Bastia to Porticciolo

October 9, 2018

Short but very sweet

Sunny skies today. The planned ride today was short so we took our time packing our things and heading out the door. Skipping the hotel breakfast, we stopped at a nearby patisserie on the way out of Bastia. Going into a patisserie on an empty stomach will result in over buying -it all looks so good. We filled our panniers with enough food for two days. After eating a couple of tasty items right in front of the store, we quickly found the road leading out of Bastia enroute to Cap Corse.

Our destination was less than 25kms along the coastal highway. The road had very panoramic views but was initially shared with fairly heavy car traffic. All the drivers were very patient and waited for a good place to pass safely. Thankfully the traffic thinned out considerably the further we got from Bastia.

Small villages dot the coastline for a number of kilometres leaving Bastia.

Up close. Very pretty in the morning sun.

We soon see four other cycle tourists that are from Estonia. We leap frog back and forth as we travel along the road. They are planning to go to the end of Cap Corse today - 64km. It's always nice to see and meet other cycle tourists as we are a bit of a rarity.

Two ladies from the Estonian group. They are headed to the northern end of Cap Corse today.

Rugged coastline of Cap Corse. Very beautiful in the sun today.

Another coast picture. No shortage of picture opportunities and Pat waits as I stop again and again!

A Genoese tower. These towers were built for protection in the mid to late 1500's. Many still exist today.

The ride seemed to end too soon as we found our accomodation in the small town of Porticciolo. A note on the door said that we must call Cathy to gain access. That is a bit of an issue as we have not activated our cell phones. Scott walked around to the back of the building and found a man who lived in an apartment in the same building and he called Cathy for us. After the call, he used the hidden key to the front door and set us up in our room. He then left us alone to have the run of the place. We wondered if this would be another night alone in an auberge but took full advantage of the situation anyway and had our lunch out on the lovely veranda over looking the Mediterranean. We then headed to the local beach just a little further down the highway where Scott enjoyed a swim in the warm clear blue water.

Nice water for swimming. If you look closely you can see Scott's biker tan!

After our beach time we headed back toward town to a shop that provided olive oil and wine tasting. The oils were great and we soon selected a bottle of local red wine to enjoy on their deck.

Wine tasting in Porticcilio. A nice red.

And a beautiful view to go along with the wine. Islands are easy to enjoy on a cycle tour.

The afternoon sun in the village marina looked inviting so we moved down to the waterfront where we enjoyed our wine and watched a couple of men fishing.

The village marina in Porticcillio is very picturesque.

This man saw this octopus in the shallow water and used a hand line to snag it. A nice dinner I bet.

The Maison Bella Vista was just up from the marina and we returned to review our dinner options. It seemed that the town had one small restaurant that was open when we had passed it several times during the afternoon. When we tried to return for dinner, we were told it was "ferme". Traveling by bicycle means that we are really limited to the restaurants in our immediate neighbourhood and this was the only one! Hmm... we still had some food from the patisserie so we would not starve. Back to our place and we noticed three plates were now set at the table. "Dinner? "we enquired. Certainly - in fact a three course meal with drinks, wine, dessert and liquers. Sign us up! The veal dish was fabulous and the dinner companions excellent. These truly are the best travel experiences.

Dining with us were Robin, Louise and Laurent. All the meal was prepared with local ingredients. We started with a wine aperitif and then a wonderful charcouterie plate with the main being local veal on a pasta. Dessert was some excellent local cheeses and a chocolate crepe, finished with a local Corsican myrtle liquor . Easily the best meal on our tour! All fresh, homemade, and local. But much more food and drink than we needed.

sorry for the poor picture quality. Camera operator had been drinking!

Laurent was very familar with the island as he travels here three times a year from Marseilles to watch and participate in the rally races. As he says, "Corsica was built for rally racing". He filled in many details of the upcoming race that has 250 participants.

It was a great evening that confirmed the shorter riding distance was the good choice and that sometimes the smallest, out of the way towns can provided the biggest, most enjoyable surprises!

Today's ride: 25 km (16 miles)
Total: 485 km (301 miles)

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Suzanne GibsonI'm enjoying your wonderful trip! And I so agree, shorter distances (if you have the time) and stopping at small out-of-the-way places is so rewarding! Sort of 'less is more'.
Happy cycling for the rest of your trip!
Suzanne
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