Geoff Brock & Bruce Gamble
         
     
   
 
 
 
 
 
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Ajaccio, Corsica
and a train journey into the mountains
Monday 26th September 2022
 
We should have been in Bonifacio today. This was the second time that we had failed to dock there - see our 2013 Grand Voyage across the Mediterranean. The prevailing winds don't favour an easy access to the port at the best of times, but when they are blowing strongly as they were today and as they were in 2013, the port simply won't allow ships in. We were, of course, slightly disappointed, but the alternative port, Ajaccio, was a good choice and we had a very nice day.
 
Approaching the port of Ajaccio.
 
Unlike Bonifacio, which can only receive small ships, Ajaccio seemingly accepts ships of any size!
 
We didn't go on the walking tour, but chose instead to do our own exploring.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
We were given free tickets to visit the Palais Fesch-musée des beaux-arts.
 
 
Some of the other works in the museum.
 
Afterwards, we spent some time walking around the town aiming, we thought, for the railway station.
 
 
 
 
What we thought was the station turned out to be a bus station, so we had to check the map again and walk rather briskly in the opposite direction! We found it in the end (in the background of this rather strange looking vehicle). The building looked very unloved and seemed to be in the process of being refurbished, although if this was in progress, it wasn't that obvious.
 
Going through a side entrance, this was the back of the station building.
 
The important thing was that there was a train. Neil had used his initiative, once again, to offer an alternative scenic trip into the mountains to a village called Vizzavona for lunch. Like yesterday, this was at our own expense, but it did get us out of going to the "Napoleon Experience", which the local agent had recommended, but which most people said afterwards was truly dreadful. We definitely made the right choice.
 
 
The view from the train as we left Ajaccio for the 1 hour 10 minute journey to Vizzavona.
 
The journey became more scenic as we climbed ever higher into the mountains. The train was completely full and we were on the wrong side of the carriage to get the best views, so there are no photos of the journey there, but we did manage to get some on the way back.
 
Vizzavona Station
 
 
Sadly, being a Monday towards the end of the main tourist season, the best restaurant and hotel were closed, so our only choice for lunch was at a bar catering mainly for hikers, opposite the station. It was a bit fresh so far up, and so we asked for a table inside.
 
There wasn't much of a choice of food. The menu was on the blackboard and it was almost impossible to decipher how it worked. The staff weren't in the mood to help us either, despite there being a couple of reasonably good French speakers in our small group. The lady who served us, in particular, waited somewhat impatiently for us to decide between what turned out to be "Choice A" or "Choice B", with no variations permitted. When the food arrived (we had the burger) it looked and tasted good, which was quite a relief. Paying our bill at the end and after leaving quite a generous tip for the service we hadn't receieved, we eventually got a nice smile from our server, but it did feel like we had put in most of the effort!
 
The restaurant dog was sweet though. It sat under the table most of the time we were there, looking for treats. Geoff obliged!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The return train journey was much less busy and we managed to get a few photos of the lovely scenery.
 
 
 
 
Returning to the port, we marvelled again at our dinky little ship sandwiched between two monsters of the sea.
 
 
 
After a bit of a rest, we set off again on foot for a walk around the bay.
 
 
Returning to the ship, we were just in time to see the departure of one of the big ships.
 
Suddenly, we had a view!
 
 
 
 
©Geoff Brock and Bruce Gamble