Walking notes stats
Distance: 17km, Time: 5 hours, Ascents: 320m, Descents: 950m
It had rained again overnight, but once again the ground was just damp not muddy or slippery. Both couples were headed off in the opposite direction today. I'm the one going in reverse. The Belgians were just off to Coti-Chiavari but the young French couple were aiming for Porto-Pollo. They are carrying all their gear with them, not using a luggage service like me. A pleasant couple but clearly totally insane.
Breakfast was yesterdays leftover, stale bread - not toasted in any way, plus lukewarm coffee and cold milk plus a selection of homemade jams - which were delicious. If only there had been more bread to spread it on. There was no option to buy any supplies for lunch so it was a good thing I had that stash of muesli bars as I didn't pass through any villages on the way.
The route markings on this section of the trail were actually quite good, provided you were walking it in the regular direction - from Porticcio to Bisiano. They were distinctly sparse if you were trying to head the other way. For example, at one cross-roads there was a splash of orange paint on the track I walked down (clearly marking which turn to take if you were going uphill). However, there was nothing to indicate with of the other three paths lead to Porticcio. I tried eat of them in turn, going 100 or so metres down each way looking for splashes of orange paint. It was the third, least obvious track that was the correct one. I was in the middle of a forest and could smell wood smoke so I was getting distinctly worried. It turned out to be a farmer with an (probably illegal) incinerator.
At another point, I had to walk down a road for 2.5km and then take a track leading off. The route notes neglected to say if the track turned off on the left or the right. In any case, Agnes often gets her left and right confused, which isn't helpful as I can do that all by myself without help. In any case, I ignored what appeared to be someone's driveway and kept marching on down the road. I ended up going about 1 to 1.5km too far and had to back track. It was someone's driveway, but the track turned off it about 10m along, with a sign that wasn't visible from the road but clearly pointed in the right direction to take if you were headed to Bisinao. Grr.
At one point in the forest I passed what I would have sworn was a natural pile of rock, but according to the sign was (to my best translation) the foundations of a signal tower. Apparently there had also been 2 or 3 houses on this spot plus, at a later date, a church. Although, that might have been in the tower. There was no obvious signs of habitation. It just goes to show how quickly and thoroughly the forests around here take over again. Apparently, there were a lot of small villages and settlements in all these hills I've been walking through.
I finally made it to Porticcio with 15 minutes to spare to pick up my suitcase from a hotel here and then buy my ferry ticket to Ajaccio. Turned out I needed have rushed as I'd misread the timetable 14:45 was when the ferry left Ajaccio. The return trip wasn't until 15:15 so I had time for a gelati and a relaxing sit in a beachside cafe. Below is my prize for reaching the end, without getting completely lost or slipping and falling. It contains scoops of melon, passionfruit and raspberry sorbet and is topped with passionfruit syrup and a silly umbrella. I deserved it.
The ferry actually turned out to be a large-ish catamaran. It was quite windy so two sailors had to help everyone get on board as it bounced up and down and side to side. They didn't bother with anything as silly as a gangplank. You had to just step up from the jetty onto the boat, with one sailor on the jetty pushing from behind and the other, on board, grabbing your hand. No one fell in.
Dinner was a disappointment. I've had a hankering for zucchini flowers stuffed with goat's cheese and then deed fried, so I went in search of a place that served them. I came across a place called L'Auberge Ajacciene which had beignets de courgettes (which sounded right) on their Corsican set menu. Turns out, as I should have remembered, that it is the wrong time of year for zuchinni flowers so I just got zuchinni fritters. They were crisp and tasty but totally lacking in goat's cheese, which would have made them perfect. Main course was a tartare of veal. It was heavily flavoured with dill so was very tasty. However, it was cut into larger chunks that I like and was a bit chewy as a result. It came with roast potatoes as a side dish. Potatoes seem to be the only vegetable here. For dessert they let me have the chestnut cream rather than the fiadone that was on the set menu. It was a cream of chestnuts on top of crushed biscuits. While it tasted strongly of chestnusts, which I really like, it was also sickeningly sweet.
My final track and elevation charts. Just eating and drinking and touristing from here on in.
Bravo on surviving the dangerous Corsican hiking all on your own (gasp!)
ReplyDeleteFrom your descriptions, I'm amazed you managed to find your way.