Please note that this post and the ones that follow regarding Corsica occurred prior to the best of the Robert Louis Stevenson trek. We traveled to Corsica from July 6-13, 2015. View my explanation at the start of the blog posting for the best of the Robert Louis Stevenson trek.
After one week enjoying Bormes, it was time to start my adventure with Glenn and Maysan in Corsica. I have to thank Glenn for all of his arrangements for this part. All I had to do was simply come along and enjoy myself. He really should consider a second career as a travel agent! I am pretty sure all of his skill in this area comes from organizing his three children! A synopsis of our trip is as follows:
Monday 6 July: Ferry leaving Toulon at 7:30 hours, arriving at Calvi, Corsica at 14:00 hours
Tuesday 7 July: Hotel La Signoria in Calvi, Corsica
Wednesday 8 July: Hotel La Signoria in Calvi, Corsica
Thursday 9 July: Hotel Sofitel Golfe, Ajaccio, Corsica Thalassa Sea & Spa
Friday 10 July: Relais du Silence, Le Roi Theodore in Porto Vecchio, Corsica
Saturday 11 July: Relais du Silence, Le Roi Theodore in Porto Vecchio, Corsica with a half day trip to Bonifacio, Corsica
Sunday 12 July: ferry from Bastia, Corsica at 11:00 hours, arriving in Genoa, Italy at 17:30 hours
Monday 13 July: half day exploring and shopping in Genoa, Italy and surrounding area and then return home to Bormes by late evening.
None of us had ever been to Corsica, so, this would provide a good introduction to all of the different geographic areas of this beautiful Mediterranean island. Activities would be planned spontaneously. We had a lot of ground to cover so a good portion of our time was spent in the car. Because Glenn had previous aspirations to be a rally car driver, this would work out very well. The roads in Corsica are generally very winding and involve many hairpin turns with breathtaking views. Maysan and I just hung on for the ride!
Even though Corsica is part of France, it seems to have retained it’s own sense of self. I think it’s relationship with France is challenged at times. It has its own unique flavour which I believe we had a good opportunity to sample. The food was amazing and the weather was very hot just like France. My tan just kept getting better and better! We saw many cyclists on the roads and I can certainly see the attraction. There is also a very long and extensive GR [sentiers de grandé randonnée] trek across the interior of the island that exceeds 250 km. We certainly did not have time to do this, but, I have filed this for a potential future adventure! I am always thinking ahead.
There were so many highlights, but, some of the ones that really stood out for me were: the food….my god, the food; travelling the back roads east of Calvi our first afternoon of arriving, including a very nice hike; a hike to a lovely beach along the seashore in the Desert Des Agriates area only accessible by foot with a swim in warm, crystal blue water; a stunning drive through an amazing, rocky mountain pass just south outside of Porto; a lovely tour of a museum in Ajaccio; a very adventurous backcountry drive from Ajaccio to Porto Vecchio and an amazing boat tour out of Bonifacio.
Sometimes, words do not do justice to explain the beauty of the areas we travelled to. This is where I feel photography really has an important role to play. With that in mind, instead of going on and on about what we experienced I will simply post a few of my favourite photos from each day spent on the glorious island of Corsica. Enjoy!
Morys Musing 
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