One of Our Favourite Places

We have been asked by many which location has been our favourite so far. It is difficult to select just one, but there are a few spots that have been very unique or special because of the landscape, the feel of the town, or the seclusion of the area. One of the places that stands out, and that I have said I would write about, is Bonifacio, Corsica.

It was back on May 8th that we left the port town of Propriano in windy conditions. We planned to sail, but leaving the harbour with the wind on our nose, we decided to get around the point in hopes that the wind direction would be more favourable to our course. We raised the mainsail to steady the boat in the uncomfortable swell and motored out around the point. The racer in Neil was keen to hoist the sails and get going so he could attempt to pass the boat that was ahead of us. The Code 0 was put to work and had us zooming along in no time. (And, yes, we did pass the other boat without much effort).

Bonifacio is located on the southern coast of Corsica. Upon approach, the white-grey and chalk-white limestone cliffs stand out in spectacular fashion, rising to 70 meters above the water. The buildings on the cliffs appear to be hanging on the tip of the precipice. One of those is Citadelle de Bonifacio. The red marker on our port side marks the entrance to the harbour which seems to be completely hidden as we motor along from the northwest. 

Port Bonifacio has the appearance of a fjord. According to wikipedia, it is 1 500 meters long and 200 meters wide. The entrance is a long channel which is bustling with ferry boats, pleasure craft and fishing vessels making their way in and out. Radioing in on the VHF we are assured of a place to berth for the night and assistance with mooring. 

In the Mediterranean, it is most common to tie up using a “Med mooring”. This means that the stern of the boat is tied to the dock, while the bow is tied using lines that are secured to concrete blocks under the water. Dockhands, or a more apt way to describe them, dock masters, greet us in their dinghy to lead the way to our dock location. Neil then backs the boat in while I stand ready on the stern to throw one of two lines to a guy on the shore. He quickly wraps the line around the cleat and throws it back to me to secure back to the cleat on the boat. We repeat this with the second line while Neil is using the engine and bow thruster to keep the boat in place. Then the yucky part! And I mean yucky and mucky! The guy on the dock hands me a “slime line” which is just as it sounds. A line that is covered in slimy grossness that lies at the bottom of the water in the marina which I have to walk up to the bow of the boat and continue to pull up on until I reach the mooring line that it is attached to. Once I have this morning line, I tie it to the cleat. We repeat this process on the other side. Needless to say, whenever Neil offers to take over, I readily hand it off! Some of these lines are super heavy! Once the boat is secure, everyone breaths a sign of relief that all went well, or at least I do!

Checking in at the marinas in France is a formal process. We believed this was just standard practice in the EU until we got to Italy and found their check-in process was quite different. In France, we must produce our boat ownership, insurance, and I.D. papers. For comparison, at one marina in Italy, Neil took his papers in for processing and the dock master said, “Oh, that’s bullshit! We will take care of this tomorrow”. Much more informal for sure.

Bonifacio has two areas  - the upper area is the old town (vieille ville or la Haute Ville) and the lower area is a residential and marine area (la marine). Lower town was bustling with tourists and locals enjoying the beautiful weather in the many bars and restaurants that line the waterfront. We decided to make our way up to the top of the cliffs to take in the view. It proved to be one of the steepest climbs yet and Neil, Finnegan and I all had to stop several times to catch our breath. My respect goes to the locals who do this regularly!  (The picture below only shows a small portion of the climb)

The climb was proven to be worth the effort as the views were breathtaking. Many of the restaurants and small hotels were just getting prepared for the busy season, but we saw several restaurants that we were curious to try. 

We headed back down to pick up a few supplies and relax with a glass of wine on the boat. I felt trés français as I walked down the street with my paper-wrapped French baguette in hand. So fresh and delicious with a few kinds of cheese we had secured.

Neither one of us felt like putting in the effort to make dinner, so we did a Google search and found a few highly-rated, yet inexpensive suggestions. Unfortunately for our legs and lungs, we chose one that was back up on top of the hill. Finnegan was not impressed. La Bodega was worth the second climb (during which we were entertained by an extensive convoy of cheering sports fans in horn-blasting cars whose team had just won some competition - very fun!). 

Our dinner consisted of outstanding local fare. Our waiter insisted we finish our meal with a little apéritif - chestnut for the gentleman and myrtle for the lady. Wow, potent stuff! As I produced my Visa card to pay for dinner, the waiter informed us that they only take cash. This is not typical as using the Visa card had been the norm everywhere we went in France. We were a bit taken aback because neither one of us had much cash left, certainly not enough to pay the 53 euro bill. “Pas de problème”, we were directed towards the local post office/bank where there was a bank machine. We were a little concerned as we walked through several dark, narrow streets in the ancient town, but sure enough there was a bank machine right where he said it would be. 

Our debts paid, we made our way back down the ramps and staircases towards the marina only to come across of group of young people having a party right on the ramp, complete with music and a cooler of drinks. Unfortunately we were not asked to join in. 

It was time for a good night’s rest to prepare for our short trip to the marina at La Madalena Island, Sardegna where we were excited that Roger and Tama were going to be joining us on our adventures for the next 10 days!