Moby Dick Hotel Porto-Vecchio

... 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 ...

... local cats.

Have sampled the infamous sausisson (donkey salami)... yep not really a fan!

June 21 is the festival of music all around France, anyone can play, sing or set up a band in the evening, so walking the streets that night was pretty cool. Doesn't mean people are good tho, but most were!

Left Toulon on the 17th around lunch, went to the markets beforehand... fooooood!!!! All a great idea when you're buying, not so good when you're carting it back to the boat.

Outside the port is the military, all the naval boats are massif. Stopped a few hours out near an island for a swim, then the long and relaxing haul to Corsica.

Ajaccio, Corsica, France mezcnz

... it. So every day since then Mark brings the regular treat of the day, plus the plate of strawberries, plus a plate with two giant soft pretzels. How's this for timing? As I was writing, the doorbell rang and it was Mark bringing us our snacks. Strawberries and pretzels for Diane, and my treat today is... chocolate truffles. Tonight we have a VIP cocktail party up on the private Courtyard deck, so we have to get ready. Bonsoir.

... man let us pull ourselves. Then we drove through a few other small towns and admired the scenery. Ross did grea ton the mountain roads and he believed me when I said that the car knew he was a beginner stick-driver because it said "virgin" on the dash board. It was actually just the radio station! That night we drive all the way to Ajaccio for dinner and it was worth it! Both Ross and I had multi-course seafood meals that became our favorite of our whole time in France, and ...

AJACCIO IS GORGEOUS!! The cliffs along the shoreline with the mountains in the background, the buildings, everything- GORGEOUS! Shame I had some inductions to go to and was kept quite busy so I wasn't able to take any pictures or get off the boat, but that will change next time. One word for this port- stunning!

... a ridge to go or 3. Eventually I peaked at 14:00 hrs. At the top a bee circuled me laughing at the easy route he took compared to me. How and why do bee's fly so high.... There was no hanging around at the top as I was worried time was against me. After half an hour of retracing the path I found the German. When he heard how long was left he decided to turn around. He had got so close but took the sensible option. I left him ...

... a little after midday to an empty refuge I found some free food supplies of salsa tuna and a tin of sweetcorn. Lunch was a filling mustard mackeral mash with sweetcorn and Corsician thyme. This knocked me out as I then slept for a few hours. Waking up I met a friendly couple from Quebec. Chatted to them for a few hours while cooking up a pasta feast and then crashing early.

Day 181. Trip to Refuge de Ciottulu 12/10/08 Following the Mare a Monti Nord trail from Ota to Evisa was a 3 hour walk raising to 830 meters elevation. It was mostly shaded by trees, passing signs about flora/forna (in French) and passing 2 Genoese Bridges. Hunters were yelling in the backgrond, dogs barking then shooting. From Evita I took the Mare a Mare Nord trail to Col de Verghio (1404m), also known as the chestnut grove ...

... the LG guide would mention!!! It was a little tricky getting to the port this morning as a few roads were closed. Luckily, I gave myself some extra time. I read more of the "Piano Tuner" while waiting for the boat to leave. The book is improving ... at times it can be very descriptive with the author creating a stunning vision of Burma in your mind. But then he goes overboard - it seems like his whole point is to flex his descriptive muscle. The author ...