evening to try the Corsican white bought in the Spar shop.
The wine did its job of reviving us so today we went on a little walk up the coastal footpath which here near the tip of Cap Corse has a special name.
It was used by customs officers (the French equivalent of the "Revenue Men" from Poldark and other novels) in their efforts to control smuggling.
We walked as far as the Chapelle de Santa Maria which was built in the 12th Century but you would struggle to guess this from its appearance as they have rendered it with cement apart from two small patches revealing the stonework.
Nearby was a ruined Genoese tower. There are 67 of these around the coast of Corsica and were constructed in the early 16th century.
This one has a concrete lookout post built on the top which I guess dates from WW2. The sun made a photograph from this angle difficult but the inside of the tower is hollow with a domed roof. There would have been wooden floors inside originally of course.
From further away you might be able to see the tower has a greenish tinge.
The island off the northernmost tip of Corsica, the Île de la Giraglia is formed entirely from Serpentine but clearly the rock isn't confined only to there because as we looked around we could see green rocks all over the beach and part of the path was solid Serpentine. This is a nature reserve so in our plea of mitigation we only stole a tiny pebble.
What I haven't mentioned so far about the beaches here is that they are effectively unusable for normal beach activities.
No not the cow, she was friendly, it is what you can see behind her. Those are not all rocks, it mostlh seagrass, metres thick of it in places. It must represent years of accumulation. I don't know if they stopped clearing it or something has happening to the seagrass beds. I haven't been able to find out. The only good thing about it is it doesn't smell.
I was being watched when I took the above shot.
We turned around after looking at the tower and letting Charlie have a swim at the two metre long bit of beach we found which wasn't covered in seagrass.
This is the Plage de Tamarone and the building on the left is the restaurant U paradisu, spelt with a lower case "p" for some reason.
Now what is missing in the following image?
Lunch of course!
A warm goats cheese salad. It was listed as a starter but the waiter said their starters were large so this was all we ordered and I struggled to finish it. With a carafe of white wine, water and an espresso it came to €37.50.
It is a dog friendly place as some many are in France and also Italy where I saw several dogs in supermarkets, either in a trolley with the shopping or being carried.
I took the shot above towards the end of the meal. When they first brought out the bowl of water for Charlie it had ice cubes in it which he crunched up with relish!
I used a bush on the way back but Mrs DBK used the restaurant's solar powered waterless loo.
The workings involved a rubber conveyor belt which took away the offerings to places unknown and the subject is perhaps best left at that.
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D
Deleted member 43219
Deleted User
Agree, it looks like a Bumble bee Ophrys according to my orchid field guide (Buttler). Trouble with orchids is they hybridise like cats.
OP
OP
DBK
LIFE MEMBER
Thank you, that looks like it.
We saw beds of seagrass growing amongst rocks today and it wall brown but with just a few green shoots. Is this a symptom of something or is it normal?
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OP
OP
DBK
LIFE MEMBER
We moved on today driven away by the ruddy Scops owl which went "tyuh" every few moments virtually all night. These are commonly heard around the Mediterranean but from the next tree to the van I can assure you the novelty soon wears off. I'm only joking of course, it was delightful to experience nature close-up but ideally I prefer it not on volume 11 at four o'clock in the morning.
It has only just occurred to me but since arriving in Corsica we have been heading home! However, we can go no further north from here so southwards it will be for the next couple of weeks or so.
This where we are in large scale.
And closer up.
This is the most northerly aire in Corsica (CC64612) . There are no facilities other than a water tap which doesn't work but otherwise it is perfect.
From a distance this is the bit of coast we are on. The aire is virtually invisible in the photograph but it is to the right of the main group of houses.
The Île de la Giraglia is off to the left. I mentioned this rock of serpantine in an earlier post. It has a lighthouse and a square Genoese tower. In the middle of the island is a barn-like building which is more modern.
After lunch we walked east from here along the Sentier des Douaniers, The same path we had walked along yesterday.
In sheltered places we found rafts of strange creatures floating on the tideline.
The above are recently stranded, older ones we came acoss had lost their colour and were completely transparent.
Closer to they look like this.
Note the sail sticking up. The creatures are known by many names including "By-the-wind-sailors" or in Latin, Velella velella. They are a relation of Portuguese Men O'War being a colony of individual animals rather than a single creature. They have a wierd life-cycle, giving birth to tiny jelly fish which in turn produce eggs which eventually become like the original creature.
Here is a shot of some afloat (upside down) being photobombed by a jelly fish.
We only walked as far as the next main bay and the small port of Baraggio.
Where Charlie had a paddle.
In an earlier post I noted how the view of a harbour could be improved by the presence of an ice-cream in the foreground. A bit like this...
... but ideally with an ice-cream cone in shot..
They only served it like this here.
It's not the same...
And the view without frozen props looked like this.
Returning to the aire I walked along the coastal path a little further to get some shots of the village from above - as the path climbed up to a hill.
The inevitable Genoese tower, here rendered in the customary cement, and a white cross.
I can't find the story behind the cross. I thought it might mark a shipwreck but the only inscription is a date: 1953.
From the hill I could look down on the aire.
That's us left of the power cable post.
I'm only joking of course, it was delightful to experience nature close-up but ideally I prefer it not on volume 11 at four o'clock in the morning.It has only just occurred to me but since arriving in Corsica we have been heading home!
However, we can go no further north from here so southwards it will be for the next couple of weeks or so.This where we are in large scale.
And closer up.
This is the most northerly aire in Corsica (CC64612) . There are no facilities other than a water tap which doesn't work but otherwise it is perfect.
From a distance this is the bit of coast we are on. The aire is virtually invisible in the photograph but it is to the right of the main group of houses.
The Île de la Giraglia is off to the left. I mentioned this rock of serpantine in an earlier post. It has a lighthouse and a square Genoese tower. In the middle of the island is a barn-like building which is more modern.
After lunch we walked east from here along the Sentier des Douaniers, The same path we had walked along yesterday.
In sheltered places we found rafts of strange creatures floating on the tideline.
The above are recently stranded, older ones we came acoss had lost their colour and were completely transparent.
Closer to they look like this.
Note the sail sticking up. The creatures are known by many names including "By-the-wind-sailors" or in Latin, Velella velella. They are a relation of Portuguese Men O'War being a colony of individual animals rather than a single creature. They have a wierd life-cycle, giving birth to tiny jelly fish which in turn produce eggs which eventually become like the original creature.
Here is a shot of some afloat (upside down) being photobombed by a jelly fish.
We only walked as far as the next main bay and the small port of Baraggio.
Where Charlie had a paddle.
In an earlier post I noted how the view of a harbour could be improved by the presence of an ice-cream in the foreground. A bit like this...
... but ideally with an ice-cream cone in shot..
They only served it like this here.
It's not the same...
And the view without frozen props looked like this.
Returning to the aire I walked along the coastal path a little further to get some shots of the village from above - as the path climbed up to a hill.
The inevitable Genoese tower, here rendered in the customary cement, and a white cross.
I can't find the story behind the cross. I thought it might mark a shipwreck but the only inscription is a date: 1953.
From the hill I could look down on the aire.
That's us left of the power cable post.
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OP
OP
DBK
LIFE MEMBER
The lighthouse is sweeping a beam of light over the aire tonight but attempts to photograph it have failed as there are sodium street lights around us! This would otherwise be a perfect dark sky site.
R
Robert Clark
Deleted User
Looks wonderful John
Thanks for sharing
Thanks for sharing
OP
OP
DBK
LIFE MEMBER
We are holed up in customary fashion in a campsite for the weekend although we may move again on Sunday after doing the laundry tomorrow.
This is Camping Isulottu which I found using Google Maps as it isn't listed in CamperContact although I've subsequently discovered it is in Park4Night.
The site has a MH service point but the choice of pitches we could actually get onto was limited. It is an old olive grove but they created the site without thinning many of the trees.
To get here wasn't a long drive from the last place but we came here to visit Port de Centuri which is a fifteen minute walk from the campsite.
The small port is surrounded by restaurants and as soon as we saw people sitting down for lunch at the outside tables we promptly joined them. The photograph above was taken from our table and the board shows what we ordered - the Formule du jour at €13.50.
The local wine wasn't cheap, €18 for a 50cl bottle - they didn't do carafes, but it was a shade better than the other Corsican stuff we have in the van - €12 for five litres.
The starter was ham. Note the warning about drinking in moderation on the paper mat. Not required by me of course as I rarely do. And please accept my apologies for the knees. I cropped them out for the main course but forgot about this one.
Followed by moules with frites hiding behind the bottles. They were not done the normal way and the creamy sauce had cheese in it think and the herbs were not the normal parsley. Both dishes were very tasty.
Total bill €46.50 including a coffee for me.
Eating at our table had interesting distractions. The table stuck some distance into the already narrow street. Fortunately only a few cars came past but I kept a close eye on those with open driver's windows as they could have reached out and grabbed a chip off my plate.
As we left I took this shot looking back, we were sitting about halfway down on the right. There are numerous restaurants here and you could probably have lunch and dinner at different ones for a week. Lobster was offered at several but at €50 for 150g we gave it a miss.
This is Camping Isulottu which I found using Google Maps as it isn't listed in CamperContact although I've subsequently discovered it is in Park4Night.
The site has a MH service point but the choice of pitches we could actually get onto was limited. It is an old olive grove but they created the site without thinning many of the trees.
To get here wasn't a long drive from the last place but we came here to visit Port de Centuri which is a fifteen minute walk from the campsite.
The small port is surrounded by restaurants and as soon as we saw people sitting down for lunch at the outside tables we promptly joined them. The photograph above was taken from our table and the board shows what we ordered - the Formule du jour at €13.50.
The local wine wasn't cheap, €18 for a 50cl bottle - they didn't do carafes, but it was a shade better than the other Corsican stuff we have in the van - €12 for five litres.
The starter was ham. Note the warning about drinking in moderation on the paper mat. Not required by me of course as I rarely do. And please accept my apologies for the knees. I cropped them out for the main course but forgot about this one.
Followed by moules with frites hiding behind the bottles. They were not done the normal way and the creamy sauce had cheese in it think and the herbs were not the normal parsley. Both dishes were very tasty.
Total bill €46.50 including a coffee for me.
Eating at our table had interesting distractions. The table stuck some distance into the already narrow street. Fortunately only a few cars came past but I kept a close eye on those with open driver's windows as they could have reached out and grabbed a chip off my plate.
As we left I took this shot looking back, we were sitting about halfway down on the right. There are numerous restaurants here and you could probably have lunch and dinner at different ones for a week. Lobster was offered at several but at €50 for 150g we gave it a miss.
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moulin 87
Free Member
@DBK You've certainly whetted our appetite to return to Le Corse sooner rather than later. Not this year though as tomorrow we are setting off following in your footsteps to Sicily.
Though we are cheating by taking the ferry from Toulon to Trapani, 19 hours but saving 3 or 4 days travel.
We will explore elements of Italy on the return journey.
Keep Posting.
Though we are cheating by taking the ferry from Toulon to Trapani, 19 hours but saving 3 or 4 days travel.
We will explore elements of Italy on the return journey.
Keep Posting.
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