Curiosity drew us to Corsica. Although collectively we have traveled to France many times, Corsica has never been on our radar — until now.
Always loving an adventure, we booked passage with Corsica Ferries for the six hour, ninety- nine mile trip over the Mediterranean Sea from Nice to Bastia. These enormous vessels carry up to 1800 passengers and 550 vehicles. We selected an outside cabin with private bath in advance and supplemented our picnic supper with beer and wine from the ship’s cave. The motion of the ship was gentle enough that we napped — like being on a train but without the clickety-clack.

Since it was almost 10 p.m.when we docked in Bastia, we overnighted at an excellent Best Western, the Montecristo. The next day was May 1, May Day – France’s Labor Day – and also Lily-of-the-Valley Day. Demonstrations and protests are traditional as is the practice of presenting sprigs of fragrant pure white lilies of the valley to beloved friends and family as a gesture of good luck.

Make a fist with your left hand, hold out your index/trigger/pointer finger and you have a pretty good semblance of the shape of Corsica. The extended finger is Cap Corse, a peninsula about 24 miles long and 6 miles wide.

Our home for two nights was a chambre d’hôte located on the western coast of the cape in a tiny village, Conchiglia. Maison Battisti is a handsome manor house built of honey-colored stone that has been in the Battisti family for at least 200 years. Marie-Pierre, Michel, and Justine were engaging hosts who served delicious breakfasts and provided expert advice – in french – for our excursion around the cape.

If you have driven the Road to Hana on Maui, you have an idea of the route around Cap Corse. Gorgeous scenery with steep drop offs to the sea and hairpin turns barely wide enough for one car, climbing and descending, no way to turn around and go back — but well worth the trip. Unlike the Road to Hana, there was almost no traffic except for lots of old guys on Harleys and young ones on bicycles.

Our lunch in Macinaggio was memorable with just-off-the-boat langouste and a glass of Corsican wine produced by our new best friend. M. Christian Mons-Catoni, an entrepreneur with a history of working in some major French companies, visited Little Rock once on a business trip concerning Falcon Jet. Corsican by birth, he is intent on growing the tourist industry, much to the dismay of some of the locals.

We stopped for gas at a wide spot with only a gas pump and a cafe. Three men were having coffee and telling tall tales. One of them, Francis, spoke to us using a little English. When I complimented him and asked how he acquired it, he looked at me like it was a stupid question and replied “Rolling Stones”.

Who says that the French aren’t friendly. Renie took a stroll from our chambre d’hôte in order to get a little exercise and smoke his pipe. Two houses down, a lady was working in her garden and they began a conversation. All of a sudden, we were invited for tea. It was a warm and collegial experience. Christophe and Anne are ophthalmologists practicing in Lille. Their house on Cap Corse has been in Christophe’s family for many years and they traditionally spend holidays here. They introduced us to their charming cousin, Michelle, who invited us to her beach bungalow for a look and an aperitif. We accepted, drove down to the fishing hamlet at the sea’s edge, and savored the glass of Corsican produced Muscat that she offered. What nice people.

Bonifacio, located at the extreme southern tip of the island, 100 miles away, is the oldest town in Corsica. It was founded as a fortress by Tuscany in the 9th century and the upper portion is perched on an outcrop of chalk-white limestone that drops 70 meters into the Strait of Bonifacio. The buildings seem to totter on the edge of cliffs that have been undercut by ocean tides. We stayed in Hotel Santa Teresa, named for Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, and benefited from its position facing the sea and looking across to Sardinia, the Italian island about 7 miles to the south.

The path down to the harbor leads through the quaint town of tiny cobbled streets lined with ancient stone houses and lively bars and cafes. We barely escaped a catastrophic meeting of our car with the wall of one of those old stone buildings when Renie tried to muscle our way through a narrow lane blocked by a delivery truck, a mountain of pizza boxes, and by cafe tables and chairs spilling out onto the pavement. Thanks to some good humored villagers who backed the truck out of the way and rearranged the furniture, we made it out of there in one piece. On an organized boat trip on the Bonifacio Strait, we viewed close-up the interiors of some of the many caves and grottoes.

We left Bonifacio to celebrate Diane’s birthday at Hotel Les Roches Rouges near tiny Piana on the western coast. The terrace and dining room of this more than 100 year old grand dame of classic hotels have breathtaking views of the Mediterranean and of the massive rocks of red granite. Some of these rocks, sculpted by wind and water, seem to reach downward toward the sea while others stretch upward as high as 300 meters. As you might imagine, the setting is especially glorious at sunset. After spending two nights at this lodge of understated luxury and superior service with kindness, we drove on to Ile Rousse to board another Corsica ferry — this one taking us back to the mainland to Toulon.

Renie and Diane

May 19, 2022