Corsica - Beaches... but not only (2)

...CONTINUED... Ok, after a rather short walk, we have lunch in an area equipped for refreshments and then decide to visit some inland villages, first and foremost Sant'Antonino, perched on a hilltop 550 metres up. It's an ancient medieval village of the Balagne, all in stone, with cobbled alleys, archways and characteristic, peaceful corners, all seasoned with breathtaking views over the north of Corsica; a real little gem. Leaving the village, heading for the car park near little souvenir and craft shops, we stopped at the Cave Antonini, which produces lemon jams and preserves, to drink a very fresh lemonade served with ice, water and sugar to taste, at the tavern's tables, and to buy a few jars of lemon jam to give as gifts on our return.

Our trip then ended along the craftsmen's road, with a stop at the small but no less distinctive village of Pigna, restored but certainly not less charming, among whose little alleys there are 5 or 6 workshops that produce and sell craft goods. Beaches in the South-East. We spent the second week in the most famous area of Corsica, "on pilgrimage" from beach to beach along the coast that runs from San Cipriano to just past Bonifacio. As it was the Ferragosto week, we adopted the "timing tactic", arriving at the beaches at 9.00/9.30 in the morning to enjoy the peace and space for at least two hours; the other winning tactic was to "mark out the territory", occupying with towels and delimiting with flip-flops, backpacks, masks and fins an area as wide as possible, which from midday onwards we gave up inch by inch but which nevertheless remained a liveable space until the end of the day.

The first beach we visited was the one near our villa, namely the beach of San Cipriano, about 15 km north of Porto-Vecchio. It's a lovely beach, very wide, with clear water and a gently sloping bottom, and it was a big hit with our children thanks to a platform anchored offshore and equipped with a ladder, which served as a base for their endless dives. The beaches that follow one another along the coast from San Cipriano to Bonifacio are each more enchanting than the last. The beach of Palombaggia is beautiful, bordered by umbrella pines. A few km south of Porto-Vecchio, a road to the left about 12 km long leads to a pine wood with a huge car park, and above all a free one, so don't follow the signs for the pay car parks even if they say "with access to the beach".

On arrival, don't stop straight away but carry on past the rocks you see at the sides and you'll find yourself in front of a very long pale beach bordered by pines with a very blue and transparent sea. Here and there you find refreshment points, but for the most part it's possible to find your own space, even if the beach isn't very deep. Rondinara. To reach the beach of Rondinara you have to cross the mountain, so the road you take is steep, narrow and full of bends, but once the descent begins, behind every bend a picture-postcard view opens up, gradually revealing the semicircular shape of the beach, with calm blue waters. Here too the road ends in a car park, this time a pay one, at a fixed price (4 euros) regardless of the time you arrive. The beach that was unanimously awarded the title of "Most indulgent Beach" is Santa Giulia.

It can quite simply be called Caribbean, with a white beach, shallow, crystal-clear water and every shade of blue, and, as in the Caribbean, you can't help but dive in again and again. Behind the beach, the pines create plenty of shaded areas to be used for lunch or for a nap after a good meal in the little restaurants on the beach, which offer dinners, shows and music in the evening too. It's impossible not to fall in love with it and not to go back. A beach that certainly has features similar to those of Santa Giulia, but set in a wilder natural context, is the bay of Roccapina, which unfortunately we saw under a grey sky. After Bonifacio, heading for Sartene, the road winds through the mountains, with rocks taking the strangest shapes, and during the journey you can have fun spotting the silhouettes of the most varied animals until you reach a viewpoint.

Once we'd stopped the car and got out, we could see the Lion rock, where an enormous stone lion seems to stand guard over the wonderful beach of Roccapina, at the end of a 2-km dirt road. Don't miss it!!!! For those who instead don't want too much of a crowd, I strongly recommend the area of the Gulf of Santa Manza, just 7 km from Bonifacio, where little roads immersed in nature run alongside quiet little beaches and where the scenery starts to look very similar to that of the southern tip of the island, with the white cliffs typical of the Bonifacio coast. A beach that, although not as showy as the others, we liked a lot for the clearness of its waters and for the fact that it's less crowded (only because it's less famous) is Cala Rossa (shortly after San Cipriano, towards Porto-Vecchio), which I strongly recommend.

On our wanderings we also visited the main towns of the areas we were in; - Calvi: It consists of the lower part, a typical seaside town, and the upper citadel, which is worth a visit for the view, the peacefulness and the presence of the Foreign Legion; as soon as you go up, outside the walls you find a small museum of the Legion, where you can buy gadgets and clothing of the military corps. - Ile Rousse: a chaotic tourist town, with numerous shops and little markets. - Corte: It's in the centre of Corsica and at the centre of a valley surrounded by mountains; its houses, not exactly kept in the best condition, create a somewhat old-fashioned atmosphere. Don't miss the trip to the viewpoint. - Porto-Vecchio: The town proper is the upper one, with the classic little streets full of shops and little restaurants offering more or less the same menus at the same prices.

The marina part is reachable by a little train (3 euros return) and consists mainly of the port and the restaurants overlooking it. - Bonifacio: You need to spend at least a full day here to admire the beauties of nature such as the fjord and the white cliffs, to wander among the steep little alleys of the old town, to admire the only Gothic-style church in all of Corsica, or to enjoy an ice cream sitting in the little square overlooking the Strait of Bonifacio, looking towards Sardinia. - Sartene: This ancient little town, 30 km west of Bonifacio, is perhaps the most characteristic of the towns we visited. In the main square, behind the church, a series of very narrow little streets intertwine, overlooked by 5- or 6-storey stone buildings that sheltered them from the wind and sun.

It's really fun to go into the shops or sit at the tables of the bars and restaurants, positioned at the edges of the tiny open spaces that open up between the buildings. In the end we can say we had a lovely holiday, since the places, the sea and nature far outweighed the crowds and the queues along the roads. Greetings to all, and if you have questions, write. Hilary