Saturday, September 21, 2013

Isle of Beauty

I was going to start my new trip with a post about the good and bad that always comes with any long journey. I was going to provide a full explanation (cogently argued) as to why Air Transat sucks but then I realized that everyone already knows this and on top of that, I'll continue to fly Transat if I can save a few hundred bucks. No, I'm now in Corsica and it's time to get to the good stuff. and it truly is the Isle of beauty.It's not just a name that the Corsicans gave themselves. 

Flying over the Mediterranean, the island first appears out of the clouds as a series of sharp jagged mountains. As you get closer a rough and unruly coastline becomes visible. Even closer and you can make out thrilling hiking trails along the ridges of low lying mountains near the coast. It's all quite spectacular. 


We landed in Ajaccio, one of Corsica's two main towns but immediately picked up our rental car for the ride down to Bonifacio on the southern tip of the island. I know most of you will have never heard of Bonifacio but it is on the cover of last month's National Geographic 100 Secret Journeys (we're trendsetters I tell ya). 


This first morning we would be driving about 125 kilometers which in theory should only take around an hour but in Corsica could take as much as 3 hours thanks to the mountain roads that we will have to take. 

We notice an abundance of runners who have come to run on the roads leading to and from the airport. Clearly there is very little flat terrain here. 

The road we will be traveling on is actually one of Corsica's main routes designated with the letter N but it's only two lanes for the most part. Sometimes in a particular steep mountain area there will be an extra lane for passing cars. On the other hand some of the smaller hillside villages we pass through only have a single lane for traffic so cars must wait until its their side's turn to go through. 

Regardless of the specifics, the road is a stunning drive at all times with beautiful mountain and coastal views while passing through centuries old villages perched precariously in the sky. This looks like a great spot for a vacation. 


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