Corsica, 2026
Corsica is simply mind-blowing. I’ve been on a lot big ferries before but the seas were rough enough yesterday to both cause a few ferry crossing cancellations and cause quite a bit of ship rolling in the waves feeling as we crossed yesterday, with any excursion away from the sidewall handrails was a game of chance as the ship rolled from one side to another.
Corsica is 12 miles from Sardinia, French not Italian. You think ‘so close, probably overlapping experiences’ but that sentiment could not be more inaccurate.
It’s a medieval city, or before, preserved and existing like it did then. I mean, I literally feel transported back in time to Napoleon, Mozart, and Columbus. The city has been here a long time. Good travel is like that - it can blow you away with differentness and time transport and interestingly, while Sardinia was fun and beautiful and I’d go back in a second, this place is wow magical. And I’ve just got here.
I’m on top of the limestone cliffs in Bonifaciio. It’s a walled city, Genoaese for a long time, then French, just before Napoleon was born and why he is French and not Italian. I know we live in annoying times, but compared to the flux and uncertainty of the political climate these Corsicans have gone through, we are privileged indeed.
The weather controls to not cooperate, and not cooperate in varied ways. Yesterday was sunny enough but the winds were literally 30mph or more all day long. I think of the two weeks I’ve been here, there has literally been 2 days of calm and sun. I’ve mentioned that this really hasn’t curtailed or impacted my plans but it has eliminated pool days, beach days and a lot of just comfort relaxing outdoors.
I plan on playing some golf here, on an oceanside course. And doing some hiking, maybe a lot of hiking. The trails are everywhere and hug the coast many times.
A bell rings from the citadel nearby. It’s 7am and it’s ringing in a continuous back and forth rhythm, accelerating and slowing, speeding and slowing. It went on for a minute.
I have a large suitcase and a large motorcycle bag, a travel back pack and an excursion pack. I think I’ve packed well, and I don’t think I’d change much. Even when I’ve been forced march around an airport or from the ferry to the car rental place, I’ve been able to move with fluidity. The large motorcycle gear bag has wheels and a handle and has been a game-saver - having all that in a large non-wheeled duffle bag would have been a problem for the commutes I’ve done.
Just getting off the ferry yesterday where the taxi man said the car rental place was 200 meters, turned out to be more like a mile along uneven cobblestone paths, worked out fine. Hardy, quality bags with wheels that work. All in all, the planning for the trip has been on point.
It’s funny how I travel. Pick a point on a map and go. Then fine-tune the decision with a close but not to close study of hotels and transport. Learn the airport codes, the towns, and then arrive and see how I did. Typically pretty well. I can’t remember the last bust. But that’s really just a matter of perspective as well - On my travels the lost luggage delayed flights poor airbnb hosts questionable weather aren't ruinous affairs but just the cost of doing business if you are going to travel. But like I've said, me and my travel guests have been blessed for years now with good weather for what our activities are - warm and dry on the beach, snowy and cold on the slopes. Even when it's been off a bit or a lot, a few times we the weather turned towards us as the trip progressed, notably a 24" snow storm in the Alps at the end of 2025 ski season.
A very old labyrinth of a cemetery perched on some very premium water front