30th June 2010

Well, the weather decided for us and it was east! We were quite relieved to be back on our way again and set a course down to Bastia - not too far and it looked like quite an interesting town. We had to go into Port Toga, just outside Bastia as the old port was full (and we're not entirely sure that we would have fitted in there anyhow). Toga had a very narrow entrance which was a bit hairy and we were put on quite an awkward berth, so mooring up wasn't the easiest and we ended up with 3 mooring lines instead of the usual one or two. After a day lazing around and not venturing further than the port itself, we took ourselves into town, heading first of all for a huge and rather empty square where we enjoyed a fresh orange juice in the shade of the palm trees. We then climbed up into the old town of Bastia which was a strange mix of the elegant and the totally run down until we got to the walled town which was in better repair! Had lunch at a fabulous restaurant high over the marina with a view along the coast, and watched huge ferries swinging in and out of port as we ate.
The next day we continued our trek south, and after a day in a totally delightful anchorage near an almost empty beach, we eased into Solenzaro, a small port which looked lovely from the pilot books and more than fully lived up to expectations. We spent a day on a gorgeous beach just a stone's throw from the port (perfectly clear, warm water, soft sand, comfortable sun beds and a convenient restaurant!) In the evening, we went to a great restaurant we'd passed, where we sat at a terrace in the garden and ate food straight off the feu du bois. The owners took a shine to us, and we ended up drinking myrtle liqueurs with a group of their friends late into the evening, before Monsieur insisted on running us back to the port!
In the morning we decided to explore inland, and in our little hire car, we ventured up into the mountains. What a treat it turned out to be! We stopped at a small cafe alongside the river and after a cool drink, decided to venture down to the water's edge. It was so beautiful that instead of continuing our drive, we spent almost the entire day lying on our towels by the river, sunbathing and dipping into a deep pool in the rocks, clear glass-green mountain water. Late afternoon we continued our drive up through the mountain passes where the air was much cooler (a mere 20c in places,) passing hikers and climbers and at one point, a family of wild pigs! The scenery was breathtaking and so totally unexpected and different to the coastal views we've become accustomed to lately.
We moved on from Solenzaro a day later, and about an hour down the coast we drew into a deep curve of bay where we dropped anchor...and stayed for three nights! Ciprianu was a perfect anchorage, the weather was still, the sea turquoise, the beach white and we had no desire to move on. On Sunday morning, before there was any sign of life on any of the other boats in the anchorage, we took the tender and went ashore to a tiny islet with just a small strip of sand where we enjoyed a picnic breakfast accompanied by a couple of glasses of Bucks Fizz! It was one of those moments that we'll always remember.
That evening we had dinner at a restaurant on the beach but when we came to pay, they informed us that they didn't accept credit cards. No worries, they said, come back tomorrow with the money. Easier said than done, as the nearest village (we soon discovered) had neither bank nor ATM. We took the dinghy down the coast to the next town, had a snack at a cafe and asked the waitress where we could get some cash. You see that village, at the top of that very steep hill, she said, well, there's a cash machine there. The steep hill made the climb up to Dinan look like a slight incline and hiking up at the hottest part of the day was no laughing matter. Especially when we asked for further directions at the top and were told that the nearest ATM was in a town at the bottom...on the other side! Fortunately, our informant was mistaken and we found what we needed before making the vertical descent. Thank goodness.
Eventually we upped anchor and yesterday afternoon we moved just a breath along the coast back to Porto Vecchio and last night we climbed that hill again and had dinner overlooking the harbour and watching Zaffina fade into the twilight.
Now it's time to move on again, either to another anchorage or to Bonifaccio. Frank is on his way back from the chandlers, having managed to drop the brush and long handle into the marina whilst cleaning the boat! Other than that, all is well in our world.