Oporto, Les Calanche, Corsica (France)
It is no wonder that the sailors of olden days traveled in spring, summer, and fall, and rarely in the winter. Today the weather was incredible as we approached the island of Corsica, the fourth largest island in the Mediterranean. This island has been taken over by so many different peoples during its thousands of years of history. It was occupied by the Tuscans, and then sold to France. Today there is a steady stream of tourists from all over Europe, but never in the quantities that other islands suffer. We headed into the island in the morning, enjoying an incredible view of the abundant rock spires, called "calanches". Pure granite forms this part of the island, and the colors are all variants of orange. After visiting the small quaint town of Piana, we retraced our path down the winding road and walked a lovely segment of it, to enjoy the views and the plants along it.
The original forest that covered a great part of the northern coast of the Mediterranean is still represented here high up in the almost inaccessible central mountains. They are still covered by pines, oaks, myrtles, madrones and many other bushy trees, and are now part of a natural preserve, pride of the island.
After lunch on the ship, we repositioned away from Porto and found a lovely, small beach, from which we swam in the pristine waters of the bay, and kayaked to our heart's content. Zodiac tours also brought us face-to-face with the granite cliffs, and some of the more common vegetation present there, consisting mostly of rock samphire and lentisc or turpentine bush.
It is no wonder that the sailors of olden days traveled in spring, summer, and fall, and rarely in the winter. Today the weather was incredible as we approached the island of Corsica, the fourth largest island in the Mediterranean. This island has been taken over by so many different peoples during its thousands of years of history. It was occupied by the Tuscans, and then sold to France. Today there is a steady stream of tourists from all over Europe, but never in the quantities that other islands suffer. We headed into the island in the morning, enjoying an incredible view of the abundant rock spires, called "calanches". Pure granite forms this part of the island, and the colors are all variants of orange. After visiting the small quaint town of Piana, we retraced our path down the winding road and walked a lovely segment of it, to enjoy the views and the plants along it.
The original forest that covered a great part of the northern coast of the Mediterranean is still represented here high up in the almost inaccessible central mountains. They are still covered by pines, oaks, myrtles, madrones and many other bushy trees, and are now part of a natural preserve, pride of the island.
After lunch on the ship, we repositioned away from Porto and found a lovely, small beach, from which we swam in the pristine waters of the bay, and kayaked to our heart's content. Zodiac tours also brought us face-to-face with the granite cliffs, and some of the more common vegetation present there, consisting mostly of rock samphire and lentisc or turpentine bush.
