Land of the "Testa di Moru"

Had a good crossing from Mahon to Ajaccio in Corsica.  It was probably our best night voyage yet thanks in part to Sam feeling confident on the helm after his Atlantic stint so he did a lot to relieve Scott during the night.  We managed to sail most of the way with just a few hours of motoring inbetween.  The ‘Testa di Moru” or (the Moors Head in Corsican) is the symbol on the Corsican flag.  It is a moors head with a white bandana.  It is very striking and flown everywhere here and the symbol adorns all the tourist trinkets.

The "Testa di Moru" flying in Bonifacio

Our landfall was on the southwest of Corsica.  We sailed into a very peaceful Bay of Ajaccio late in the afternoon and found a spot to anchor just North of the centre of the town.  We had been concerned about whether or not you were allowed to anchor but there were a few other boats moored so it seemed to be permitted.  The marinas looked chock a block anyway. 

Just before we left Mahon Nic Found her perfect bar - and they were showing the soccer!

Ajaccio is the capital of Corsica and as such is a decent sized town.  It is built around an old small citadel located on the corner of a smaller bay off the North side of the huge Bay of Ajaccio.  The town was originally settled by the Genovese and much of the architecture reflects more of an Italian style than French.  The town stretches both north and south of the fort with older building lining the waterfront and newer ones behind them.  High mountains ring the whole bay and stretch into the distance.  It is a magnificent setting.  There is a decent sized port catering to the ferry and cruise liner traffic and two marinas.  

We stayed in Ajaccio for a few days - the duration being heavily influenced by the world cup schedule as the kids are keen to see as many games as possible.  We managed a couple of visits to the town which is an interesting place.  There is a small fishing boat harbour right in the town where we would tie up our trusty dingy.  Once you step off the dingy the town kind of wraps itself around you - there are restaurants lining the quayside leading to a main square leading with streets branching off one way for the old part of town and more restaurants and another way for the newer areas with shops.  Its a pleasant place to wander around although its starting to get crowded.

The town is most famous for it being the home of the Bonaparte family and the birthplace of their famous son Napolean and it seems very proud of this fact.  There are numerous statues around the town dedicated to the emporer - one of them has him dressed as a Roman Emporer which is very regal apart from he usually sports a seagull or pigeon on top of his head.  We did a tour of the town and also had a look at his house.  All very interesting - even the kids enjoyed it.  That evening we caught the France vs Germany game and saw France bundled out of the world cup.  

Scott and Calley in the shadow of Napolean

It was interesting wandering around and comparing the initial feel of the place to Spain and a couple of things were very clear.  The Spanish towns we had been in were generally cleaner and tidier.  All the towns are old but the Spanish ones just seem to be maintained better, were cleaner and had flowers everywhere giving the streets a lot of colour.  Secondly the people in Spain seemed happier.  I know the Scots are called dour but I think the expression is more applicable to the French.  Certainly they are nowhere near as animated and smiling as the Spanish.

Just before we left Ajaccio we had a bit of a wake up call.  The anchorages have usually been very still at night but on this particular morning we woke at 0630 to a wind which was gusting to 40kts.  There was nothing forecast and its seems to be some local phenomena which bursts out of the mountains.  Anyway all hell broke loose in the anchorage as boats started drifting.  We dragged but then held but a boat in front of us dragged down upon us and almost took our bow off.  That was enough for us and we started the engine and relocated the anchor.  Everyone did really well getting the boat underway and it really was a timely reminder not to get complacent.

We headed south from Ajaccio to a small bay near a village called Campomoro and just anchored off for a few days.  The weather was beautiful so we spent out time schooling, swimming and trying to relax a bit. 

The weather forecast showed a mistral coming out of the Gulf of Lyon in the next few days so we decided to bite the bullet and head into a marina in a placed called Bonifacio in the south of the island.  Figured we would hole up there for the duration of the Mistral and have an excursion inland.   In addition our gas has finally run out so we need to get somewhere where we can get refilled.  Luckily we have a microwave!

A windy day in Bonifacio

Bonifacio is an amazing place.  The coastline here comprises of limestone cliffs which have been sculptured into amazing shapes.  At Bonifacio a narrow inlet about 200m wide at the mouth cuts through the cliffs and is dominated by an imposing fortress set on the hilltop on the east side.  The inlet continues for about a mile.  For the first half the water is surrounded by cliffs gradually getting lower and then the quaysides of the town start with boats tied up all along the length on both sides.  At the head of the inlet are more piers for boats and the small port town squeezed between the water and the start of the cliffs.  The citadel on the cliffs is connected by a steep path to the port and still houses the old working town.  It kind of dominates the whole port area.  It is very impressive.  The old town is a maze of narrow streets filled with shops, cafes and restaurants.

Dulcinea squeezed in below the castle walls

The old town of Bonifacio

We arrived yesterday (7th July) and there were boats everywhere, people everywhere and getting moored was a bit of a shamozzle which we wont go into here as it would take up another page.  Suffice it to say that we are safely moored up and ready to fight through summer hordes to do a bit of sight seeing.  Wish us luck.