The Route... contd.
Day
8 - Stage 7
From Porto I head inland rather than
take the coast road via Cargèse and Sagone to
Ajaccio. The D84 snakes and climbs its way up the
Gorges de Spelunca to the village of Évisa. I
continue climbing to the Col de Sevi (1100 metres)
and then drop down to the village of Vico. Here I
turn off the D70 on to the much smaller road, the
D1 which winds its way down to the River Liamone.
At this point, I make a wrong decision and end up
completely lost! Eventually find myself on the D81
coast road south of Sagone. I overnight at a
campsite and treat myself to one of the small
chalets rather than pitching my tent, think I
deserve a treat after my ordeal!
Day
9 - Stage 8
I head south on the D81towards Ajaccio, but turn
off onto the D161, through the village of Afa,
right on to the main road back towards Ajaccio,
then turn left onto the minor D303 road. End up
getting a little bit lost, so back-track and head
to the seaside town of Porticcio south of Ajaccio.
Overnight at the Kaliste Hotel as I'm unable to
find a camp site fully open.
Day 10
- Stage 9
Heading south
out of Porticcio along the D55 you immediately pass the
Plage d'Agosta. At the far end of the beach is the small
village of Agnarellu. I continue south along the coast, the
road hugs the shoreline for several kilometres. At the
southern end of the Plage de Mare e Sole the D55 takes a 90°
left turn and then climbs up for 10 kms through the
Forêt Domaniale de Chiavari before dropping down,
crossing the Tavaro river, and
winding along the coast towards Propriano. I overnight at a
campsite south of Propriano, just passed the Aérodrome de
Propriano-Tavaria, along the D121. Day
11 - Stage 10
This will be the first stage, since setting off from
Bastia, where an alternative route to the main drag is not
really an option. Propriano to Bonifacio, along the N196, is
just under 50kms. However, only a few kilometres
in to my day's ride and I realise the N196 is not
the road for me - too busy and too dangerous. Not
my idea of fun, so I turn left on to the D268/D69,
a couple of kilometres before the village of
Sartene, and head up in to the hills. Ah! That's
better...a lovely, quiet back road which follows
the Rizzanese river before climbing to the village
of Ste-Lucie-de-Tallano (500 metres). I climb a
further 100 metres to the village of Levie and stop
for a superb lunch. I
leave Levie on an even quieter road (D59) and
climb to the Col de Bacinu (800 metres), followed
by a long descent. Bear right before Sotta on to
the D859, straight on through the village of
Figari and eventually re-join the busy road that
is the N196. I turn left and begin the final leg
of today's route - a 13km ride to Bonifacio - into
a very strong headwind. Arrive in Bonafacio at
6:20pm, today's ride is just short of 90kms. Day
12 - Rest Day
Today I explore the very picturesque town that is
Bonafacio. Walking around the marina's bars and
restaurants and then climb up to the ancient,
fortified citadel. Day
13 - Rest Day
I decide to stay another day in Bonafacio. My
intention was to head out along the D260 to the
southern most point of the island, Phare de
Pertusato, and then pitch the tent at Camping des
Îles. However, not for the first time on
this trip, I find a campsite open to take one's
money, but closed facilities. So, I head back to
Bonafacio to further explore the town. Day
14 - Stage 11
I wake early in order to take some photos of the
citadel at sunrise then it's back to the campsite
to pack up everything and climb back into the
saddle. My stay in Bonafacio has been very
enjoyable - great food and spectacular scenery -
but it's time to move on. At the roundabout on the
outskirts of Bonafacio, I turn right on to the
N198, a relatively flat and straight 25kms of road
to Porto-Vecchio. Flat and straight, but this main
road is not my idea of fun or why I came to
Corsica! Time,
once again, to head for the hills. Taking the
D368, I climb up and away from the busy and
dangerous coast road. By lunchtime, I find myself
at the village of l'Ospedale. I stop to eat at U
Fun Tanonu. After lunch I carry on up the D368 and
stop to fly fish at Lac L'Ospedale. Arrived in
Zonza at 5:45pm and treated myself to a night at
L'Hotel les Vacances. Day
15 - Stage 12
Leaving my panniers, tent and fly fishing gear at
the hotel, I took the 18kms round trip to the Col
de Bavella (1218 metres). Back at the hotel, I
loaded up the bike and took the D420 out of Zonza
to Quenza then a 9kms downhill detour to the Pont
Novu, over the river Rizzanese, near Zoza. I had
intended to fly fish the river, but found people
swimming in it, so turned around and headed 9kms
back up the hill. I continued along the D420,
passed the villages of Sorbollano and
Serra-di-Scopamène, and on to Aullène to stop
for the night at a Chambre D'hôte.
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