2014/6 End

France – mainland greeted us with east to west sea to skyline, wall to wall hotels and buildings of Nice.  After zigzagging through through the crowded streets of Nice to find our favourite supermarket – Lidl.  Our Tom Tom (should have a name really) must have been infested by the Corsican road system because it chose a route straight up and through the mountains, past some very scenic hillside villages and then mountain passes to  Castallane. We had chosen Castellane on the basis of previous visits – a pretty little town overlooked by the impressive 300 metre high Notre Dame du Roche. A campervan park almost in the centre ( 4 minutes to bread or cafe) and in the hills.  Spent 3 days relaxing, but also climbed to Notre Dame du Roche and did the Gorge de Verdon walk, bus to/from each end and about 6 hours of walk; down, along and back up in the largest gorge in Europe (so they  say), very impressive. A reasonably strenuous walk but the hardest bit was the almost vertical staircase that seemed to go down forever! A series of unlit old tunnels, several hundred metres long added to the interest of the walk and made our feet wet.

   We didn’t think that we had time to visit our Grenoble friends this year on our way to see Max & Lucy on their canal boat – but Stan changed that.  Calling in for an alignment check for the new front tyres they discovered play in the wheel bushes and a very dangerous wear and play in the steering (lucky we did not know then negotiating some of those Corsican mountain roads.)  So a garage assessment, wait several days for new parts fixing plus new alignment all took time. This gave us the chance to enjoy the hospitality of climbing friends  (Jean Claude & Jocelyne), Grenoble English friends (Brian and Margaret P and Brian D). Then several days on the slopes of the Vercors with Francois,  whose little car took all over Chartreuse (Abbey and museum), and Vercors (resistance  memorials and organ concert in beautiful village ) as well as a 14 th July with his family. And of course some fine meals with our friends, Agnes and Michel Phelipon. Of course all this meant that we couldn’t catch up with Max and Lucy on Kiwi Rose this year. Next year?

The weather can only be described as changeable. we arrived in Nice in thunderstorms. Since then we have been subjected to temperatures well into the 30’s – not easy when hiking- and down below 10. Fresh snow on the hills when we were in Grenoble. Out with the trusty Alaskan jackets that have served us so well over the years.   

 

 

 

 

 

Four new tyres, bearings adjusted, steering renewed and wheels aligned; Stan set off North. Stopped at another old  favourite – Dole. Parking beside the town which is a beautiful town beside the canal. Little alley ways beside the various waterways with good cafés both during the day or in the evening, all very peasant, even some hot air balloons to see in the evening..

Thence North up the Marne valley, with an overnight stop beside one of the many canals in a part of the countryside peppered with mind-jolting massive graveyards and memorials to the 14-18 great war.

  Last 150 km on the pay motorway – not our usual style, but well worth while as it rained all the way in deluge proportions.  Then its our well loved spot on the quays – 24 camper vans on the front row (Stan no 24) next to the ferry terminal  with the 24/7 beat of the ferry engines as the they arrive or leave – its part of the ambiance alongside those noisy, screeching gulls.  Typical here with overcast sky and spitting rain but here folks are not put off by that – paddling in the sea and the vast flat beach is an ideal location for beach volley ball, basket ball, touch rugby etc.  Once arrived we hurried off into town for our classic ‘moules frites’ (garlic sauce), a fine Macon white and then a coffee – set up for a siesta back with Stan.

What remains, a visit to the hair dresser for Joanna ( will she get the same very good lady who cut it perfectly in May (name not noted down), some supermarket shopping for England and of course Cite European) where we presume  it is the end of the Sale’ season in France to see if any suitable bargains (David comment erased).

Tomorrow it’s the White Cliffs – hopefully the weather will improve and we will be able to see them. A week to catch up with family and friends, clean and polish Stan ready for the long wintering over. ETA  Auckland 30th July.

2014/5 Corsica

Our arrival in Bonifacio was not the Corsica we were expecting. It is an amazing town, impossibly situated, precariously overhanging   the sea. It has a quaint old town up the hill, thronged with tourists and lined with restaurants and a modern marina at the bottom, with huge superyachts and dozens of tourist boats. Much as we enjoyed it, with a great lunch in the old town and a walk along the cliff tops,we soon discovered that it was not typical of the Corsica we were about to see. That is, not all touristy (at least in June)  and flash.

We managed to cover most of the island in 2 weeks. Up the east coast to a great little campsite at Polombaggia, where  we  discovered a puncture. The first of a series of tyre problems. David spent a difficult few hours jacking up the van in soft ground and extracting the spare tyre from its slot under the van, with much advice and encouragement from the proprietor and his mates. However once done we were off and soon had 2 new tyres (but at Corsican prices).

Much of the SE coast is covered with holiday homes, ‘nicely’ arranged but hostile to camper vans, BUT we then discovered one of our top places to stay at San Ciprianu.  Free parking behind a few shops (morning bread) and several restaurants (coffee and World Cup football) and 50m to a pleasant sandy beach. So time to explore some of the interior and a couple of days walking in the mountains around Bavella where we stayed a night in the cool mountain air.  Corsica is a Mecca for hikers. The classic one is the 10 day GR20 running N to S in the centre with Gites d’Etape as basic places to stay, but there are many other options. Of course our walks were of the 4 hour variety, but crossed parts of the GR20 route.

Thence across and up the W coast.  At Ajaccio we made the classic and old narrow gauge rail  journey to Corte in the centre of the island.  The train cuts through the mountains in spectacular fashion with a super new  two carriage unit with special suspension and a diesel/electric drive.  The track includes a classic vintage bridge designed by Eiffel.  Corte the centre of the Corsica set in the mountains and the home of the independence movement which has just now renounced the use of arms. Besides tourists there  were lots of ardent hikers, of all ages shapes and sizes all with big packs and boots (David did have a comment about groups of middle age women but it was edited out).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Further N   past Porto some hair raising roads clinging to the sides of the mountain with the coast below and on the

 

 

 

 

 

other side rough rock face with jagged rocks about to strike the van next to Joanna’s head. Some lovely little bays, one of which – Plage d’Arone, we managed to free camp and enjoy for a couple of days.  The rock formations are the scene here  (colours red to green with all sorts of formations) the highlight is the Calanches near Piana. We made several great walks in this region, out to Capo Rosso with its watch tower (watch towers both Spanish and Genoan are a feature of all the coast, testimony to the troubled times). Next an old mule track and then the Spelunca gorge.  The gorge was more challenging – down 620m into the gorge, along the river, a swim under a classic Genoan bridge and of course the walk back up the 620m – in the heat of the day as usual – we sweated out huge amounts (soaking wet clothes)and drank litres of water on these walks.  David managed to pick up a tick on this walk – not nice and one of the troubles with the internet is you can read of all the possible resulting infections, but so far nothing. One of the great features of walking in Europe is the constant greeting of fellow walkers. Buongiorno in Italy and Bonjour in France. Not just each group of people, every person. By the end of the walk we are bonjoured out. However now we almost feel insulted if we don’t get a greeting and just assume the person isn’t French and therefore ignorant.

Then at Calvi another tyre problem with a worn front tyre, this time changing wheels is becoming a habit – no trouble - BUT more expensive Corsican tyres.  To complete the Corsican experience we made a circuit all the way round Cap Corse (the headland that juts out of the NW of the island like an index finger. More narrow roads with spectacular views and some picturesque little harbours, the best being Centuri.

We were warned about the roads and the terrible driving before getting to Corsica. Well the driving was fine, but the roads were something else! Stunningly panoramic, with vertiginous drops hundreds of metres down, tight bends and overhanging rocks. Heart-stopping stuff at times. They have parts which suddenly become one lane and you have no   idea what’s ahead. However, everyone seemed to feel the same and managed to slam on the breaks in time.  A bit of backing had to happen. It makes me mildly panicky just to think about it. There are lots of little shrines and memorials on the sides of these roads which does not build the confidence levels. To top it off you frequently come around a bend to discover a variety of animals generally milling around. Pigs, goats, cows, sheep. It’s lucky that David’s hair is already grey. Joanna refused to drive. It makes the Amalfi Coast seem seem like a stroll around the park. Great views though.

  The water, as in Sardinia, is crystal clear with beautiful colours of the rocks below.  We had lots of swims in a variety of beaches, some sandy and some only pebbles.  Many of the best beaches are away from the accommodation and so a car is necessary, but of course being France, there is always a cafe on hand.  Our morning coffee has become a ritual.

We met a young Kiwi couple while we were waiting for the ferry at L’Ille Rousse. First we have met on this trip. Was great to have a yarn and speak a bit of New Zild.

Rosé  wine has been the drink of choice lately. Corsica is good at it. They produce very pale rosés, quite strange at first, but wonderfully refreshing in the heat. Keep having to stock up! Have also acquired a taste for Muscat desert wine, (a Cap Corse  speciality), quite delicious. There are lots of chestnut trees in the interior and thence chestnut jams etc and one of the most popular beers uses chestnut flour.

 

 

Communications have become easier as once back in France  we were able to re-activate our ‘dongle’ but were persuaded to upgrade with a ‘hot spot’ device instead (called in French – a ‘Web Trotter’).  So no trouble sending the blog – from wherever, can operate several devices online at once – cyber-heaven!

Corsica has been a great experience for us. Beautiful beaches, wonderful mountain and coastal scenery, fantastic   walking opportunities, excellent food and win and they speak French. Anyone considering the overcrowded, overpriced South of France should really consider taking a 4 hour ferry across to this still relatively unspoilt island. However avoid buying tyres if you can!

Heading to the UK, Nice on the ferry and up through France.

David & Joanna