Back to Corsica

5th to 6th September

Our month in England was no hardship. We heard tell that the weather in July was horrible but the sun shone when we got back. I even managed to catch up with a lot of the things I'd been ignoring on my to do list.

By early September we were ready to return. Our youngest son Vik decided to come too, which was fantastic. The route back to Porto Pollo wasn't straightforward - fly to Marseille, then overnight ferry to Ajaccio, then somehow get from there to Porto Pollo. Flying directly wasn't even an option unfortunately.

Our 6.00am Ryanair flight to Marseille meant an early start, and the taxi driver collected us at 2.15am. I'd intended sleeping all the way but the driver was chatty and sleeping seemed a bit rude. We drove the deserted country lanes of Essex in pitch darkness. All of a sudden a deer appeared in the headlights, fortunately far enough away for us to stop and for it to run off, no harm done.

The drive was about an hour, then we had a long wait at the airport. The taxi had collected us an hour earlier than strictly necessary to fit in with his other passengers.

The benches at Stansted look nice but are curved in all the wrong places so there's no room to stretch out, and most of the USB ports aren't working which isn't helpful either.  We had a bite to eat then sat by the Prosecco concession. No takers at 5am but by 5.30 they were doing a roaring trade (not with us).  

We were among the last to board our flight.  What's the point in standing in a queue when you can sit down and get the exact same seat?  If you've only got hand luggage what's the point in hurrying?

I was slightly concerned to see the pilot sitting with the window open. I didn't realise this was possible and had a vision of him at 29,000 feet with his elbow resting on it listening to some loud music...

We arrived in Marseille at 9.00 am. A shuttle bus and the Metro took us to the waterfront where we had a French breakfast of pain au chocolat, bread, marmalade, juice and coffee and watched the world go by. To be more accurate we watched the traffic, it's very busy.

Once we'd eaten we found a park, laid down under a big tree and had a sleep.

The tree was in the grounds of an impressive building overlooking the harbour

By the time we woke up it was lunchtime, so we ate again, artisan burgers this time.

Then we had to walk a couple of km to the Corsea Linea ferry port from where we would catch the overnight ferry to Ajaccio.

I hadn't been able to book us a cabin so enquired if it was possible to buy one on the spot. We were told to register the request once we boarded the boat.

Igor and I went off to buy some snacks for the crossing as the food on ferries tends to be extremely overpriced.  I'd noticed signs in the ferry office referring to 'recent trouble' and as we walked we saw boarded up shops and a vandalised cash machine. We realised that the summer's protests must have been worse than we realised if the damage is still being mended.

Vik stayed with our bags at the terminal. The ferry left on time and as instructed we we asked for a cabin. 'You'll be paged once we set off if one is available.' Fine, we headed to the sleeper lounge. This was a large saloon on Deck 8, with rows and rows of recliner chairs, enough for a couple of hundred people, and curtains that blocked the light. Less than 10% of the loungers seemed to be occupied. We found the ones that we had been allocated and started to settle ourselves.

The exit from Marseille is spectacular so Igor and Vik went out on deck to watch while I took my turn guarding luggage.

As I settled into my seat I heard our name on the PA system. Fantastic, a cabin, the answer to my prayers. I went to the reception and was given the key and Igor and Vik joined me.  We grabbed our bags and went to the room. As we entered we realised something wasn't right. For one thing, there were only two beds. Then we noticed an opened suitcase and heard the toilet flush. Oops, must be in the wrong room!! We ran away, back to the reception area, as fast as we could.

It turned out that a couple of ship's technicians had taken the room without telling the purser, and there were no more cabins available.  The purser was very apologetic, immediately refunded what I'd paid and gave us vouchers for a free drink in the bar and free breakfasts.  On reflection, I felt like I was ahead (though if given the choice I would rather have had the bed).

We went to the bar to use our voucher. The barmen were quite spectacularly rude, particularly when we pointed out that they'd only half filled our glasses of beer and there was an inch of froth on the top. If I'd been paying I'd have made a fuss.

After our small but very enjoyable beers (free beer always tastes better) we returned to the sleeper lounge, ate the snacks we'd bought earlier and settled to rest. We were all so tired that I think we could have slept anywhere.  It wasn't the worst night's sleep I've ever had.

When the public address system announced that it was time to wake up at 6am there was no faffing about like there would be if we'd been comfortable. Instead we went straight to the restaurant for our free breakfast. It was a pleasant surprise. Lots of choice, fresh fruit, croissants, pain au chocolat, different breads, ham, cheese, yogurt, cereal, orange juice and a choice of hot drinks. I think the cost would have been around 10 euros each but given the amount and the quality this represented excellent value for money.

As foot passengers we had to descend to the bowels of the ferry to disembark. We waited for about 15 minutes until the doors were opened and we could finally get to the morning sunshine.

We arrived on time in Ajaccio. Igor and Vik went for a walk as Vik hadn't been there before. They took the standard Ajaccio tourist route ie Napoleon's house and the surrounding area. Surprisingly maybe, very few other people were taking advantage of the lack of crowds.

I guarded the bags and waited in the bus station. The direct bus to Porto Pollo only runs once a day, at 4pm, but there was a bus to Propriano at around 8am. From there it's a 20 minute taxi ride to Porto Pollo, much cheaper than taking a taxi all the way and not much slower given the steep, winding terrain.

We didn't do much in Propriano. Vik bought some swimming trunks. We all had an ice cream then we caught the taxi and shortly after arrived in Porto Pollo.   Jacques the harbourmaster was in his office and kindly ferried us to our boat in his launch. He stopped off along the way at his friend's catamaran, the guy who very kindly had taken us to shore when we left. We'd bought him some fudge in a London Bus shaped tin and he seemed quite taken with it.

We were back, just like we'd never been away.  So good to be here in Corsica!

The next post will be even more exotic!!

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