As we leave Palau heading to Santa Teresa di Gallura to take the ferry for Bonifacio, we prepare ourselves for the second island, the most unspoiled and less known than Sardinia: it’s time for Corsica.

We have never been there before and getting closer to the harbor gives us a feeling of the frontier to cross. The big dark tunnel under the village town is so different from the sunny and peaceful fishermen’s spot just above our heads; an obscure entrance disruptive and futuristic that reminds us more of a dark dystopic corner from a cyberpunk romance by William Gibson rather than the road for the customs office.

But the feeling of the border soon fades out, like a teleport, and it sounds like we’re already in France but still on the other side.

Once again, the summer breeze and the salty splashes amuse us when we cross the Bonifacio strait (or “Bucchi di Bunifaziu” in Corsican) and the white cliffs upholding the medieval borough gives no end to this stunning Panorama from the sea. And next to the village, ~6 kilometers west, stands the Pertusato lighthouse with the radar station of the French coast guard. 

The beaches we initially visited were just hit by a sea storm and on the first days the water was murky and the sand was all covered by seaweeds. But in a few days we could experience the wilderness of the beautiful spots where we were:

– Rondinara beach 

– Santa Giulia beach 

– Palombaggia beach 

– Pinarellu beach 

Corsica is really wild, and except for the Porto Vecchio and Bonifacio villages, everything is unspoiled. Even in the place where we stayed, although, in a modern condo with all comforts, we could feel a little more in nature. 

A good example of this wilderness is the Ospedale’s lake or  “U Spidali”. At about ~900 meters altitude and near the mountain village of the same name, this place links its origins to the presence in the past of an ancient and important hospital. it is an artificial basin, built by man in 1979 and the lake stretches 1450 meters long with a maximum of 380 meters wide and a depth of only 8 meters at the highest point. All around there is a big forest of 733 hectares made up of woods with cork, larch, and pine trees where cows graze freely.

And here is another one that perfectly represents the intact nature of the island; before living in the place we wanted to do a full-day sea trip to the beautiful Lavezzi and Cavallo. Sailing with a luxury dinghy we reached first the natural reserve of Piana and swam in the middle of two small uninhabited islands and finally, we hit the two famous spots and we saw in Lavezzi beautiful villas, owned by the people that really really count in France, where they go for a having a break… and do some good snorkeling, why not 🙂