Day 7 – Ajaccio, Corsica

This morning we said goodbye to Father Walter, Sparky and Monaco. Upon our arrival at the Ajaccio airport in Corsica, we were by Mr. Brunel who would shuttle us to our campervan. He is a native Corsican, and prior to his retirement, he was a filmmaker for National Geographic and traveled the world. He retired 10 years ago when everything started going digital. Now in his retirement, he manages the Campervan Office.

The campervan office and the experience so far are nothing like New Zealand. This time around we are REALLY camping. Mr. Brunel owns 12 campers for hire. His office is an old campervan packed with office equipment, bedding, books, papers, etc. Not at all like the pristine Britz office in Queenstown. It is a good thing that Matt is now a pro regarding campers, because Mr. Brunel’s tutorial on everything regarding the vehicle was lightening fast and his English was lacking in some important words. He also needed to leave to catch a ferry to Marseille, so we were quickly shoved out on our way.

First on the Agenda…Grocery Shopping at the Casino Marche. This grocery store was HUGE, much like a Super Walmart. Obtaining a shopping cart requires a literal deposit of 1 euro. Each shopping cart has a coin slot. Once the coin is inserted, the cart is released and your coin is locked into the slot. Upon returning the cart to the stand after the shopping is complete, your coin is returned. I guess it’s to detour people from stealing the carts. We made our way through the store. I have a standard shopping list for trips like this:

11 day Supply list:

3 boxes of cereal

loaf of sliced bread

baguette

5 rice servings

5 pasta servings

2 Spaghetti sauce

Salt

Peanut Butter

Jelly

Cookies

Crackers

Small vegetable oil

Mustard

ketchup

Soda (6)

Bottled Water (6)

Orange Juice – Non-refridgerated (3)

1 pack sausage

1 pack chicken breasts

1 pack ground beef

1 pack lunch meat (ham or salami)

eggs

bananas

apples

peaches (3 cans)

corn (3 cans)

butter

milk

fancy cheese

magnum bars

Frozen French fries

laundry detergent

dishwashing soap

paper towels

Toilet Paper

The shopping came to $130 euro. So we are basically eating for only 10 euro per day for the both of us. Mighty thrifty!!!

Next we were off to the Mimosa Campgrounds…or so we thought because as it turns out the fuse for the cigarette lighter was burned out. Our GPS had no juice either, so we basically felt stranded on a side road. Fortunately, our laptops had enough power to juice up the GPS for a 10-minute sprint, which barely got us to the campsite. The campsite is definitely rugged. We are not in New Zealand anymore. We are no longer pampered campers. There are cement co-ed bathrooms without toilet paper, co-ed showers, no wireless, no community room, no lighting along the paths, not much of anything except a power outlet, BUT we are together and on holiday for the next 10 days. The campgrounds are rated on a 4 star system. This is a 2 star campground for only 20 euro per night.

The layout of the camper is taking some getting use to. It’s smaller than the last 2 we rented. There is not counter space and very little storage. The driver’s seat swivels around and doubles as a seat at the table. There aren’t any drawers. There are only 2 plugs, no screen door, no big panoramic window out the back and only 2 gas burners. However, it is clean and will be our home for the next 10 days.