Day 21 Nice to London to Dallas to SFO

It's been a long day, but after almost 20 hours of traveling we are now home. The trip home was relatively easy. We are just tired. On the flight home we talked about where our next trip would be some day. It will either be Iceland or Alaska. That's all for now until the next adventure.

Day 20 - Nice

We walked the city for 8 hours today. My favorite stop was the Marc Chagall Museum. It was more than I could have imagined. It was such a remarkable collection and so beautifully exhibited. Studying his paintings in art books is one thing, but seeing them as huge canvases (12 ft x 14 ft) left me speechless. It took a bit of time to regroup and absorb them so I could explain the stories behind them to Matt. They also had a theatre that showed a 1-hour biography on Marc Chagall and even though it was all in French, it was wonderful. An entire full wall of the theatre was one of his famous stained glass windows and it was truly beautiful. I would love to be able to go back again tomorrow. If I’m ever back in Nice, it is the first place I’m going. Bonus today: the museum was free!

From there we walked to Eglise Rousse which is the huge Russian Orthodox Cathedral. We only saw the outside, but it was impressive. The rest of the day we wandered through old and new neighborhoods and explored all the little nooks and found some of the best Gelato ever!!! Finnocchios Gelateria had 96 flavors to choose from and if you like such flavors as Cactus, Lavendar, Lilac, Rose, Beer, Hot Pepper Chocolate, Tomato, or Olive Oil/Basil, then this is the spot for you. We however stuck to a scoop of Amaretto and a scoop of Cinnamon, but it was a tough decision. We also discovered the coolest Chocolateria. All the candy and cookies looked like pieces of art. We tried to choose very wisely but quickly hit 200 grams (7 pieces) which equated to some sticker shock at the register.

Back in the hotel room, I was able to listen to the Giants pre-show online, but that feed stopped once game time began. Go Giants! We had a really good day in Nice.

Day 19 Goodbye Corsica…Hello Nice

Returning the campervan this morning went smoothly. Mr. Brunel was happy to see his campervan and us in one piece. He informed us that the entire island was out of diesel. For the past 4 days there has been a gas strike. This happened to me in 1997 when I drove through France. I guess they still go on strike every year. Mr. Brunel gave us a pass on the gas. We had about half a tank and from our last filling, that was 70euro, so that’s what we paid him.

Landing in Nice started out easy. The shuttle bus to Terminal 1 was exactly where it should be. Bus #98 was waiting there to take us into town and was only 4 euro each. I had the bus stop name to get off at for the hotel. Other than some bad smells from fellow travelers, we were zipping right along. Then all of a sudden, the bus stopped and the driver said, “Last stop, everybody out!” There were many confused faces and a lot of elderly travelers. Some people got off and others refused to move. I showed the driver my map and the bus stop I needed and he motioned that it was 20-minute walk up the Promenade. He reiterated to everyone to get off the bus and to start walking. All the busses were dumping people off in the same spot. I thought perhaps they were on a gas strike to and the busses were trying to conserve fuel. Turns out the entire transportation system is on strike today. No taxis. Not trams. No trolleys and limited bus routes. The transportation department chose to strike on Saturday because there would be more people affected on a weekend. The strike is suppose to be over on Monday. We have a cab reserved to pick us up at the hotel at 5am Monday morning.

After getting settled into Hotel Helvetica, we got some lunch and wondered the streets. This evening will explore more of the area, but tomorrow is the big exploration day. It’s time to rest now and Matt is already napping.

--------- 6 hours later -----------

After a power nap, we were ready to head out and explore. We headed to the old town of Nice, which is all things European that I love…pedestrian streets, narrow cobblestone alleys, church bells ringing, cafes, cool little shops, a dog peering into the butcher’s window dreaming of a big steak and of course a courtyard with the farmers selling their produce. Ahead, was the Coline du Chateau and our hope was to capture sunset from there. The Coline du Chateau/Castle Hill is the site of the old citadel that was destroyed in 1706. We climbed the 302 steps to reach the top and the panoramic view was worth it. The area has been turned into a park with a waterfall, but the waterfall was closed. We were all set up for our sunset light show, when a little man with a very loud whistle stopped everything to aggressively herd us down the castle steps. There were some really cranky tourists. It actually was a bit much. I guess he wanted to go home early. The area was suppose to be open until 7pm and at 6:50, he was doing his roundup. After that, it we wandered some pedestrian streets, found a spot for a simple dinner and then made our way home. It will be nice to have a hot shower tonight. First one in 13 days! (Campground showers don’t have hot water. It’s either cold or slightly cold.)

Day 18 Random Campsite to Ajaccio

In the morning we woke up to find that our campsite was next to a large family of donkeys, non of whom were friendly like Sparks & Stitch, the donkeys on my uncle’s ranch. The little orange and white kitty was waiting at the door for breakfast. I had given him milk for dinner and he was patiently waiting for another saucer of milk at 9am. The owner of the campsite was very nice and was able to recommend an area outside of Ajaccio for us to stay tonight. The only goal for today was to find the location of the photo on the Lonely Planet book cover.

The photo on the cover is Pointe de la Parata with the iles de Sanguinaires right off the coast. We managed to successfully find Pointe de la Parata, only I would not be getting the photo I had hoped for because of 2 reasons. First, today is “national control-burn day,” or at least that’s what I’m calling it. Everyone is allowed to burn rubbish today. The hills with all the plumes of smoke look like something from “Apocalypse Now.” The entire area is enveloped in a smoky haze. Second, no blue sky what so ever, only a flat white sky and the threat of rain clouds coming from the mountains. This is our last day in Corsica, so I won’t be getting the photo I had hoped to come home with.

After hiking up and down the mountain opposite the Tower to get the Lonely Planet photo, we proceeded to hike out to the point. The path takes you to a good viewing spot of the islands and a steep look up at the tower. Here’s our conversation regarding the tower:

Matt: “So you wanna go up”

Suzanne: “Of course”

Matt: “I have a feeling it will look the same as it does from here only it will be closer.”

Suzanne: “Well, I’m going up.”

[Lots and lots of steep rocky steps later that left me sucking wind, we reached the top.]

Matt: “Yup, looks like the same tower only closer up.”

Tonight we are camping in Porticcio. The campsite is nice and we have a chance to do laundry, but there is no wi-fi. We will be returning the camper tomorrow at 9am, the only problem is that we are suppose to return it with a full tank of gas and the entire island seems to be out of diesel.

Day 17 St. Florent to Somewhere on the Golfe de Sagone

Our first destination of the day was Calvi. The winding road to Calvi went through the Agriates Desert. It’s a rocky area that looks completely sun-scorched. The area used to be the most fertile on the island, but it was destroyed by the practice of ecobuage (cultivation on burnt stubble). Finally, we reached Calvi. Calvi is one of the main cities, but does not feel big. The city sits at the end of a huge shallow bay and spreads out from the Citadel as well as on top of it. Atop the citadel is a maze of buildings spanning various centuries. The French Foreign Legion uses one of the large halls as it’s mess hall. Little military jeeps were zipping up the narrow cobblestone roads. We could not figure out why they were acting like they had to defend something. The citadel was last attacked in 1794 by it’s own people in an uprising. Calvi is also the birth place of Christopher Columbus, so the town really plays that up. It seems in our travels, Christopher Columbus has been used to promote tourism in 3 towns…Calvi (birthplace), Sevilla, Spain (final resting place) and El Granda, Spain (where he asked for funding from Queen Isabella).

The goal for the rest of the day was as follows: Drive to Porto, explore village, hike 172 stairs to top of Genoese Tower, view Las Callanques (dramatic cliffs) for sunset from the village of Piana, camp in Porto, in the morning, short walk to view Callanques in morning light, 11am boat ride to Coastal Estuary & view collanques from the ocean.

Well, non of that happened due to any of the following reasons:

- Hairpin narrow roads: impossible to stop

- No Campervan parking allowed

- No Campervan access allowed

- No Campervans within a 4km radias allowed

- No campsites (either closed or not equipped for campers)

- No sign that said “next campsite is 2 hours down a winding death road from here”

We both sat silently in camper driving further down the road away from Porto in silence watching the daylight vanish and realizing we were now going to be driving in the dark hoping for a campsite. At 8:45 pm, we finally rolled into a campsite just on the verge of closing for the evening. Neither of us have a clue where we are, but it’s somewhere on the Golfe de Sagone. Matt has gone to bed early, he’s exhausted from the drive and I think he is catching the cold that I am finally getting over. I’m just majorly bummed that I did not get a chance to photograph the Callanques or the Golfe de Porto. It was not one of our best travel days.

Day 16 St; Florent to Centuri and Back

We left the campsite via the main road and not really having any idea where we would end up today. Five minutes down the road, we drove through St. Florent and instantly felt compelled to stop and walk back to the pastry shop in the village center. St. Florent has a beautiful little harbor and diving excursions leave from here. As we walked to the Pastry shop, we spied a Motor Scooter rental shop. Needless to say, we never made it to the pastry shop. We had 6 hours to ride our scooter up and down the coast and visit all the little villages that were inaccessible in the camper.

With Matt driving and me on the back looking my best in my sporty biker helmet, we were off to Centuri. It was great! Matt could actually enjoy the views while I got to notice all the little cool spots we had missed the day before. I was worried that the motor bike zipping around at 45 mph on the few straight-aways, would not be fast enough on a main road, but then I remembered that camper rarely went over 25mph and cyclists are also on the road. For some odd reason, there was hardly any traffic on the narrow road today as opposed to yesterday. Only one bus came towards us in the on-coming lane and there were a few times we actually passed cars when we saw them. It’s so much easier to judge the road on the motorbike. Seeing the road from this perspective with the sheer cliffs really made me wonder how we ever made it down this road at all yesterday. Turns out Matt was thinking the same thing.

1 hour and 45 minutes later, we arrived in the tiny fishing village of Centuri. It was just as pretty as I had hoped. We were both starving, but in a village that centers around fish and lobster, it was hard finding a menu item that was not seafood-based for Matt. Finally, we found a cute little patio restaurant overlooking the harbor. The menu was all in French, but I knew grilled lobster when I saw it. The price…15 euro…or so I thought, until I noticed the “/gram” Hmmm, perhaps a lobster lunch would not be the low price of 15 euros as I had thought. Turns out lobster is 15 euros per 100 grams and a standard lobster which was brought live to the table next to us for inspection weighs in at 500 grams. Therefore, a lobster lunch would be 75 euro or $102.00! Instead, I just enjoyed a nice Dorado fish and Matt had the local pizza. I could have stayed in the village all afternoon taking photos, but we had to get moving.

Next stop, the uber tiny village of Tulare, which we could see way below on the coast yesterday when standing on the Northern most cliffs. I didn’t even know what the village was like, I just wanted to get down to it since we had the bike and check it out. The ride down was really pretty and the road dead ends at the village. The village was very austere and functional. Across the water was a little uninhabited island and a lobster diver was working just off the shore. It felt like a big accomplishment just to have gotten there.

The bike ride back to St. Florent was 2 hours. We stopped to stretch our legs a few times and coasted into St. Florent exactly at 6pm on gas fumes. This was definitely my favorite day of the trip!

Day 15 The Cap Course

We drove the Cap Course today and got out to explore whenever the narrow roads would allow. Perched above the hamlet of Centuri was a windmill. It is so out of place, but marks the Northern Most tip of Cap Course Penninsula. As we hiked up, we joked that maybe there was a hotdog stand at the top. I was really bummed to find that the inside of the windmill was used to sell T-shirts and incense. Oh well, the surrounding views were stunning. The wind on the other hand was another matter. As I made my way further out the point to Mary’s Shrine, I thought I was going to blow right off the cliffs. I could barely keep my camera still due to the high winds.

There were many tiny hamlets above in the higher mountains and below on the water, but the camper could not access them. In order to visit Nonza, we had to park ½ mile outside the village and walk in on the narrow road. We explored the small village and the Genoese Tower it is centered around. From the tower we witnessed a tour bus show-down as they tried to pass each other on a road barely wide enough for a normal car. The busses are ridiculous. There is no parking for campers let alone busses, so they stop in the middle of road and occupy more than half the road as a massive flood of tourist pour from the doors. I can hardly imagine what it is like in summer. In my humble opinion, the busses should only be allowed to travel in a counter-clockwise direction that would avoid the dangerous show-downs. There is only one main road that circles the peninsula and at times it seems like only small vespas should be allowed access.

Below the tower was a beach. On it’s shores were hundreds of shapes and names made with rocks, all facing the villages’ direction. I have no idea how this started. With a storm quickly approaching from the mountains, we made our way back to the camper and breathed a sigh of relief that it was still there in one piece. South of Nonza on the coast, we found a nice campsite in St. Florentine. They rent vespas and we looked into renting one built for two so that we could do the circuit again and have access to all the little villages, but that did not pan out. The beach is supposedly 500 meters in some direction, but it’s dark, so that will have to be discovered tomorrow. The owner here is Italian and has 4 Great Danes. If I understood him correctly, the dogs speak German, he speaks Italian and everyone else speaks French.

Day 14 Aleria to Corte to Bastia to Somewhere on the Cap Course

It has been a frustrating day. That happens when unknown forces derail my best-laid plans. I had wanted us up by 8am, but it was just too darn cold for the outdoor co-ed showers, but by 9am, it was more tolerable. An hour off schedule….I can roll with that….no worries. By 10am, we said goodbye to the best campsite to date and headed into the mountains to Corte.

The road to Corte was really pretty and an easy drive…that is until we actually got to Corte and the GPS took us into Old Town. Matt did some pretty fancy maneuvering and backed us out of a potentially bad situation. The Old Town is not only a maze of narrow streets, but it also is home to a University. Therefore, all the students have also parked in the most bizarre configurations and blocking through traffic in some spots. We made our way back down to “city” area, found the Casino Supermarket, and parked the camper there. We stared up the mountain towards the citadel above, trying to calculate how long it would take to hike up there. Then, as luck would have it, we noticed the little tourist train next to the parking lot. For 6 euro each, we got a round trip ride to the top which dropped us off at the base of the citadel along with some elderly tourists.

We usually make fun of the tourist trains. They look like the Disneyland parking lot shuttles. But I must say, the train saved us a lot of time. The Citadel was ok. From the Lonely Planet description, we had envisioned a grand fortress, so it was more of a “Spinal Tap” moment when we actually saw it because it was much smaller than expected. Also, we could not go inside, it could only be viewed from a lookout point. After the citadel, we made our way back through the winding streets and caught the little train back to the grocery store parking lot.

Next on the itinerary…the Vallee De La Restonica, described as, “one of the prettiest spots in all of Corsica. The river, rising in the grey-green mountains, has scoured little basins in the rock, offering sheltered pinewood settings for swimming.” The hiking there is suppose to be great too and I had chosen a good one for us. Unfortunately, the D63 (15km narrow road) was the only way there. As we reached the junction and looked down the D63, Matt just shook his head and said, “No way is this camper going to make it.” Saddened by the news, I turned to our backup plan…a visit to the Vallee du Niolo. This valley was described as, “one of the best kept secrets of Corsica with it’s picturesque valley.”

As we made our way back to the main road and turned down the road leading to the Niolo Valley, all seemed good. Then 10km later, the road suddenly became too narrow and looked as if the mountainside would rip apart the 3meter high camper. Defeated and REALLY frustrated, we made our way to Bastia. I had planned to spend a ½ day exploring Basti, but after driving through, I quickly changed my mind. Bastia is the main port. All the ferries disembark here. It reminded me of the chaos around the LA Harbor, only throw in some round-abouts, lots of crazy driver, narrow roads, and then some 2.2 meter high tunnels that pop out of nowhere, and that’s Bastia. The harbor road we were on suddenly dipped heading towards and underground tunnel. The camper was way too tall and in a last ditch effort, Matt changed lanes, got us out of harm’s way, but then we found ourselves in the boarding lanes to the ferry. This is not a good place to be either. Fortunately, we found an exit and got back on the main road to the Cap Course.

The Cap Course is the Northern most peninsula of Corsica. Locals say the Cap Corse Peninsula, which sticks out at the top of Corsica for 40km is a giant geographical flipping-off finger at the French Riviera. I don’t know why they feel that way. Once on the Cap Course, we began looking for campsites which was not easy at all. Most of them did not allow campers. Finally, when we thought we might be driving the entire peninsula, we spotted La Pietra’s Campground. Down a small country road, we found a little piece of comfort…bathrooms with a seat AND toilet paper WITH dentist-office-musak pumped in overhead. The bathrooms are still co-ed and outside, but they were so beautiful. There is a pretty swanky pool and the beach is only 500 meters down the path. We spent some time down at the beach and were able to regroup a bit. We might stay an extra day here. We are hoping that when the receptionist chooses to return that she can help us with a few questions regarding the area. We will see what tomorrow brings.

Day 13 Aleria

We were ready and packed this morning to head back into the mountains, but the beach and campgrounds here are so nice, we ditched the extra day in the mountains for an extra day in Aleria. However, before splashing in the water, we headed to the outskirts of town to visit the ruins of Ancient Aleria. It dates back to 200 BC and was inhabited by ancient Greeks. Only 10% of the area has been excavated. I don’t really know how they estimate that since how do you know a percentage of an unknown size, but anyway, that’s what we were told. The markers are translated, so we could actually understand what we were looking at. Most of the signage here is not localized. The best part of the ruins was the valley views that extended to the mountains.

We returned to our campsite by the beach and headed for the water. I wrongly assumed the water would be as luxuriously warm as further south in Pinarella. It was a shock to the system to get hit with the first wave…the swim plan had come quickly to end. Instead, we just walked along the beach. Everywhere we walk here, there are packs of cats and kittens. They ALL look alike. They are much more ferral here than in the Zonza forest. They watch the people, but keep out of arm's reach. The management here takes care of them. There are bowls of food strategically placed around the property. They just keep making more kitties. The bathrooms here are nice because they are clean. Because they are open to the outdoors, I'm handling the co-ed concept better here.

By sunset the storm clouds were rolling/billowing in. They moved so fast and dramatically, everyone here was staring up at the sky. Even a German motorcyclist pulled over to watch the show. I’m hoping the storm clouds pass as quickly as the came because tomorrow it is back into the mountains for the little campervan.

Day 12 Zonza to Aleria

The day started with an early hike to find a waterfall that was called “bucolic” in the guidebook. I’m not sure what that means, but if the definition is “no big deal”, than that makes sense. The trail was a short 90 minutes return and was rated “easy/facil” as noted by the icon of a female hiker wearing a skirt and heels. The trail was in fact easy with some scrambling over rocks and crossing a stream or two, but I would not hike the trail in a skirt. We kept expecting the trail to get more difficult or to have some spectacular ending since all the French and German hikers coming off the trail were in full hiking gear, day packs and trekking poles.

When we reached the end of the trail, the waterfall seemed more like a normal bend in any river in the Sierras. I doubt it qualified as a class 2 rapid. At least it was a nice hike in the woods and it was peaceful.

After a quick lunch, we headed higher into the mountains and reached the Col (Mountain Pass) de Bavellas. It was really beautiful and the weather was constantly changing. The clouds were moving so fast over the mountains that it looked like time-lapsed photography. At the very top, we climbed around a bit. It was bitterly cold with random showers. This region is also the center for high-impact, high-adrenaline sports action. Canyoning and death-defying ropes courses are the big thing to do here. Unfortunately, they were closed for the season so I could not be tempted. We also thought this was a sign, since getting injured on doing one of these activities is highly likely and we have a ton of photoshoots to do when we return home.

We continued down the mountain pass to the coast. The road we were on is considered Corsica’s most breathtaking scenic road. It was beautiful. I saw more of it than Matt since he was driving, but I really think all the time spent in Yosemite has spoiled me.

Back at sea level, we headed North up the coast and found a really nice campground right on the beach. I can see the waves and water right out our window. Swimming here in the morning will be more challenging. It’s not like the peaceful bay of Pinarella. This is the ocean as I know it! I’ll be out there for sunset soon with a glass of wine and toast my Auntie Do’s Life. Her services are today and I wish I could be there with the rest of my family.

Day 11 Pinarello to Zonza

Around 6 am the rooftop began to ping with raindrops, which quickly became a thunderous downpour. We used the morning to work on wedding photos and by noon the rain had finally let up. We were on our way to Zonza via a main road, however, the GPS once again screwed us by trying to take us up the back roads. We had managed to navigate through the small roads and hairpin turns, but when the GPS said, “In 500 meters make a left on the dirt road,” we were screwed. Somehow, Matt was able to safely back up the camper down this narrow road with precarious drop offs to a safe spot.

After backtracking a bit, we found the main road, which took us high into the mountains. It was a lot like driving into Yosemite. We were now driving through thick forests of pine trees in the fog and cold air. Up and up the little camper went until finally we reached the hill town of Zonza with the Aiguilles de Bavella hidden in mist behind the town The Aiguilles are similar to the Pinnacles with their jagged spires. Locals compare them to shark teeth slicing into the sky. Zonza is the tiny village scene on postcards with the soaring Aiguilles behind it. The only thing is that to see Zonza that way, you need to be in the village WAAAAAAY across the valley.

With a break in the rain, we were able to walk around the village and explore some nooks and crannies. I was more interested in all the building doors than anything else. We found a campsite a few kilometers outside of town. We knew it was perfect when two tiny kittens greeted us. The campsite is nice and basically vacant. The kittens were treated to milk and we were instantly their best friends.

Day 10 Bonaficio to Pinarello

First on the list for today…Porta Vecchio. The town itself has a height restriction that resembles the “you must be this tall to ride this roller coaster” sign. We parked outside city center with all the buses and meandered through the town. The port is a major working harbor, so it was not the picturesque view I had expected to see. The town itself was nice with lots of little shops and if you were a foodie, you would be very happy with all the little bistros and cafes. In the tourism office, the desk clerk was thrilled to find out we were from the bay area. “I LOVE SAN FRANCISCO & BERKELEY!,” she exclaimed. She is a dancer and her group goes on tour once a year.

Back in the camper we planned our next part of our day. Going to Plage de Palombaggio was a no go since it was down a dirt road. Now when I say “dirt road,” I don’t mean the dirt roads like we drove the camper on in New Zealand. These are roads that would break the camper and/or with the overhanging trees would do some major damage to the roofline.

We made our way to Pinarello. The Gulf of Pinarello is huge and the shallow waters extend a great distance so that you can walk in waste high water for what seems like forever. The water is so clear, there is no need to snorkel, just look straight down at your feet to view the white sandy bottom and the little fish that dart around. Across the bay is the Genoese Tower on the point. We rarely have ever just had a beach day on any or our journeys, so while Matt napped on the beach in the shade, I played in the water for the afternoon.

When it was time to head out and find a campsite, we followed the signs to “California Camp Grounds.” Upon arrival, we asked the manager if a site was available. It sounded like he told us to go get some food, so the confused looks on our faces only annoyed him. He asked, “Eh what nationality are you?” We responded, “American.” His smug reply, “Ah but of course, you see I am French.” I swear it took everything to control my inside voice and not sarcastically say, “Well Yeah You!” He sent us off to choose any site we wish. Upon returning with our selection, there were a ton of hoops to jump through including something about the electricity not being available until 7:30. That was followed with “34 euro please.” I looked at Matt and said, “Let’s go.” We are paying an average of 17-20 Euros per night, plus the manager was just really rude.

Up the road we discovered Santa Lucia’s Campgrounds. This campgrounds are completely empty as far as we can tell. I feel like this place could be the setting for a Stephen King novel. For the first hour we were here, we enjoyed the sounds of gunfire and hounds on the hunt. Turns out it is wild boar season and they were hunting on the property next door. It was rather ironic that during the sounds of the hunt, we were munching down on our pork salami.

Day 9 Sartene to Bonaficio

We started the day off by driving up into the hilltops to the town of Sartene. Only 2500 people live there and even though the old-world buildings are decaying with age, they are still totally charming. Old town Sartene has lots of narrow passages; some so narrow that two people can barely pass each other. There were lots of little shops selling local wine at eye level and pieces/parts of meat overhead.

After exploring the town, I made us lunch in the camper. We had to ditch the bread that I had used to make the sandwiches because the closest thing to Yellow mustard I could find, ended up having horseradish in it. Matt’s sinuses got cleared out in one bite. The crackers we had found seemed the next logical choice…we would have a “French” lunch of Brie, crackers and meat. However, one bite of the so-called saltine and we discovered it was filled with a bacon-like substance. It was a 3-pack and one of the packs was “special.” I don’t know if we were really hungry, or if the bacon filled crackers were actually good.

From Sartene, we quickly descended the mountainous road to the sea. WOW! Now this is what I had imagined Corsica to be. The coastline is just spectacular and the aquamarine color of the water seems completely unreal. The road into Bonaficio was filled with beautiful views. I felt bad that Matt could not enjoy the vistas more since the camper demands all of his attention. The one time he did get out of the camper to see the view, he stepped in gum.

Bonaficio is beautiful. It is a town that somehow manages to cling to the limestone cliffs. The best way to see the town is from the water, so even though I had not put on a seasickness patch, I psyched myself up for the 1-hour boat ride. We left the calm harbor and stayed close to the cliffs. Fortunately, this meant it was a very calm boat ride. The boat explored caves, calanques (long inlets with steep walls) and limestone formations and then the town. There are 187 steps carved in the limestone that go from the town to small path just above the water line. Legend says the steps were carved in one night by King Aragon’s troops during a siege in 1420. Actually, the credit goes to some monks who needed a way to get to the spring below. We had a wonderfully clear day and Sardina was easily seen across the water.

Back in port, we attempted driving up to the old town that we had seen from the camper, but that was a horrible idea and we nearly got the camper out. What the map denoted as a parking area turned out to be a few slots sized for a Mini Cooper. We found a campsite outside of town. It is a 3-star, that means we have wi-fi. I can’t get used to the co-ed bathrooms and showers. It seems like I’m the only paranoid one.