Hotel U Libecciu Bonifacio

... the morning was pleasantly warm. I was the only one on the sundeck so I was playing my iPod playlists over the sundecks speaker system. Every once in awhile the stewardess would come and check on me and on occasion I could hear someone laughing from the decks below.

The harbor is tucked into the back of a long bay behind the cliff-lined peninsula that Bonifacio is built ...

... it was windy and we could not reach the Genoese Tower there. On restarting my most likely Chinese scooter, the ignition came out with the key. Once fixed we drove to Castellu d'Araghju where I had lunch. Feeling fully confident with the 2 wheels I took to the highway south to Plage de Rondinara, a more sheltered beach. Returning to the hotel at 5pm I sorted out my finaces and ate dinner followed by...Fromage au lait de Brebis 'U Montinu' et vin ...

... Florence, which one was Florence?" was the usual comment on the video....... We then went off to a French restaurant to continue Gillian's birthday celebrations. The next morning we decided to stay for another day so we could explore the town further. We walked up the hills to the old fortified town which is perched precariously on the cliff and explored the food shops and fortifications. Bought the usual cheese and salami type offerings although ...

... found Claudia & Wolfgang (who were wise not to try and complete the last stage) and went out for pizza. Pizziaiolo for me and vin rouge for all thanking them for getting me through the southern section of the GR20. After 4 bottles of red between 7 the Candians and English lady went back to the hotel. The Germans and I had one thing on our mind, Mojito's. And so it was, cocktails, beer and fusball.

... low land forests. We certainly did today climbing towards Bocca di u Pargulu (1662m). At this col there are panoramic views of the jagged landscape, the Bavella Needles. Walking through a stoney gully we reached the only chain on the the southern section covering a steep slab. I held back for photos. Unfortunately the occasion must have got to Wolfgang as he twisted his knee on the way up. From ...

... My Corsician Lonely Planet book was getting some attention, I was glad to have something of use! Sleep would have been nice and it started of so well. Claudia gave me a hot water bottle for the cold night ahead. But after 4 hrs it was cold and all I could hear was the Italian whale next to me snoring. I got up at 5ish with 4 others also apparently struggling with sleep.

... we could see it coming, but it didn't slow us down. The town is tall buildings with few windows as they were taxed by the window areas. The stairs up to the 4 and 5th floors looked absolutely impossible to climb! About 3 feet wide and extremely steep, with uneven heights of risers! The streets were so narrow that as cars came through we had to flatten ourselves against the walls ...

... fuer den Durst! Die engen Gassen der Oberstadt sind dicht bebaut mit turmartigen, hohen Häusern und vermitteln eine mittelalterliche Atmosphäre. Die meisten der Gebäude besitzen Brunnen, Zisternen und Lagerräume für Lebensmittel. Zum Schutz vor Feinden konnten die schmalen Holztreppen oder Strickleitern, zum ersten Stock, jederzeit eingezogen werden. Mittels Strebebögen sind gegenüberliegende Häuser verbunden, sie bergen ein Leitungssystem zur Ableitung von ...

... hoe weinig water er staat. Gelukkig is de bult niet al te groot, elke golf doet het schip iets bewegen. Hard in zijn achteruit mag niet baten. We leggen een achter anker uit met de rubberboot en proberen op de lier het schip naar achter te trekken. Na een tweede poging op uitdrukkelijk verzoek van Lineke, lukt het! Hard in zijn achteruit en alle kracht op de lier komt er beweging in en na zo'n twee uur etteren in de gierende wind hebben we de Alure weer vlot ...

... to strip off my rain jacket, booties and warm pants. Much to my chagrin the temps would immediately sky rocket once we got to the south of France and daily temperatures hover around 75F for the following 2 weeks. Once in Briancon we took the train to Nice, overnighted in a gross (cheap) hotel, then catch the ferry to Corsica the next day, landing in Bastia (NE coast). Upon arrival in Bastia, the first thing we noticed (in addition to crazy drivers) was the sweet ...