Up & into the interior of Corsica [Porto > Corti > Adjaccio; 7/26-7/28,128mi]

It's a bit tough to peel myself away from the beautiful and tempting beaches in order to climb up into the dry & hot interior, but I'm curious to see what the inland mountain terrain is like. Turns out it's fantastic; these mountains are alright in my book.

The highest pass on the island is Bocca de Verghio at 1467m... which doesn't sound like much since I was up at nearly double this altitude last week in the Alps. But when you start, quite literally, at 0m, it's no small task, especially in the searing heat.

Corsica has a storied past dating back thousands of years, but for recent history it's been a part of France. The old timers speak Corse, a unique language that blends French & Italian; as such all the road signs present both French and Corse spellings. There's a nationalist/liberation movement around, and they like to promote their cause by first painting over the French, then shooting it. No kidding, almost every single road sign on the island is like this! I love the feisty culture here, it's a nice wake up from dusty old France.

It's also specifically illegal to camp in the wild anywhere on the island... although the terrain is so rugged that there's not really many viable places to pitch a tent anyway. There's enough ants & mosquitoes that a tent is pretty much a necessity- so aside from one night up in the high country I'm back to the French campground regimen: RVs, excited kids and screaming babies. Argh.

my feelings exactly