summertime goes south

19th Sept. Calvi to Saint Florent
After a week in Calvi we returned to Saint-Florent. The weekend of 17/18th saw another huge thunderstorm and downpour. The 'Son et Luminiere' in these parts certainly impresses!
The trip was pretty uneventful with some downwind sailing possible but the breeze became frustratingly fickle, coming and going and finally dropping to almost nothing. We planned to anchor for lunch off one of the lovely beaches, but the swell left over from the previous storms made it impossible.
Saint-Florent is much more attractive than Bastia so we decided to leave Summertime there for the winter. We have now moored her in her winter berth and next week will attach the additional heavy duty winter mooring lines and chains. The staff are very helpful and will keep an eye on her over the winter storms.
The weather here is a mixture of fine clear warm sunny days interrupted by heavy thunderstorms and strong winds. Although fierce they don't last long!
Just outside Saint-Florent, on Cap Mortella, stands a ruined Genoese watchtower. This was destroyed by Admiral Hood's force besieging Saint-Florent in 1794 during the Revolutionary Wars. It could not be reduced by his ships' guns, so a force was landed to take it. Hood and Nelson, one of his subordinates were so impressed by the structure's ability to withstand shot, that it was used as the model for the Martello Towers constructed on the English and Irish coasts as a defence against,ironically, Napoleon.
24th Sept.
We have travelled high up into the central mountains to Corte, regarded as the home of Corsican nationalism. The train from Bastia takes 2 hours and provides fabulous mountain views with the jagged peaks rising to over 3000 metres. The interior is remote, inaccessible and a real wilderness, home to the 'mouflon', a species of wild goat, almost extinct but now increasing, golden eagles. From the train we saw many circling birds of prey, probably the bearded vulture, which the guidebooks say is common in the central mountains.
The location of the island has made it a target for invasion from all points of the compass. There is evidence of human habitation dating back 10,000 years and the Etruscans, Phoenicians, Romans and Saracens and others have ruled the island. In the 11th century the Papacy divided the island between dioceses of Pisa and Genoa who expelled the Saracens. In the 15th century the Genoese defeated the Pisans and unified the island under their rule. Their fortifications have left a rich legacy of citadels and coastal watchtowers that still dominate many harbours and the mountain town of Corte.
The centre of the small town of Corte retains many mediaeval buildings and tiny winding cobbled streets, towered over by the citadel. The 'belvedere', adjacent to the citadel, still provides commanding views of the valley in which Corte lies and the surrounding peaks. A view now enjoyed by those more peaceful tourists willing to make the climb.
In 1745 Jean-Pierre Gaffory led an insurrection against Genoese rule and by 1755 an independent state had been established led by Pascal Paoli. Gaffory was born in Corte and although in 1753 he died in an ambush set up by his brother in the pay of the Genoans, the new state's capital and parliament were established in Corte. Today both men are revered today in Corsica. A statue of Gaffory stands outside his birthplace, just below the citadel and the house is still scarred by bullets fired during his successful assault of the fortress.
Independent Corsica only lasted 14 years, in 1769 the French defeated Paoli and it became part of France. Hood's expedition of 1794 was intended to help Paoli regain independence for Corsica but was unsuccessful and Paoli died in exile in London.