We had loved our visit ashore to L’Île Rousse so much the evening before that we didn’t hesitate to return next morning, with the excuse of having un café et un croissant, oh and maybe un verre de jus l’orange pressé. The streets and cafes were buzzing and we all especially enjoyed the lively marché that was in full swing. We could hardly resist the wonderful local food specialities of cheeses, cured meats, breads, oils, fish, lobsters, crustaceans and wonderful fresh fruit and vegetables. With our stash of goodies for lunch, it was time to return to Trilogy and prepare to depart.
We motor sailed in 8 knots of northerly wind to Golfe de Calvi. The pilot book indicated that this would be an anchorage and that the marina would most likely be at capacity throughout the months of July and August. The skipper circled the wide open harbour but realised that there were now a large number of moorings and we would be obliged to pick up and pay for the mooring. Two young men zoomed their boat towards us and directed Trilogy to a mooring. We were well away from the town and too far away to swim to the beaches. Not only that, the wind was up and Trilogy was bouncing a lot. Not only could we not swim we could not even board the tender.
The skipper decided this was not what Trilogy cruising was all about, so we cast off the mooring lines and headed out of the Golfe de Calvi and headed another 4 NMs to the west to Golfe de Revellata. Once in the protection of the headland, the wind subsided and we anchored amongst other boats in a pocket of sand just big enough for the anchor. We watched another cruiser struggle to lift its anchor to free itself from the weed bed, so we knew we needed to avoid that possibility. No sooner had we settled than we were visited by an Australian couple who had watched Trilogy come into the bay. They had bought a Beneteau 46 catamaran and had sailed around the Inner and Outer Hebrides north of Scotland. It was interesting to hear their stories, but more interesting was the information they had about changes to the Schengen Agreement in 2020. At last it seems that Australians (and other non-Schengen countries) will be able to legally remain within the Schengen zone for more than 90 days without having to leave.
We enjoyed a peaceful evening, watched another episode of the Chernobyl series and were off to bed. The wind dropped overnight and we headed back into Golfe de Calvi to once more pick up a mooring. This time there was no sign of the young men and we had to wrestle with securing the mooring ourselves, because the metal loop did not lift up from the buoy. Peter was flat on the deck, leaning a long way over the side to thread the lines....and then had a struggle to get back up! The lines unfortunately somehow got twisted and it was some time before everything was sorted. Fortunately the water was calmer and Trilogy was secured well.
We headed ashore for lunch and settled on a light lunch under some very, very orange umbrellas at harbour side....we were all aglow! It was then time to sight- see and we were all keen to climb to the dizzy heights of the Citadel. This almighty fortress stands in a commanding position, guarding the coast and entry into Golfe de Calvi. The walls and ramparts look impregnable. Over the entrance tunnel with a drawbridge is the inscription Civitas Calvi simper fidelis, a motto that honours the citizens of Calvi. The Citadel dates from the 13C but the site was fortified and occupied well before, by the Phoenicians, Greeks and then the Romans in ancient times. In the 11th C (1268), the Pisan’s built the Citadel, but only 10 years later the citizens of Calvi rebelled and they asked the Genoese to protect them, to whom they remained loyal until Corsica was handed over to the French in 18th C. In 1794 the Citadel fell to the English, by Horatio Nelson deciding not to attack from the sea but approach by land. It took 4 weeks, 11,000 rounds of shot and 3000 shells before Calvi surrendered. Today, the Citadel is a French Foreign Legion base, and in a way it looks like it never recovered from the pounding that Nelson gave it. We wandered the narrow streets and enjoyed a comprehensive exhibition of the various Companies that make up the expertise of the Foreign Legion. The unique thing about the Legion is that it is composed of 89% international volunteers and the remainder are French volunteers with French personnel in the senior positions. The six Companies specialise according to skill base ie pilots, parachutists, divers, snipers, forest combat and crowd controllers. They get elite training that is extremely demanding of the individuals. For instance, 4th Company, which deals with forest combat, brings together specialists in sharp shooting, explosives and scouting within areas of low visibility and practicability. We met a very impressive South African member of the Legion, who had signed a 5 year contract. He told us the selectors particularly like Australians, New Zealanders and South Africans - must be something to do with the Southern Hemisphere! Americans and the Chinese are not so popular: the Americans because of drug issues and the Chinese...well, they get sent straight to kitchen duty....we all laughed! All instruction and communication is in French and there is a very strong comraderie.
The rest of the afternoon was spent checking out the town. The skipper decided on a haircut when he saw a barber shop and the rest of us checked out the Cathédrale St Jean-Baptist in Baroque Classique style and then opted for a cool drink. We picked up tourist brochures about tours to the small villages in the hinterland and after a phone call which in broken English explained that we could not join a tour the next day, we decided on a hire car. We headed back to Trilogy and all enjoyed a refreshing swim in water of perfect clarity around the boat and before long it was GNT time. We enjoyed home made frittata for dinner and then we headed to bed. However, others in the town were doing the exact opposite....it was Saturday night, which meant party time. The noise was incredibly loud and the bass thumped all the way across the water. We all had disturbed sleep and Peter reported it was still going at 06:30!
Our drive in the countryside was a memorable outing. From the airport, where we collected the car, we headed inland up into the foothills to follow the Strada Di L’Artigiana - the arts and crafts circuit of the Balagne Region. We had coffee in Calenzana, which is known for its olive oil, cheeses and wines. From there we went to Zilia, Montemaggiore and Sant’Antonino, where we stopped for lunch. This small village is perched precariously on top of a rocky outcrop way up high. The views were outstanding in all directions and after climbing all the way to the top on the twisting cobblestone paths, we descended until we found a cafe with a cool verandah, where we enjoyed delicious thin crispy based pizzas and salad for lunch, with some local dry rosé to round out the flavours. The meals being served to other tables all looked very appealing and it all felt perfect. We checked out a raku pottery artist’s shop before descending the steep stairs to the carpark.
Our journey continued to Aregno, where there was a lively Sunday market and then to Pigna, which is known for its musical instrument museum. Alas, the museum was closed, as were quite a few of the major artisan attractions in other townships. It appears that Samedi and Dimanche are not work days for artists, even in the peak tourist season! With the car returned safely, we headed back to Trilogy for another swim and a quiet evening....until the yacht nearby had their own party and the alcohol flowed far too long! The French seem to be very self focused about a lot of things!