Filed from Ajaccio, Corsica
41 55.79N 008 44.42E
June 24, 2000
Photo: Starboard Home Flying the Tricolor and Tete d'Maure
Bonjour famille et bon amis:
The trip from Puerto de Mahon, Menorca, to Calvi, Corsica, a distance of 258 nm, was uneventful and took us 48 hours. We sailed about half the time in light wind on a close reach and motorsailed when the wind became very light and/or on the nose. We saw quite a number of freighters and ferries and one went by so fast that we figured it must have been the high-speed ferry that runs between Nice and
Calvi.
Photo: The Citadel, Calvi, Corsica
Nothing we have seen on this trip to date can match the experience of seeing the mountains of Corsica in the mist as we sailed toward the island at dawn. The color of the mountains is very much like that of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the US, a hazy dark blue; but these mountains are larger and come right down to the water. Viewed from the deck of a sailboat sailing beneath them, they are huge and craggy, with grottoes and caves at the
water's edge. This view of Corsica set the tone for our whole time here. There is no place that you can be on this island without having a spectacular
view.
Photo: Tom, Peg, Marie-Claude, Laurent, Brigitte, Michel, Tyra (seated)
As prearranged, we met son David's friends, Laurent and Tyra and Laurent's family, including his mother,
Marie-Claude; his cousins, Brigitte and
Michel; Brigitte and
Michel's 15 year old daughter, Marie, and her friend, Marie
Do; and Brigitte and
Michel's friends, Peter and Erika - a wonderful group of people.
Photos: At Left, Marie, Marie-Claude, Marie-Do, and Tyra
Brigitte and Michel, who are both physicians in private general practice together in
Calvi, were on holiday. They spent their holiday driving us around the island and showing us some of the small, old villages in the
Balagne, perched on the mountaintops and giving the impression that they have not changed through the ages. They took us for a hike through the hills to a collection of stone sheep corrals and
shephards' shelters. The area was covered with wildflowers and grasses that gave off a very pleasant aroma. Some of the vegetation we saw makes up what the Corsicans call the maqui - the brush.
Napolean, returning after Elba, noted that he knew he was approaching Corsica because he could smell the
maqui.
Photo: Michel Assists a Water Nymph in Bastia
They also took us to Bastia, in the northeastern part of Corsica, where we had lunch near the harbor and where Peter, Erika and Michel got vaccinations against Yellow Fever in preparation for a trip they are all planning to Namibia later this summer. The drive through the mountains to
Bastia, across the
"thumb of Cap Corse" and down the western coastline of Cap Corse to St. Florent and home was spectacular - for the scenery and
for the adrenaline rush we got on these narrow, winding roads without guard rails, with Peter, our driver, trying unsuccessfully to keep up with
"Speedy Gonzales", Peter's nickname for Michel. Michel has an advantage - he practices driving on these roads every morning, as he makes house calls to his patients in the mountains, sometimes an hour away, before he sees his patients in the
office!
On the night before we left, Michel and Brigitte took the whole group for dinner at an old, still active olive mill, now also a small inn, high in the mountains for an authentic Corsican meal. It was a night to remember. The mill owner, Josef, showed us how they use basket sieves and stone presses to press the olive oil in the traditional way. Then we sat down at large polished wooden trestle tables and the show began. Our first course was a piece of smoked Corsican ham that Josef sliced from a haunch, tossing the slice in the air for each diner to catch on his plate. Surprisingly, every slice hit
its mark! After the dishes from this course were removed, Josef then proceeded to toss a dish,
frisbee-fashion, to each diner. One diner, seated in front of a window, failed to catch his plate and it sailed out the
window!
Photo: Laurent and Marie
We who had plates were then served an excellent pate with plenty of good Corsican bread. We then enjoyed a main course of veal with olives accompanied by a delicious pasta. During the meal there was much toasting, arms entwined, of everyone and anything with a very good red wine. We had an excellent dessert and then an evening of singing and dancing that was so much fun, Josef leading it all and encouraging
everyone's participation. Tom provided us all with belly-laughs as he joined Josef (at
Josef's urging) in what looked like the circle dancing that Greek men do.
Laurent's mother joined Josef in a version of a tango-type dance and we were all stunned by how well they danced together. All in all, an evening
we'll never forget.
We left Calvi on June 17th, sad to be leaving our new and old friends, and headed south to
Ajaccio. On the way we took short sails and anchored every night in the beautiful coves on the west coast, swimming in the crystal clear water every day. We particularly enjoyed the Scandola reserve, where we saw nesting Osprey high in their mountain aeries, and the beautiful Golfe de
Girolata, ringed by high red
cliffs.
Next stop: Singletary Pond, Millbury, Massachusetts for the 4th of July and then back to the boat July
8th and south to Bonifacio.
Au Revoir,
Peg & Tom
