Around Cap Corse

The church bells were our alarm clock the first three mornings in Corsica, ringing at exactly 7 am each day. It was still a bit dark out at that time so we got up and caught the beautiful colours of the sunrise.

Sunrise on the buildings near our hotel.

Silhouette of a photographer with tripod also getting some sunrise photos.

There are many Genoese towers located around the island, some in better repair than others. They were built by the Republic of Genoa between 1530 - 1620 as coastal defences against attacks from the Barbary pirates. (Source: Wikipedia) This one was near our hotel in Erbalunga.

In addition to watching sunrises, I went running in the mornings but it was challenging to get any distance in safely. Our hotel was right beside a main road (all of which are narrow!). The sidewalks don't go far in either direction and are used for other purposes. 

Sidewalk or car park?

I got onto some side streets but they just went up the hill, around some apartment buildings, and back down again. However, I did manage to find a very short (~1/2 km) loop trail with exercise stations so I took advantage of those. Not the greatest workout but better than nothing!

The first day, we drove around Cap Corse, the peninsula on the north end of the island. The roads were very narrow (i.e. one lane/one direction in spots), very winding, and often had very sharp drop offs. I'm the designated driver on this trip. After a couple days I'm much more comfortable with it.

There are several areas of Corsica that are known for their wine so of course we stopped at one of or two of them each day. They ranged from friendly family-owned vineyards to very large commercial operations. We liked the family owned ones with colourful characters/owners. 

The rock really is as green as it looks! 

An interesting mix of the old and the new! Genoese towers and wind turbines. 

Mountains on the mainland in the distance.

You can see the coastal road on the opposite bank. Doesn't look as dramatic as when driving it!

We didn't have time to stop at all the places we wanted so the next day we headed back to St. Florent. Each time we came across the bottom of the Cap we took a different driving route. Again, with various types of widths of roads. The day was cloudy so not great distant views over the water but we  enjoyed the various villages and sites along the way.

Looking down on the Bastia port.

Paraglider (barely visible) soaring over the ridge and landing on a small strip of beach.

Humorous door knocker.