Sardinia and Corsica have always been very special to me, as I had the chance to live on both islands whilst studying languages and it's on these islands that I have had some of the best times. This time, I was returning with Jose to show him the islands' beauties but also because there were some corners which I had not yet explored and in fact there still are a few which is why we must make another journey to visit those little corners of beauties soon.
Our journey began after hiring a car and heading straight to Cap Corse on the very northern pointy bit of Corsica. The area is very wild and is like a long mountain sticking out of the sea at the very top part of Corsica and covered in thick Mediterranean maquis. We drove up the eastern side of Cap Corse, passing small villages with genoese towers at the sea's edge and passing small beaches of calm water. The Eastern side is flatter than it's western brother as Jose was soon to find out, and after passing through the mountains to reach the other side and going through thick clouds which hung over the mountains, we could just see a small fishing village througha gap in the clouds which laid directly below us. We descended slowly throught the clouds and made our way to the village called Centuri. It was my second visit here. I remember that on my first visit, the harbour was so full of fish that I could not understand the need for a local fishermen to go out on a boat. This time however the fish seemed to have opted for the open sea! Maybe the fisherman had thought the same thing I had a few years back and scared the fish away!
After a quick visit to Centuri and a search for something to eat which was a waste of time because after all it was only April and the tourists hadn't arrived yet, we continued down the more rugged western side of Cap Corse, passing coves of blue water seen from vertical cliffs, we stopped at the pretty Mediterrean village of Nonza with it's famous black sandy beach in which people write their names and whatever else comes into their head. We walked around the village and onto the cliff which overlooks the beach. The scenery at the top is stunning and the mediterranean vegetation and relaxed feel of the place makes you feel at home.
The evening finished at the small pitturesque town of Saint Florent where we stared at the majestic mountains which jutted up to the sky in Corsica's interior and watched the sun set. We then had seafood pizza for the proce of a margherita - due to the retsaurant's mistake - but to our benefit hehe!
The following day was a trip to the wild "Désert des Agriates" - A place I had wanted to go for some time because I knew of its beautiful beaches and had often gazed dreamingly at pictures of the place in magazines. It is indeed a desert, but not the kind of desert people usually have in mind. The Désert des Agriates is a wide uninhabited area which stretches along Corsica's northern coast. It is a rocky area covered in maquis and can only be accessed by sea or dirt tracks which are often in bad condition due to the rain which causes huge holes in the track.
Many have a go at reaching the beaches with their normal cars, as we did, but after just 2km we were unable to go any further without damaging the car....so we walked the remaining 10km!
The walk was long and we had not come well prepared, without water or food. We did however get to one of the beaches which was a long stretch of sand backed by dunes and a clean blue sea. We stayed for a while and began to wonder how we would make it back to the car which we had left in the middle of nowhere miles behind. By this time we were very hungry and dying of thirst.
However we were in luck as a man, from nowhere - as we were the only people on this deserted beach - came running up shouting at us and offering food! We had no hesitations in accepting his offer and followed him for a nice lunch of fresh fish and mediterrean salad. It was prefect, apart from the walk back which almost killed us as it was all up hill!
By that time, I was rather sunburnt and we headed along the coast to the town of Calvi from where we could sea snowcapped mountains behind us and where I kept my head down to hide my sunburn!
The next adventure lead us along the north west coast from Calvi to Porto. The road is some 40km long and follows the wild and untouched coastline, winding its way up and down cliffs where the mountains come down to meet the sea. There is very little inbetween Calvi and Porto and the road has a reputation for being dodgy and indeed it was, as half way along it, there had been a landslide the previous day and the road had been completely blocked, until we arrived just in time for it to be cleared. After getting through one piece of cleared road, we continued along the bends to find another piece of road that had been blocked by a landslide. We were lucky however, as before us, many cars had given up and turned back.
The coastline as you get closer to Porto, becomes more and more stunning and the land and especially the rocks close to the sea take on a reddish coulour and here the sea is a darker shade of blue compared to Corsica's eastern coast.
The "Calanques de Porto" is an area of exceptional beauty. A road winds along cliffs covered in pine trees which look over the deep sea below and as you look behind, the mountains of Corsica's interior seem higher from here than anywhere else and you can clearly see the snow shining from their peaks. Below, although it is difficult to see from the roads, there are several hidden dreamy coves which rarely see tourists.
We were pressed for time however, and after visiting a few beaches, headed inland through the mountains to make it to Corte before dark.
The road from Porto winds up and up and within half an hour of bends, you find yourself in the snow after leaving a sundrenched coast before descending once again to the much cooler valley in which Corte is situated. Our night ended with a walk up to the view point which overlooks Corte and from where we gazed at the enlightened citadella which glew so beautifully in the dark.
I was lucky again to have this experience as I had had when living in Corte several years back
The next day, we drove through the Restonica valley which follows a pine fringed river into the vertical mountains and up until reaching frozen waterfalls and the end of the road.
Our afternoon journey was a long one down to the south of Corsica, where we diverted once again up a mountain road, passing rivers, streams, pine covered hills and stunning views.
Our last days in Corsica were spent in and around one of the most prettiest Mediterranean villages that is Bonifacio. The town sits on a cliff's edge and has a typical italian feel to it. Here we explored the meandering alleys of the town and drove along the breathtaking coastline with capes and coves lapped by crystal clear turquoise waters that are reminiscent of the Tropics
The 50 minute boat ride from Corsica to Sardinia was pleasant, unlike other times when I had made taken the boat and thought that we would never arrive! I always like arriving at the harbour of Santa Teresa di Gallura, because the water is transparent and you can see the blue glimmering from the town's beautiful beach.
We got off the boat and were pulled aside for a police check. Out of all the people who got off the boat, it had to be us to be pulled aside. I was very angry but the police's typical sardinian charm and their welcome soon cheered me up. Sardinia' have always been warm and welcoming and have always made me feel very at home, so I consider sardinia to be my second home.
We headed straight down the coast to palau where we planned to hire a small boat to visit the small islands which make up the Maddalena Archipelago.
We were in luck, as upon arrival we spotted a man pinning up posters for boat hire. Within 1 hour the boat was ready and we were off. It was the first time I had had full control of a boat and where it was going, and La Maddalena area is well known for its currents, quick changes in wind direction and rough seas. Nonetheless, I had waited years to come to these islands after numerous attempts that failed due to lack of excursions, wrong timing or bad weather.
We steered towards and around the island of Santo Stefano, which at the time was inaccessible due to an American military base, then westwards going in between Caprera and La Maddalena islands. The water here was very shallow and as you move towards the centre, the water takes on an impressive light blue colour from which equally impressive granite rock formations emerge.
My main interest however was to get straight to the smaller islands, and so we steered around the slightly rougher cape at the western point of la Maddalena and then crossed quite a large expanse of sea towards the smaller islands in the distance.
The islands seemed very rocky from a distance and as we drew closer, we could make out the illuminous blue water shining among the rocks.
We carefully steered our way through Razzoli island and a rock which lay directly opposite and slowly entered paradise. Now before us was an expanse of shallow sea forming a very impressive blue lagoon of extremely transparent water surrounded by islands of granitic rocks which on reaching the sea, were 100% visible all the way down to the seabed. We could have quite easily been among tropical islands. The different tones of blue were eye dazzling.
We spent a good amount of time floating around the lagoon taking hundreds of photos of this beautiful place and getting close up to the beaches. My only regret is not having got off the boat to explore the islands, but we were pressed for time due to daylight, so we continued on our way around the island of Budelli famous for its beach of pink sand and crossing a small stretch of sea tro reach the island of Spargi where we were met once again with crystal clear turqoise water and beaches of pure white sand.
The trip back was more difficult by boat as the wind had picked up causing the sea to be much rougher and so the boat became difficult to steer and we were travelling along the waves rather than against or towards them. This caused us to be thrown from side to side, but we finally made it became to the harbour much to our relief and hit a rock as we entered it! I mean...why have a harbour with a huge rock in the middle of its entrance?!!! they could have warned us about that one!
This stretch of coast is a 40km long piece of land which has never been inhabited by man, probably due to its high, forest covered cliffs which fall sharply into the sea and only interrupted by a few, fairytale-like coves. I had hoped to show Jose the coves but the weather turned against us, and although it stayed incredibly hot due to a very hot wind blowing over from Africa, it was too cloudy to appreciate the coves' beauty.
It was only April, and the heat from this wind which often hits the eastern coast of Sardinia brings a burning ovenlike sensation with it. Instead we stayed along the coast relaxing for a day and then drove further south to the beautifil beaches of Costa Rey and Villasimius and finally finishing in Cagliari with a quick visit to see some friends in their village.
1 comment:
Thanks to the blog owner. What a blog! nice idea.
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