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.
No comments:
Post a Comment