Corsica: saying goodbye doesn't get easier on the road

It was with a heavy heart that Mu and I watched the sunrise this morning from the deck of the ferry between Bastia, Corsica and Nice.

We are excited to be moving onward and westward, with the next 10 days or so taking us to the French Riviera, Barcelona and Portugal. Great places all around, but we had to say goodbye to our dear friends this morning and are back to being two travelers. We have had such a wonderful time with Tanya, Nick, Josie and Lily over the better part of the last two weeks, and coupled with our long weekend in Bologna we are feeling quite happily connected, and comforted, to family and friends. It will take some getting used to before it feels natural to be back to our little two-person entity, I think.

The climbing has also been amazing, as we touched on in our last post. We had one more day here in Corsica, climbing on featured granite in a deep valley outside of the mountain town of Corte. The setting was eerily similar to Boulder Canyon in CO, to anyone that has been up that canyon to climb, pedal or paddle. We always love the climbing/travel combo, as the climbing gives purpose to the travel, and takes us to little corners of cultures and locations that would certainly go missed otherwise. Climbing with friends is excellent, as they help you reach a higher level of performance and reinforce the strides made in both the mind and body (both of which must be right to climb well).

I was also sad to leave Corsica after only a couple of days, as it has proved to be thoroughly charming, both physically and historically. Everyone was making fun of me for having a crush on the island, and that is a charge I am happy to confirm. The island is incredibly mountainous, with super steep peaks littered throughout. There are a number of treks ranging from a few days to 3 or so weeks, and we just touched on the mountains yesterday with a day hike up to some deep alpine lakes. Then, the coast is stunning as the ferry ride out of Bastia confirms, with little cute villages and medieval towers perched on the hills overlooking the Ligurian Sea. Pretty sure I will be coming back to Corsica at some point.

Historically, Corsica has been the way station for many cultures, especially those with naval strength, controlled by the Roman Empire, a number of city states in Italy, France and others. There is a fierce sense of independence, which is stronger in the rugged inland, even though the country is part of France, and has been for roughly the last 200 years. One simple example of comes from streets signs, which are written in the native Corsican tongue (not taught in schools here until the 80's, by the way) as well as the colonial French. These seem pretty similar to an non-french speaker, but the difference is profound to some Corsicans as virtually every sign that had the french version was spray painted to the point of being illegible. This island is a case where the topography and geography of a place has a clear influence on the culture. There is a strong sense of clan, with even the occasional modern day vendetta carried out in the street. More recently, Corsica was the first beachhead made by the Allied forces in the Med during WWII and then served as a jumping off point for all of the efforts to retake mainland Europe.

All told, we look so fondly on our last 2 weeks on two rugged and ideal islands. The food, culture and landscape have been stunning, and made all the more enriching and enjoyable to have shared them with such special friends We love you guys and miss you already.