The picturesque village of Piana was surprisingly quiet as we began our search for its fountain-square. This was where a corner épicerie would be found together with Francesca, the owner and keyholder of our nightly abode. An apron-clad attractive brunette casually handed over the key to what would be our home for the next few days – a tiny house located in the hamlet of Vistale, a 10-minute walk away. It was rather quaint, yet obviously inherited from an elderly relative, judging by décor crying out for refurbishment and larger windows to illuminate the dark interior. Our short sojourn made it easy to accept these faults and positively embrace the great view and the house’s proximity to Piana and the surrounding terrain.
The next day we strolled through orchards to Piana where we bought a colourful cornucopia of fruit and vegetables from Francesca’s deli and were also tempted by her local goats cheese, eggs and freshly baked bread. We tried to buy fresh fish from Francesca’s fisherman friend, without success, but managed to find the next best thing in the nearby supermarket: local tuna for a tricolour tartare with mango and avocado.
That afternoon we experienced Piana’s breath-taking ‘calanques’ – the steep-walled narrow inlets and valleys resulting from fluvial or ground water erosion within regions of carbonate rocks. Originally formed by volcanic activity, Corsica also has many outcrops of igneous rocks, notably red porphyry that gives these calanques their intense colour. Like a nuanced palette of orange, red and pink, this magmatic rock is complemented by the blue sea and sky, which is emphasised by Corsica’s infamous light, particularly at sunset. Although the porphyry is a hard resistant rock, it is sculpted over time by the wind, rain and sea to create natural works of art, such as ‘Tête de chien’ shaped like a dog’s head and another that looks like two lovers kissing. We chose an interesting hike that snaked its way through laricio pine forest dotted with rocks and Corsica’s famed maquis, then emerged high above the coastline giving us a great bird’s eye view of these wondrous calanques.
This area is within the Gulf of Porto on the west coast of Corsica bordering the Mediterranean Sea. This Gulf and the surrounding coastline is part of Corsica’s Regional Natural Park. Designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 (on account of its outstanding scenery, rich avian and marine life, and maquis shrubland), the Gulf of Porto includes: the Calanques de Piana, the Gulf of Girolata, and Scandola Nature Reserve. We decided to get a different perspective of these areas by exploring them by boat. We chose a tour company named ‘Pass Partout’ based in the aptly named port of Porto, which was a charming spot but disappointingly overcrowded by people and mediocre restaurants with cheap plastic décor. We nonetheless managed to find a quiet corner near the fishing jetty, where we perched on rocks for our picnic before boarding our modest boat. This interesting excursion began with the Capo Rosso peninsula on the southern part of the Gulf of Porto; and, thankfully, unlike the port, there were just a couple of tour boats in the area, possibly restricted by the Regional Natural Park. There were many photo opportunities, but I took relatively few preferring to admire the beauty with my naked eye. The geological features were quite incredible, particularly the russet stacks and towering cliff faces on protruding headlands. The rocks were often lined with multicoloured strata, and there were many grottos, one of which was just big enough to enter by boat. The trip concluded with a great swimming opportunity in the Scandola Nature Reserve to the north. The water was crystal clear and beautifully refreshing to dive into from the deck.
Porto’s sister village, Ota, is strangely located in the mountainous heights way above the harbour. It is contrastingly quiet, unspoilt and rather attractive, which seems to be a trait peculiar to Corsican hamlets and ports, such as Centuri. The buildings of Ota reflected the colours of its natural surroundings, notably the taupe stone walls, terracotta roofs and the soft pastel hues of the church and other painted buildings.
Another day, we discovered the renowned hotel ‘Roches Rouges’, just on the other side of Piana, where we enjoyed morning coffee on its vast terrace overlooking the mountainous coastline. The hotel is very traditional and untouched by the passage of time, particularly its dining room with its candelabra suspended over white tablecloths neatly laid for the evening’s service. We met a very interesting couple visiting the island on a boat, who turned out to be in the film business – a notable director principally producing films on wildlife protection.
We later wound our way down to Ficajola cove, encountering very sharp hairpin bends en route, before then descending to the beach on foot along a rocky path that required a certain level of agility. The beach was thus more popular with twenty/thirty somethings, yet not too crowded so was a pleasant place to relax and swim in its ‘fresh’ clear water.
We were lucky to be in Piana for one of its regular ‘brocantes’ or flea markets held in the shade of the church. Good quality china, brass and glassware bedecked a row of trestle tables, amongst which I found a couple of vintage leather bags and a set of linen tea towels – someone had clearly raided their grandmother’s closets. By the side of this bric and brac were a couple of rosy-cheeked ladies sitting and chatting under a parasol whilst selling a great selection of homemade jam – notably rhubarb, not available in the tropics, so a ‘must buy’ when I’m in Europe. Another stall was for vinyl aficionados, but would require a lot of patience to sort through the many boxes, which didn’t seem to be in any logical order … This peaceful fair was momentarily disturbed by a rally of dark green wartime vehicles proudly paraded by their owners. They looked like they had arrived for a film set; in fact, the whole of Piana and many areas of Corsica are perfect backdrops for retro movies – and long let them remain that way.
