Ajaccio, Corsica

Saturday, September 1st

Today we celebrated Clayton’s 66th Birthday!

Corsica is the fourth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and is located southeast of France. Although the island is separated from the continental mainland by the Ligurian Sea, politically Corsica is considered part of Metropolitan France. The island's pleasant climate, beautiful mountains and breathtaking coastlines make it a popular destination among the French and other Western Europeans. However, the island has not had the same level of intensive development as other parts of the Mediterranean and is thus relatively unspoiled.

We got on the bus at the port and travelled through the Zipitoli Forest to the Prunelli Gorge. We stopped for a photo opportunity and caught some of the local free roaming cattle having a grassy snack down the side of the road. From there we drove to the man-made Tolla Lake and stopped again for some photos. Finally, we got back into the coach and started our decent back to the port, stopping one last time in a small village for refreshments and restroom facilities. It was here that we got to taste some of the local beverages made with chestnuts. We tried Pietra beer and Corsica Cola, a regional cola produced by brewers of the Pietra beer. Both had a very distinct chestnut flavour, but relatively nice nonetheless.

One of the more interesting things we learned on this tour was about how cork is made. Well, in isn’t made, but rather grown. Cork material is the thick outer bark of an evergreen oak, one of the natural vegetative resources in the Mediterranean area. “Strippers” harvest the cork by making horizontal and vertical cuts through the outer bark to remove it, taking care not to harm the living inner bark. The young trees are first stripped of their bark at 15 to 20 years of age. This first layer of cork is coarse; but successive strippings (at intervals of about 10 years) yield a closer-grained product as the trees mature. In all, the useful life of an evergreen oak tree could be more than 150 years.

In addition to cork, a narrow alleyway in the Genoese Quarter of Ajaccio is famed as the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte, born August 15, 1769. The city itself boasts many landmarks dedicated to her most famous son.

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