Arriving at the port town of Calvi on Corsica was fantastic- a true Mediterranean paradise island, albeit packed with tourists in town. Huge mountains loom in the center of the island, cliffs tumble down to the sea, it's hot and sultry. Corsica is only about 40mi wide and 110mi long but there are mountain peaks at almost 9000ft in the center, and the entire place is hilly & mountainous. My plan is to make a counter-clockwise coastal tour with a few days heading up into the interior high country. After some trouble figuring out which auto parking deck I'd left my bike on, I took an easy few hours to the first town of Galeria for the night.
On the way I stopped off for my ritual afternoon coffee break at a lonely little cafe all by itself in a picture perfect turquoise bay. Everything fit the bill, but was somehow real: red hills down to crystal blue water, a few catamarans moored in the bay, a shirtless waiter wearing white linen pantaloons and a French crooner pumping through the speakers.
The road winds along the coast and occasionally inland for bits, all very rugged and beautiful land. It's super dry and hot here in the summers and a dense scrub called "maquis" grows on much of the hillsides.
I'm still in 'rest mode' from the Alpes and had a lazily short ride the 2nd day to Porto, where I lounged at another cafe next to a bay for the afternoon. As I was settling into the municipal campground, my camp neighbors invited me over to their table for dinner and wine. Really friendly and fun Italians, we had a nice lingering evening... and they're getting me even more excited for Italy next week!
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