WALK INN PROVENCE: 2015

As my week in Corsica draws to a close, I take a final dip in the cool October waters outside Calvi, here just two hours before my plane departure. I was in Corsica to scout a new guided hiking holiday. I won’t use the word “walking” as to not mislead anyone about the nature of the terrain. It’s “hiking” alright. And probably the most breathtakingly fabulous hiking I’ve ever done.

Corsica is a French island in the Mediterranean, unspoiled. And though there are over a 1000 km of sublime coastline, Corsica is a mountain. A mountain in the sea, but first and foremost a mountain. I'd been tinkering with the idea of putting together a hiking vacation in Corsica for years. And so this trip had been planned -- at least in my head -- for a long time.

I arrived in Ajaccio, the island's capital, and birthplace of Napoleon. It was at the very end of a car rally, the streets loud with engines and cheers. I quickly left the busy streets behind and headed along La Route des Sanguinaires coastline, where the bustle of town gave way to peaceful beaches within minutes. I visited two hotels. This will be the arrival town for next year's group.

The streets of Ajaccio:

I picked up my rental vehicle and headed northbound along narrow and windy coastline roads, here passing the small and authentic village of Piana:

The aforementioned narrow and windy coastline roads become all the windier and narrower beyond the village of Piana, above the site called the Calanches de Piana: impressive red rock formations jutting out of the sea and soaring into the blue skies. It is along this section that one prays that a tourist bus isn't in oncoming traffic:

I arrived in the marina town of Porto, set on the jagged west coast of the island, just a few dozen homes nestled in a quiet cove, with several restaurants and hotels to choose from. It's a tourist destination yet doesn't seem overcrowded or artificial. This would be my home for the next three nights, and where we'll base our future groups as well.

The following morning: the same agave plant, but this time a view into the bay:

From Porto several ~~walks~~ hikes are possible. For my first day I chose Le sentier du Facteur: literally the mailman's path, to the village of Girolata, only accessible by foot or by boat. Since there are no roads leading to the fisherman's village of Girolata, Guy the mailman had to take this very same path to deliver the mail to the village, for thirty years, rain or shine...

...And today it was shine. Bright Mediterranean sunshine. And though it's considered a coastal path there are lots of ups and downs along the way, the path etched into the jagged coastline.

After an hour and a half of walking the village of Girolata comes into view, hidden in its quiet cove:

I returned to the starting point on an alternate path, avoiding the guide's cardinal sin of doing an out-and-back.
But avoiding the out-and-back is not always easy in Corsica, due to the nature of the terrain and the path system.
Girolata:

My second day's walk took me above the red rock Calanches de Piana and towards the local summit called Capu d'Ortu.

Above 900m the proper trail gives way to bare rock, and then no more path, and no more waymarks/blazes to show the way: on cairns leading you up the steep rock, with a bit of scrambling to boot.

Some of the spectacular rock formations on the way up.

Capu d'Ortu, soaring at 1300m in altitude, yet just a stone's throw from the sea (not that I could have lifted any of these stones to attempt a throw)

And a wide-sweeping panorama of the jagged west coast of Corsica:

the same scene, minus the guide:

the same scene, with a zoom on the aptly named port village of Porto. My hotel -- the same one I'd like to use for our groups -- is the second last building on the water, heading to the top of the picture:

And after a long descent and a short car ride, it's back to the said hotel on the port. And this is the view from my room, in the last hours of sunlight.

Life is tough for a wandering guide:

The sun ending its steady and fiery course into the waters of Porto:

After three blissful nights in Porto I headed for the mountains, but ran into a few Corsican traffic jams along the way:

And that's no bull (in fact, yes, it is a bull):

The goal of my next hike, and the hike I'd love to do with groups, is along Corsica's (in)famous GR20 hiking trail. The trail runs along the crest of the mountains, from north-west to south-east Corsica, and is 175 km altogether. It's divided into 15 stages, and is notoriously the hardest trek in Europe.

The trail crosses the road a half-dozen times, and I picked it up at the Vergio pass. I had done this hike before, and the scenery had reduced me to tears: it was time to come back.

After 5km of flat trails in the beech forest the path rises in sharp zigzags to the crestline...

...which I followed...

... to Lac de Nino.

The lake is set arround pozzines: grassy bogs through which a set of waterways carve intricate designs, with the high peaks of Corsica in the background. In the summer months there are wild horses that graze the rich, green grasses.

But here it's just me:

I stayed here for an hour, contemplating the scene, and also whether to return via the GR20 (which I should have), or take the shortcut down to the road (bad move).

The shortcut is pictured below, scrambling down the steep rock from the breach at the top of the picture.

I was proud of my hiking time from the Vergio pass to Lake Nino: it took me just over 2 hours, whereas the guidebooks say 3. The return journey below is only half the distance, but took me well over two hours to negotiate the tedious scrambling down.

This is one day when the guides will have to break the unwritten guiding laws, swallow their pride, and do an out-and-back. It's worth it for this hike.

The evening's destination was Corte, former capital of Corsica, university town, and headquarters of the Nationalist movement. It's mix of apartments, shops and local restaurants, colourful but dilapidated buildings; it doesn't get more authentic than Corte. Locals are huddled and deep in discussion at bars, students racing along the streets, and only a few tourists, easily picked-out by their hiking gear and stature over 6 feet.

Hey wait, that's me, too.

The following day I decided to venture farther south, to tackle Mont Renoso, which at 2300m is the highest point in southern Corsica. It's probably the only "easy" mountain to climb:

Half-way up is Bastani lake, here set well above the clouds:

The toughest part of the day is the beginning, but after a steep climb you reach the rounded and wide crest, here shared by a shepherd and his flock:

Le sommet!

On the way down, entering the clouds:

After three nights in Corte I drove to Calvi, a port and resort town to the north-west. As there's a speed ferry to Nice, this is a strategic end-of-tour town:

The sandy beaches of Calvi:

My hotel in Calvi, and the one I hope to use for my groups:

But I'm not leaving just yet.

A few kilometers from Calvi's centre is an untamed peninsula, called Revellata. Here you've left the mountains behind, with the perfumed maquis hills leading the way along the coast:

A soft bed of posidonia (a sea plant) leaves on the beach:

A proud agave plant, with the high mountains of Corsica in the backdrop:

In a quiet cove only accessible by foot is a magnificent little restaurant, the perfect setting for a cozy, intimate, farewell meal. It was my best meal all week.