Bunking down in Bonifacio

Picture captions: steps up to the old city; rock formations off the coast of Bonifacio; strange outfit in St. Barthelme's Church; part of cemetery at the end of the old town; tombs overlooking the water...Sardinia is in the background; view of the harbor from the old town; view of the citadel from the harbor; small boat leaving the Grotto du Sdragonatu; Heading into the grotto (looks like a Disney ride, doesn't it?; Part of the grotto illuminated by a hole in the ceiling; beautiful turquoise water; pretty easy to see how a house could fall off this cliff; this big boat is from Nova Scotia

September 4, 2010 Hotel Roy d’Aragon, Bonifacio 26/2028km 1:15pm

I’m pretty much dreading the ride out of here on Monday. It’s going to be uphill for about the first two or three miles. That won’t be any fun at all. I could take a bus back to Porto Vecchio, but I’d feel like a schmuck if I did that. (Although I still might)

No Internet at the Hotel Caleche d’Or, so there wasn’t anything to distract me this morning. I was on the road at about 8:30 and pulled into Bonifacio at about 10. Beautiful morning. Not a cloud in the sky. The terrain was pretty much rolling until about 5 miles from Bonifacio. Then there were some pretty serious hills (both UP and DOWN). Also, there was a bit of a headwind, which I’m hoping will turn into a tailwind on the way back. (Not that that ever happens)

The whole town of Bonifacio is pretty much the harbor. There are some GINORMOUS boats here. Some beautiful sailboats as well. There is a lot of traffic with the boat tours heading out to the grottos and islands. I’ve only seen one big ferry like the ones I saw in Bastia.

I couldn’t check into the room immediately upon arrival. First time that’s happened since I’ve started this trip. Of course, I’ve e-mailed when making reservations and let them know, “I’ll be arriving late morning by bicycle and would appreciate early check-in.” Apparently, here the place was packed, and the people from the rest of the week were a bit tardy checking out. Oh, well. I wandered up and down along the Quai (key) having a Coke here and an Orange Juice there. I finally got into the room at about 1:30. Not too bad. Even though I don’t have a “marina view” (how ironic is that?), the room is lovely. There’s a nice big balcony with two sliding doors from the room out to it. From the shutter doors, I hung my bicycle clothes, and laid my shoes and socks where the sun would have maximum effect. I only thought afterward that I have two days before I have to put any of it back on.

I had originally thought that I’d just stay in the port today and explore the haute village (old town) which is a HUGE hike UP tomorrow. Well, for some reason, I did that this afternoon after showering in the room. The old town is pretty extensive, and allows for some amazing views over the ocean between Corsica and Sardinia (seen in the distance) as well as the harbor of Bonifacio. The overall picture is one of hard living as well as amazing beauty. Limestone cliffs falling into the sea. Turquoise sea near the shore. Wonderful stuff. The cemetery is a wonderful mixture of old and new structures and graves. And, of course, crosses out the wazoo. And all overlooking the sea.

My legs were feeling it when I descended down the stairs into the port. I guess that means that I’ll just stay down here tomorrow. I’ll try to keep it just a relaxed day. First thing in the morning, I’ll go out on either a GROTTO tour or an ISLAND tour (which includes the GROTTO tour). That should chew up a good part of the morning and give me the opportunity for some great pictures.

I’m also hoping to take some pictures of the ABSURD yachts moored here. I’m assuming that the C.I. on their names indicates the “Cayman Islands.” But I could be mistaken. There are some from Amsterdam, some from London, and one that I’ve seen from Nova Scotia. WOW!!!

September 5, 2010 O’Brian’s Pub, Bonifacio 1:45pmOK. Grotto tour taken care of. I decided not to do the island tour because it was windy and a bit rough. I didn’t want to get spray all over myself and my stuff and, most importantly, my camera. More on that later.

Last night for dinner, I had a ham and cheese pizza (pizza has been a staple of dinner on this whole trip…I “trust” its results) and a large carafe of good local red wine, and a mixed salad. The pizza, it turned out, was GINORMOUS!! It was twice the size of the plate underneath. It was flopping over the sides of the whole thing. I could only finish about ½ of it. I didn’t bother taking the rest of it home to the hotel. I didn’t want to wake up to the smell of day-old pizza. Too much like college.

17.50€ for the grotto boat trip which lasts about an hour. What the hell!? Some pretty amazing rock formations. We (boat and all) went right into the Grotte du Sdragonatu (no idea what the translation is). It was pretty amazing stuff. We also visited some of the other inlets along the coast. The color of the water was so turquoise!!! I almost felt like jumping over the side and going for a swim. Almost. The trip also allowed all of us to take pictures of the old city perched above the cliffs which drop right into the sea. In fact, The Rough Guide discussed “in 1966 one house fell into the sea, killing two people.”