Saint-Florent to Calvi

April 28, 2025

I woke up to another sunny morning after a good sleep. I’m amazed my neck wasn’t sore from the humongous pillow that was provided. It’s interesting to experience pillows around the world, but it’s not always comfortable!

We splurged on the hotel breakfast today, including hard boiled eggs, meats, cheeses, fruit salad, yogurt (well, fresh cheese), crepes, Nutella, and other goodies. Since we’re splitting up during the day, we haven’t been meeting up for restaurant lunches. I nabbed a few breakfast items for snacking on during my hike. I’m kinda missing all the 7-Elevens that were so handy in Taiwan.

My drive was on a busier/faster road than yesterday. It was still a stressful drive, just in a different way. There were lots of cyclists, and now I understand the angst of drivers trying to get by me on a mountain road.

The good news is that there were lots of pullouts for me to stop and let faster drivers go by. Speed limits here are only a suggestion. More alarmingly, lane markings are also only a suggestion. I just about got creamed by a big truck that was well over the line on a corner.

It was mostly sunny, but windier than yesterday. Mel reports that on the bike it seemed to come from different directions at different times.

As I drove inland and climbed, the landscape was dry and rocky. Really wild looking. I finally saw some farming as I approached Ile Rousse - olives, I think. And that area also had lots more development - looks like holiday homes.

Looking northeast towards Cap Corse. The interior is dry and rugged.

I parked just before Calvi at a hiking spot I’d mapped out. From the place name, I learned that it had once been a Club Med. Remember them? They still exist in some places, but not in Corsica anymore. Now it’s an area of charmless holiday rentals, I think. I did 6 km in total, with very little climbing today.

My great little hike started in an olive grove. There’s a rail line that parallels the road, but the Corsica trains are all shut down right now for a maintenance project.

There were lots of things in bloom, and the area was buzzing with bees. These beautiful succulents are an agressive invasive, apparently.

There are hundreds of Genoese towers around Corsica, build as defenses - this one is called the Torra di Spanu. I didn’t find an entrance?

There were very few people around, but I met a Canadian who lives in Toulouse with his French wife. He said he lived in Calgary for a few years, and can’t believe how big it has gotten. I agree. This couple was accompanied by a very friendly black and tan dog that I was surprised to hear wasn’t theirs. It had followed the for hours, he said.

I arrived at our Calvi hotel just minutes after Mel. She got caught in a brief rain shower as she was entering town. Her bike will spend the night behind the check-in desk.

Calvi is a relatively big place with lots of history. And an airport too. Perhaps a good starting point for a future trip. Christopher Columbus may or may not have been here in 1451 - they claim his as their own, and named the main street after him. Corsica was Genoese at the time of his birth, so, maybe?? I read that being from Corsica was like coming from the wrong side of the tracks, so he wouldn’t have trumpeted his origins.

In other history news, Nelson lost an eye here in the Siege of Calvi, helping the Corsicans fight the French.

We walked up to the cobbled streets of the citadel, a walled part of city with church on top, and great 360 degree views. Happily, there was an ice cream shop at the top of our walk.

Is seems that some people live within the walls. But not all the buildings look occupied.

We descended for an expensive beer at a dingy bar outside the walls. We didn’t realize the price until we went to pay. Corsica ain’t cheap.

Continuing my global exploration of chip flavours, I rank Tartiflette flavour quite high. Cheese, bacon, and onion, and memories of Chamonix. Yum. And the French authorities have assigned chips a nutritional ‘C’’ grade, on a scale of A to E. Not the worst!

We had a delicious dinner at a nearby pizza place. We shared a goat cheese salad and a white pizza with Corsican cheese. Really yummy. Our hotel host was unimpressed, saying ‘you didn’t come to Corsica to eat pizza’. But it was really good, so we had no regrets.

Map corrected! Mel reports that Komoot is consistently overestimating the climbing. Interesting.

Today's ride: 92 km (57 miles)
Total: 218 km (135 miles)

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Scott AndersonI'm so sorry it didn't work out for you to bike, and I'm not surprised that the driving is stressful. It does open up some possibilities for places you might not have gotten to otherwise though. A few suggestions to consider: walking along the astonishing white cliffs at Bonifaccio, the hike up the Gorges de Restonica (near Corte), and the Calanques and hike out to Capo Rosso south of Porto. But it's all amazing, you can't go wrong unless you get run off the road. Good luck!
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1 day ago

Betsy EvansThe hiking is amazing, so I’m okay with not biking. We saw Capo Rosso and the calanques today from a boat - spectacular! I may do a hike that way tomorrow. Then our next stop is Corte, so I’ll look into your suggestion. We’re aiming for two nights in Bonifacio next week.
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21 hours ago