20^th June 2014

We caught a bus back to Ajaccio to drop a guest off and collect another.  We were delayed in Ajaccio as we had arrived on the Saturday bus and there was no Sunday bus to return with. We arrived at the bus stop on the Monday with bags in tow, only to find that it was yet another holy holiday and there was no bus till the Tuesday! Ajaccio was the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte and a group of locals got into the spirit and were meeting near Napoleon’s home.  They took delight in parading up and down the street, posing for tourists to take  photos.

Near the home that Napoleon Bonaparte was born in

We finally managed to get a bus back to Bonifacio.   The bus winds through hilltop villages which all seem to have been built with defence in mind.  Many of the old parts of the villages were walled and some had brooding castles overlooking the valley below.  Life would have been very hard in this part of the world a few centuries ago and even at the beginning of the 19^th century there were many bandits in Corsica. The coastline is also dotted with Genoese watch towers which were built to warn of approaching corsairs raiding from Africa! The flag of Corsica (& Sardinia) actually have the black heads of the corsair captains who were caught, beheaded and their heads taken back in the flag. Gruesome, but it makes a great flag and since there are no longer any Corsairs, the warning has worked!

Bonifacio at night

Artemis V in Bonifacio Harbour

Bonifacio town on overhanging cliffs

From Bonifacio, we went to Iles Lavezzi.  These rocky outcrops have been declared a heritage listed national park.  We anchored in a bay with crystal clear water.  It is so clear that you can select exactly which patch of sand to put the anchor on. There were lots of fish there, a delight to see in the Mediterranean.  On the island are approximately 600 graves and a little chapel. On the way to the Crimean War, a ship floundered there and all lives were lost. Only one person witnessed the tragedy, a leper living on his own on the island. The bodies were so mangled when they were pulled from the sea that only one person could be identified. All the other graves are unmarked. 

Cemetry on Ile Lavezzi

Anchorage at Iles Lavezzi

From Iles Lavezzi we crossed the Bonifacio Strait to the La Maddalena Islands which are also national park. This crossing marks the border between France and Italy, just 5nm. apart.  These islands, like Iles Lavezzi, are all fringed with rocks and shoals.  Disappointingly we have not seen many fish amongst these islands. 

Crossing the Bonifacio Strait from France to Italy.

   The little town of La Maddalena was a delight however and we spent several days there, wondering the streets, eating, drinking and catching up with news from family and friends.

Port of the town of La Maddalena

For the last two days we have been anchored in Porto Luscia Bay, on the Sardinian mainland.  There is a kitesurfing school and a windsurfing school in the bay and it has been fun watching them fly across the water in the brisk breeze that always seems to blow in the Bonifacio Strait.  The bay is very quiet, with long empty beaches and a national park behind.  Each day there have been only two or three other boats anchored nearby and it is very peaceful. This morning we woke to the timeless sounds of a sheepdog and sheep bells on the hill close by.

Porto Luscia Bay