Tuesday 2016/09/13

Camping U Paradisu/Plage de Saleccia – Camping E Gradelle

In the morning I wake up at sunrise. I deal with my further route planning. Breakfast I will take along the route. So I'll start soon. For the approximately 12 kilometers of gravel road to the main road I just need 25 minutes. I would be interested in how long the two Austrians, which I met the evening before and which started about the same time as me with a normal VW Polo. Using such a car the gravel road is definitely a challenge.

After a while on the curvy side road, I'm getting to a faster main road, where I find a nice place with a view on the coast. Here I finally have breakfast.

Two French couples sit to my table. One of the gentlemen started to talk with me in quite good German with a French accent. It turns out that his wife, who also comes to the table, is German, and so we are talking a little bit about traveling through Corsica.

I am also get in touch with a German couple, which asks me, to take a few photos of them with their camera. They are riding two motorcycles and want to explore Corsica for three weeks.

Shortly after L'Île-Rousse, I turn back into the mountains to drive some of the routes marked on the map as scenic. In Pigna I take a walk through the pretty town. In San Antonino, on a hilltop, however, I decide against a walk. The stairs up into the place are steep and it is quite hot and not far away one can see bad weather approaching and I still have to make some more distance today. So I take the road down to the sea towards Calvi.

Because of the mighty citadel of Calvi and the busy streets along the harbor, I decide to stop here. At the motorbike parking I meet the German couple again, which I had already met at my breakfast break. We decide to explore the place together. Unfortunately we do not really find a nice cafe in the pedestrian zone around the harbor. It is quite touristy. We are still looking for a café when we explore the citadel, sweating in clothes. But in some way the place does not want us. We decide independently to continue our ride.

The road between Calvi along the coast to Porto is one of the more beautiful roads on Corsica and it is fun to ride here and enjoy the sightseeing.

In Galeria I do a short shopping and snack stop at a supermarket. I don't want to loose time with lunch.

In the evening I find the Camping E Gradelle, which is located along a hillside, some walking from the beach.

The girl, who's at the reception here, is at least able be speak English and a restaurant is also available. There's some problem with getting electricity for my tent and the girl is not able to solve it. Therefore I decide to go to the beach for a jump into the water. Fortunately, the boss of the camping was able to solve the problem until I'm coming back.

The food in the evening is very good, however, the young woman, which now is the waitress in the restaurant, is not really aware about what service means. To get a second beer, I have to go to the bar myself. With an English couple, who is also traveling with the motorcycle (he has shipped the motorcycle to Italy and they are only 2-3 nights in Corsica), I'm talking about the differences of the service mentality between Italy and France. I'm not the only one who notice that you're more welcomed in Italy.