Calenzana to Porto Vecchio...an alternative route.

We have experienced a few different ways to reach the island of Corsica. Our earliest visit was on a BA flight from Edinburgh to Bastia with a change of planes in London....an evening train from Bastia to Calvi followed by a camp in Calvi before reaching Calenzana for another camp before setting out on the walk.
A year later a flight from Edinburgh to Nice and a Ferry to Calvi before getting to Calenzana.
In 2009 and 2011 after the Edinburgh to Nice flight a ferry to Bastia with overnight stops there.
A little different in 2013 when an overnight bus to Manchester followed by an early morning flight to Bastia Poretta.....since it was a Sunday not much transport was available for me to continue to the Southern start in Conca.  A bit of hitching got me as far as Moriani where I called it a day and camped there for the night and reached Conca by bus on the Monday morning.
In Corsica you really must want to get into the hills on and island where integrated transport is not always available but in a way that is all part of the journey....just being there is different and interesting.

A view from the accommodation that we used in Bastia a few times near to the old port in the town.

A walk through Corsica using three of the multi day trails beginning with the Mare e Monti Nord from Calenzana then after finishing  ten days of walking in Cargese then taking a bus to Ajaccio and a short bus ride into Porticcio.  The Mare e Monti sud was followed through to Burgo where we linked up with the Mare a Mare Sud to walk from West to East and reach Porto Vecchio.
A fine journey through some very interesting terrain and staying in and passing through several ancient villages.

The Mare e Monti trail is a very scenic trail through some small Corsican villages and is never too far from the West coast sea.
Possibly the true 'Entre mer et montagne'.....between sea and mountain.

After our first camp in Calenzana we had a camp at Bonifatu where there is a hotel and other types of accommodation.

We had an extra day at Bonifatu and had time to walk the two trails that connect separately  with both Piobbu and Carozzu the overnight places for the first two stages on the GR20.  Must have been an ancient dining place for hunters in the past.

The Bonaparte family were fairly big on the Island.  On the trail up to the Bocca di Bonassa and at the next Bocca at di Lucca we had a bivouac under the stars.....a cooler place to sleep.

The high ground between Galeria and Girolata. Beautiful walking terrain.

Supplies arriving by boat at Girolata. There are several restaurants and gite type accommodation with room for campers.

The only way into Girolata is by boat or on foot. I guess that the boats are in for a visit with folks staying on board and eating in the restaurants.

Girolata from the path up towards the Bocca a Croce.

On the way up to the Capu di Curzu, heading towards Curzu,  from Bocca a Croce after leaving behind the Golfe de Girolata.

The wee shop in Serriera.

Early morning leaving Ota.

Looking down to Ota and beyond into the Spelunca gorge.

After camping on the terrace of the hostel in Ota and having a meal there the trail led quickly on the old mule track into the Spelunca gorge. The old Genoese bridges allowed us to cross and to re-cross the river.
The village Evisa at the top of the gorge was in the past, and maybe even today, a cooler summer  retreat for folks living down on the coast.
Evisa has a camping site close to the village.

The Pont Genois de Zaglia.

Evisa of village where the Mare a Mare Nord and the Mare e Monti Nord come together and share the route down to Cargese.  There is a reasonable camping site Laccola just above the village.  

The old building of E Case that nowadays serves as a hostel or in our case as a welcome wee camping area and a place for Breakfast.

Arum probably.

A toppled menhir from prehistoric times lying beside a ruined chapel on the way down to Cargese.

                                                                         

Our first sighting of the Golfe de Peru with Cargese below.

Bisinao Gite where we camped on a terrace and had a fine evening meal.

The maquis with Ajaccio beyond.

Another of these....they seem to prosper at the bottom of broken down walls.

The wee hamlet of Coti-Chiavari.

Porto Pello where we stayed in a camping site beside the sea.

Quite exotic beside the sea at Porto Pello.

Olmeto one of the centres on the island for olives.

The trail from Olmeto through to Burgo....in the footsteps of long past herders.
Very eloquently written by the gentleman in his book Clear Waters Rising...'I'd forgotten how paths had their own cognition; their way of introducing their past. They carried in their sunken beds the footfalls of long gone travellers'.
The past is always just under your feet in Corsica that has a vast network of trails along which animals and goods would have been transported....now I guess mainly used for pleasure travel.

Olive catching nets.

A shaded place for a bit of lunch.

Our final link trail....The Mare a Mare sud from Burgo to Porto Vecchio.
The U Fracintu gite in Burgo is a good place to eat.
I seem to recall that Michel Fabrickant had a connection with the building and maybe even lived there?

There seems to have been an upgrading of the signboards in this area....many in other sections of the trails signs were battered by the elements.

Steps up to the bonny wee village of Fozzano that seems to grow out of the vegetation.

After leaving Fozzano height is gained fairly rapidly. The village in the centre is probably Arbellara.

For those that have rubbed noses with GR20..... the familiar Bavella Towers come into view.

There many days in Corse when you disturb porkers some of these guys are quite forceful and do make approaches....walking poles are useful as a threat to keep them at a distance.

No room at the Inn for us in Ste. Lucie de Tallano. The Gite is a very well restored building next door to a restored Olive Mill.    Fine if you are on an organised trip with luggage carried ahead by van etc. and have booked ahead of your visit.  We found a room with self catering in the village. Seemed to be a busy wee place.

Approaching Serra di Scopamena we spoke to a lady whose antecedent had gone with Bonaparte into Russia....he appears to have awarded for this.. see the plaque on the wall of the house.

A fine old Mill near to Serra. Probably for squeezing oil out of olives.
One thing that becomes evident in these tiny Corsican Villages is the big number of war casualties lost in the 20th, century wars.  Often  names on the memorials are  probably from the same family with sometimes up to seven entries bearing the same family name.

Camp beside the tennis court in Serra di Scarpomena....it is all part of the Municipal camping area that had not opened for the season when we arrived but the village folks said that it was fine to use the facilities etc.

Breakfast at Jallicu after walking up from Serra di Scopamene.

The eclectic area around the Jallicu gite where horses and porkers and others shared the terrain...very highland Scottish.

The gentleman in Zonza who appeared to look after stray dogs....something to do with the  BB animal rescue organisation.  The odd thing about this is that a dog followed us most of the morning and then disappeared when we got close to the village....maybe the dog had dealings in the past with the 'kennels' in the gentleman's garden perhaps.

Chapel St. Laurent.

The area of the  Cucuruzzu archaeological site. Stone age, bronze age, iron age and into medieval times people sought shelter and a life away from the raiding folks who frequently visited the island.  An ancient settlement that has been dug out from the vegetation and is now a world heritage site.
Thousands of dug out objects are housed in the museum in Levie village that lies below the site

The area of Punta di a Vacca Morta with the Golfe de Porto Vecchio and Porto Vecchio below.

The crystal clear water at Cala Rossa...a few kls. North out of Porto Vecchio.
Of the Journey. Pleasant walking passing through interesting small villages with many connections with past times. Trees, vegetation and aromatic plant-life are plentiful throughout the journey but with none of the roughness and grottiness of the GR20 route.
But then the GR20, a journey that has all of the aforementioned delights and more,  is a very special walkers route in many ways.
Only today I have heard that at two of the refuges on the route have been closed to 'overnighters', on account an outbreak of a bug in the sleeping areas, and that tents have been erected to enable overnights to be spent 'under canvas' and to allow the problem to be dealt with.