Delphinus

After a perfect night sail accompanied by Dolphins, we arrived at the island of Sardinia in the early morning. We had lunch and soon moved on to the La Maddalena archipelago, a protected nature area, with beautiful crystal clear waters and heaps of sealife - such a noticeable difference from the over fished and unprotected areas surrounding it. We anchored in some beautiful places, the sea so clear and calm we could see the anchor on the seabed in 10 meters of water. We loved these islands and their unspoilt natural beauty. Then onto Lavezzi and our last night in Italian waters, we anchored in another lovely natural bay, during the evening night whilst falling asleep the strangest sound emerge from the bay, it was something like alien babies attempting Italian opera. Our wildlife expert Jayne quickly noticed that the sound was moving across the bay and was probably a bird, so out comes the bird app and after a bit of detective work we confirmed it was the night call of the Cory's shearwater, a surreal sound - which was to become a familiar sound.  
Many people told us that the French island of Corsica was a beautiful place, sometimes it is difficult to live up to a reputation, but we were not disappointed, we just wish we could have spent longer there. The rocky west coast is peppered with idyllic anchorages and crystal clear waters. We spent a week sailing up the busy coastline. We had hoped to visit Bonifacio but were turned away from the marina, which was full, which meant we spent a couple of days anchoring before arriving at the Corsican capital, Ajaccio, which we coincidentally timed with French Independence day. There was a party atmosphere in town where we enjoyed an evening eating out and watching street performers. We returned to the boat in time to watch a huge firework display out in the harbour, which we watched from our front row seats on the deck of our boat.
Then onto Girolata bay, a UNESCO world heritage site for its geological and ecological significance. The rocky bay is especially beautiful at sunset when the red rock intensifies with the reflecting sunlight. We spent an idyllic couple of scorching days there, snorkelling and enjoying the coastal walks.
The most northerly town of Calvi, with its hugely expensive Marina, at 115€ a night, was the most we paid all summer and all the more upsetting when an adjacent bar played music until 3am! The town itself made up for it though and Paul and Lily spent an enjoyable evening walking around its cobbled streets.