Casabianca Beach

Today was one of those days when I knew that any photos I took would come out looking like postcards – the colours were amazing and crisp, with not a cloud in the sky. Bliss on a stick in fact!

It was quite windy, which was a welcome relief from the scorching heat. I felt a bit restless so I didn’t want to go and roast myself in the sun, but I knew that the beaches would look absolutely stunning, so I decided to head along to Casabianca which is a huge long stretch of sand, and simply wander along and see what I could see...

I have often wondered why people bother to spend 9 hours+ on a plane to go to the Caribbean when we have such stunning beaches much closer to home.

The water was the most amazing turquoise colour I think I have ever seen here, and only the odd ripple from the breeze breaking the surface. What was perhaps most surprising, was that although there were a few sun worshippers dotted along the shore, the beach was almost deserted.

I am not sure who was more freaked out when I noticed the heron, him or me! I am not a big fan of birds (I was once ‘menaced’ by a seagull on this beach), so I wished I’d been able to retire to a safer distance, but the camera with the paparazzi style zoom was still on the kitchen worktop – d’oh!

This year for the first time in many years, the estuary of the Rizzanese River has actually closed, so it is possible to walk right the way along from Propriano to Portigliolo. The river comes to a halt in a huge lagoon style pond, and some of the local children were having great fun using the huge boulders as a diving board

Fortunately, the pompiers (who also deal with medical emergencies) were on firewatch at the top of the beach. Rather less fortunately, one of them was asleep in the cab and the other was smoking and listening to his iPod, so I can’t say I was reassured!

To finish my circuit, I walked round the corniche and was treated to some fabulous views of the sea below and Propriano in the distance.

There was a cruise ship in the port and I could see the pattern of brightly coloured umbrellas dotted along the beaches nearer to the town, but I couldn’t help feeling a little bit smug that many visitors never venture further up the coast and we could keep this little corner of paradise all to ourselves...