Serra di Ferro & Cupabaia

It’s not often I get the whole day to myself, so after a leisurely breakfast of coffee, toast and marmite on the balcony (old habits die hard!), I decided to venture a little further afield and head up to Serra di Ferro.



Serra di Ferro is a pretty flowered village slightly inland of Porto Pollo and Cupabaia. It’s fairly small, but there is a nice café/restaurant with terrace where they sometimes hold Corsica evenings with polyphonic singing, a little shop selling Corsican products such as charcuterie (local cured meats), wine, honey, souvenirs and handmade knives, and an interesting little chapel with double belltower and al fresco pews!



I was still unsure of my intentions for the day, so I’d packed both my walking shoes and beach gear in the car. From here there are several marked walks; Porto Pollo (40-45 minutes), Cupabaia (30m) and Olmeto (6h). My hayfever has been really playing up recently so a hike across the Maquis probably wasn’t a great idea. Fortunately common sense kicked in and I headed through the village and about 10 minutes further on, came to the fine white sand dunes of the Plage de Cupabaia.



Most people arriving at Cupabaia tend to stick to the first stretch of beach they come to, but I prefer to head to the far end by the rocks where the sand is a little coarser and it’s generally a bit quieter. By 11am it was over 30 degrees with no breeze so the water looked more like a lake than the sea. Although I’m a bit of a sun-seeker, after a couple of hours even I was too hot and decided to head back to the Valinco.



It’s amazing how much the beaches change from one area to another, and within 20 minutes I was alongside the granite outcrops and more golden sands of Abbartello. I was in no real rush so I decided to stop off at ‘La Crique’, one of the beachside restaurant/bars dotted along the coastline. Of course I really should have been shopping in preparation for tomorrows bank holiday (yes, another one), but then again…

Parc de Saleccia

It was Jan and Iain who recommended the Parc de Saleccia to me after they visited at Easter with their grandchildren. I’d often passed the sign on the main road, but for some reason never been tempted to visit – what a mistake!



The park is really well organised with a laminated map to show first time visitors the best route round the gardens. There are separate sections such as the Mediterranean Gardens and information posts all along the path to explain the importance of certain specimens such as the olive tree, mulberry trees and of course the maquis.



What I really liked about it was how family friendly the whole place was. I arrived just behind a large French family and the children were given laminated sheets of flowers that they had to find within the grounds to win a little prize. Their excitement lasted about 5 minutes until the lady at the ticket booth mentioned the goats, and it was clear where they were heading first!



There were also some unexpected surprises along the way such as the metal animal sculptures including a huge colourful giraffe, a baby elephant, a vulture perched on a tree root and even a monkey swinging from one of the branches!



With ponds, and little quiet spots for the adults, childrens play areas and huge lawns, this really is one for all the family. I particularly liked the ‘Jardin des 4 couleurs’ (garden of 4 colours) which is a circular seating area with four separate walled gardens leading off in different directions. I suspect the colours change with the seasons, but were lucky enough to have yellows, pinks, whites and blues.



The walk finished back at the refreshment area and gift shop where you can pick up some locally made jams, olive oil, honey, essential oils and soaps. I shall definitely be back when I’ve got more time to dawdle and really appreciate the gardens to the full.

Restaurant u Minellu in Calvi

Despite my adventures, I am a creature of habit at heart, and whenever I am in Calvi I always try to eat at u Minellu. Tucked away in what presumably was once a thoroughfare, this little place looks a bit touristy from the outside with its gingham table cloths, but the food is excellent – really good traditional style dishes, well presented and very reasonably priced.

Outside of the main season, the ‘salle’ is the place to be, with its vaulted ceilings and cosy ambiance. Once the weather starts to get warmer, the covered terrace is nice as it is protected on three sides, so you can often eat outside here when it’s too chilly elsewhere. During the summer, try to get one of the tables on the terrace area to the side as you might be lucky and get a gentle breeze.



I chose the set menu which is one of the best value around; 19 euros for 3 copious courses! I chose the charcuterie to start which was a mixture of coppa, lonzu and saucisson served on a board shaped like Corsica, then the Sanglier à la mode Corse (wild boar in a red wine, mushroom and olive sauce) which was served with traditional polenta in a sizzling skillet. I wasn’t sure if I could manage a desert but it seemed rude not to as it was included! It was a tough choice, but in the end I plumped for the Fiadone which is a cheesecake flavoured sponge made with brocciu and normally served with a splash of eau de vie. Absolutely delicious as always…

A Capulatta Turtle Sanctuary

With an extra half an hour for the journey up to Calvi, I decided to stop off at the A Capulatta turtle sanctuary, about 15-20 minutes north of Ajaccio. I have been here before and remembered that the entrance fee was quite high, but I was still surprised to be charged 9.50€ for an adult! That said, I do think the park is quite well laid out with lots of information about turtles and tortoises for the kids, and a few ‘did you know’s for the adults too.



Did you know…
The temperature at which turtle eggs are incubated can help determine sex. 28 degrees seems to be the magic number and of those eggs incubated above 28° the majority will be males, and of those incubated below, the majority will be females.

The first section I found a little bit boring – we have Hermann’s tortoises in the grounds where we live – but as you move round to the gigantic and exotic varieties, it gets more interesting. I inadvertently entered into a staring competition with one of the Galapagos turtles and got quite freaked out! The sheer size of these animals is seriously impressive, especially their feet/paws or whatever you call them.



They have tried to make the park as much like their natural habitat as possible and there are some really lovely ponds in the exotic section, as well as beautiful Irises, water lilies and a gorgeous Japanese maple.



Did you know…
I was amazed to see cats sunbathing in various enclosures, but apparently it’s essential to they help keep the mouse population under control as rodents often attack the tortoises and turtles, particularly during the hibernation period. The cats play such an important role, that they are actively encouraged.



So was it worth the 9.50€ entrance fee? If you’re planning to stay the whole day, picnic there and really study all the information available, then maybe. If like me you only wanted to pop in for an hour and be nosy, it’s perhaps a bit pricey.

Restaurant À Coté in Ajaccio

We were looking for something authentic, and had been recommended to ‘La Maison’ restaurant which is tucked in one of the narrows streets behind the cathedrale in Ajaccio. The menu looked really tasty and I was keen to try the veal with olives, but there were no tables left outside and as it was 25 degrees and quite humid, we decided to press on and look for something else.



In the end we plumped for the À Coté which has a little view of the Cathedrale through the palm fringes. The terrace was just next to the road but we didn’t find that too much of a problem until a coach parked opposite with its motor running. Arrggh!

Fortunately, the meal was tasty – we both chose the Salad Repas ‘Le Corsaire’ which was a green salad with tasty goats cheese parcels, pancetta, mushrooms and tomatos, followed by crème brulée and coffee, but for me the highlight was the aperitif which was a sparkling Muscat (pétillant) from the Domaine Casanova. Light, fruity and I could have enjoyed 2 or 3 more had I not had work to do!

A glimpse of paradise

Today I have been out to photograph the Residence Gnettari, a new property for the directCorsica website. On the way back I stopped in the little parking area just beside the Hotel Roc e Mar and took this snapshot of the beach below.



The colours are so vivid, and the sea so green that it is hard to believe that it hasn’t been retouched in any way.



This is the beach where the paillote (beach hut style restaurant) is located – shame it’s not open yet, as the grilled fish dishes here are absolutely delicious...

Walking in Corsica - Capula and Cucurruzzu

Today it was a bit hot and stuffy so we decided to head up to the archaeological sites of Capula and Cucurruzzu as a change from the beach. I was a bit worried it might be chilly because the whole site is quite shady, but it was just lovely. When we got there, we discovered that Cucurruzzu is actually closed for work until 2013 – obviously very fast workers at UNESCO!



We decided to bypass the better known main site and head down to Capula. It took a little while as Guillaume wanted to collect all sorts of bits of twigs and moss for his collages and explore the taffoni (rocks shaped over the centuries by the wind), but it was a lovely stroll until we reached the field in front of the Chapelle St. Laurent where we were ambushed by a herd of cows sunbathing in the long grass.



Cows are a regular feature in this blog as I am terrified of them, but they tend to creep up on me during my adventures! Heart in my throat I was really brave and crossed the field, eyes forward in case I made eye contact and they wanted to make friends.



Unfortunately the little chapel was locked so the only way to see inside was to crouch down and peer through the ‘windows’ in the thick walls, but amazing I managed to get a decent photo without getting my arms stuck!



The chapel dates back to the 20th century, but was built with the stones of another ancient chapel dating back to the 13th century. From here there are two choices – Capula or the ruins of a 15th century Roman church. We decided to head down to the ruins which was a well marked route but found it a bit long with a little one, so we headed back after about quarter of an hour and pick up the route back to car park.

Restaurant Funtana Bianca, Ghyaliaccu

The Funtana Bianca is a great find on the way up/down from the Plateau de Coscione, about 6km from Quenza. When we first saw it, I honestly didn’t have very high hopes as the sign was quite garish, but we decided to give it a whirl, and what a find! We were greeted by two ‘real’ Corsicans with accents thicker than the soup, and less teeth between them than I have fingers! Nonetheless, the terrace was superb with views to die for, and inside was even better.





Be prepared for hunting trophies amongst the traditional stone walls and brick work, and the most beautiful cat I have ever seen. Apparently it is a pedigree Bengal cat which have the markings of a cheetah, and fur so soft you wouldn’t believe!

Walking in Corsica - Plateau de Coscione

When I sneaked off to do the Piscia di Gallo walk on my day off last week, I noticed that there was still snow on the Monte Incudine Massif behind Zonza, so this week for our Wednesday excursion we decided to head up to the Plateau de Coscione and see if we could find some snow.


April 2008

Full of excitement and trepidation - last year in April I managed to fall off the edge of the path and end up waist deep in snow - off we went with a car full of stuff to make snow men! Sadly, we hadn’t banked on it being 24 degrees and bright sunshine, so what we actually found were meadows full of flowers, wild horses grazing and waterfalls.






May 2009

We were hoping that the restaurant at the top would be open but it was still too early in the season, so once we’d walked a bit and picnicked on chocolate cookies, we decided to head back down to civilisation for lunch at the Auberge du Sanglier in Zonza.

Today was a bit of a wildlife day as we’d already seen magnificent wild horses and cows when we came across a huge pig trotting along the side of the road. I was really disappointed not to catch a photo, but as we continued down we got a real treat as we came across a whole herd of pigs (is that right? I’ve just realised I don’t know the word for a group of pigs) grazing by the side of the road so we stopped for yet another photo opportunity. The pigs in Corsica can get a bit over-enthusiastic where food is concerned, and having previously seen the shoe of a small child being eaten by pigs after some Italian tourists dangled her in front of their noses, we decided to keep our distance!



All in all, it was a shame that we didn’t see the snow this time, but we have discovered that this is a place for summer as much as winter, and we’ll be back during the season…

Auberge du Sanglier, Zonza

For us, Zonza is a handy place to stop for a coffee or a spot of lunch on the way to or from the mountains, and that’s exactly what we did today. We were torn between two restaurants; l’Aiglon and the Auberge du Sanglier, but in the end it was an easy choice as the terrace of the Auberge has such fantastic view over the mountains, and was bathed in sun.



We chose a civet de sanglier (wild boar in a tomato and red wine sauce served with baked potatos) which is one of my favourite dishes, and a sanglier lasagne – can you see a theme going here? Sadly the lasagne is incredibly popular and already sold out despite it being only just past midday, so we had to make do with a steak with a scrummy mushroom sauce. The meals were absolutely delicious and even the children’s menu of Corsican ham and pasta was really tasty. Clean plates all round!



On the way back, we stopped at ‘la source’. You will see these water fountains all over Corsica – some with drinking water and some not, but the one just outside of Zonza is one of the best in my opinion so I was pleased that we were prepared with lots of bottles to fill.



A little known fact is that the water in Corsica is too pure to be classified as mineral water and is instead labeled as ‘mountain source’ so it is particularly good for any one who has suffered with gallstones or kidney stones.