Corsica

Dearloves
Thu 1 Sep 2005 21:41
Although Sardinia was beautiful, we grew tired of the constant high winds.  Every journey was made under a mainsail with two reefs and the staysail.  We spent a lot of time trying to find anchorages which were sheltered, which was difficult because of wind direction fluctuations, and so we decided to head for Corsica, making Bonifacio our first port of call.
 
Bonifacio is a stunning place - it is set in a gorge between high limestone cliffs made into strange shapes by the elements. Also, after nearly six weeks of struggling to communicate in Italian it was so refreshing to be able to speak French.
 
Keoma at sea - thrashing through the Bonifacio Strait
 
Lighthouse outside Bonifacio
 
Approach to Bonifacio from the sea
 
Limestone cliffs
 
Bonifacio old town on cliff top
 
Coming into gorge
 
Bonifacio's fortifications
 
Looking back at the entrance
 
Once in Bonifacio we spent a couple of days moored in the marina, exploring the city and doing various jobs on board - provisioning, laundry, filling up with water, repairs etc.  Alice and Pip enjoyed fishing on the quay with a gang of children from other boats.
 
Breakfast in the cockpit
 
View of the marina from the castle
 
Bonifacio old town, inside castle walls
 
The "Grain of Sand"
 
187 steps to cliff walk
 
These steps were alledgedly built by the army of the King of Aragon in 1420 as part of an attempted invasion of the castle
 
Cliff Walk
 
Cliff View
 
Rock
 
Sea view
 
Alice and Pip at the holy spring
 
Then we had to walk back up!
 
We have now left Bonifacio and are headed up the West coast of Corsica.  More details in the next instalment.  In the meantime please email us at the following addresses:
 
Any of our christian names plus the "at" sign, then dearloves dot net.  We have been advised not to write out these addresses in full, otherwise we may be bombarded with spam.  It would be great to hear from you (assuming you are not going to be emailing with offers of Viagra at great discount prices!)