I love a place that mixes and mashes it’s many identities, cultures, and history into it’s own. Corsica, an island known as “The Beautiful One” in the Mediterranean Sea, is one such place. Having been an official part of France since 1768, it has an incredibly distinctive, old french vibe while still maintaining an obvious Italian culture, as well. In it’s most rural area it speaks it’s own mix of Italian and French known as Corsu and identifies as it’s own entity- Corsican, as well. The Corsican people are a proud and independent people, often considering themselves separate from their French counterparts and as we’ve seen with other countries around the world, unafraid to stand up to their country and argue for their independence.
Despite it’s aesthetic beauty, Corsica is quite well known for it’s extensive history and historic reputation as being the Mountain in the Sea. The earliest human remains found on the island date back to at least the 3rd millennium BCE and the earliest recorded history of Corsica begins about 560 BCE, when the Greeks founded a town on the east coast. Eventually, the Romans would conquer the island, creating a province of the Roman Empire with both Corsica and it’s neighbouring island, Sardinia which is why the Roman language is so deeply ingrained in the foundation of the present-day Corsu language. But the Roman’s weren’t the only ones who would see this beautiful island as strategic positioning in the Mediterranean, it was a hot commodity with a series of invasions and occupants such as vandals, lombards, and Arabs before it became property of the French. Perhaps, one of the things it is most well known for after that is being the birth place of Napoloean.
Made up of dense forest, dramatic mountain silhouettes, and rural villages set high on it’s peaks, half of Corsica is a national park of hiking trails, including the GR20, the toughest and most beautiful long distance hiking trail in Europe. We stayed in the north part of the island, known as the Balagne, once known in Corsican as “The Garden of Corsica” which is filled with many hikes and breathtaking views.
About 30 minutes from the highway, sitting on top of a galient hillside is where we would stay for the next three days. It was the picturesque village of Belgodere. Due to its position on a hill crest, Belgodere has very far-reaching views across the entire Regino Valley and beyond, unmissable as soon as you drive into the central square of the village but also seen best from the castle ruins at it’s highest point. We stayed in the home next to the well known Saint Thomas Church, the owner telling us that next to the church, it was the oldest building in the village. Large and completely made of stone it had been in her family for 600 years. It was the perfect place to wake up with a cup of warm tea and gaze across the village square and into the valley below. There was only one single bakery and small market which only had toilet paper at 7 pm on random nights of the week.
We seemed to be the only people in town during this off season which made it feel all the more surreal, as if it was a town just for us. For the next three days, we ventured around the Balagne hiking and catching the most beautiful fall views of the island from magical mountain villages. We made our way towards the most Northern coast to bask on the sunny beaches and found the cheese and bread of the island was far better than any restaurant, sitting on our own terrace for dinner and red wine, each night. It was perfect.
Perhaps what made the trip the most special was that we weren’t alone. Cas’ parents joined us. Those of you who know how we travel, know that it’s not the most glamorous form of travel. With the benefits of Cas being a pilot, we can fly with a discount with a small catch- we must fly stand-by which means we only go if there are seats available for us which also means we don’t plan our trips until the night before the plane leaves and they won’t let us on to the plane until just before the flight leaves. It also means that if we get to the airport and those seats have been filled, we aren’t going and we may need to pick a different destination on the spot. This is exactly how in the past we’ve packed for Thailand but ended up in Cuba or planned for Japan to later show up in Hawaii. You’re never properly packed and you have to enjoy the spontaneity of every excitement and disappointment. It’s never boring, that is for sure!
We were hopeful we wouldn’t have to put his parents through this but you can never be certain, so when asking them if they’d like to join us the next day, we were certain they would say no. It was such short notice. But they didn’t! They packed up a small carry on, drove two hours to our house to spend the night, and were on the plane with us at 6 am the next morning! Talk about spontaneity! We were so impressed!
Needless to say, we all made it. We wined and dined with the fabulous in-laws on the top of mountain cliffs and with the perfection of warm, French croissants for four days. It was the perfect fall holiday for the 2018 year.
Our Recommendations
Rent a car at the airport and drive up the D81 on the west coast to see the Calanche cliffs near Piana and the beautiful sea views of Cap Corse, until reaching the Balagne region and Calvi. Plan to explore the Balagne region for at least a few days. Stay in a tiny, mountain village home within it and explore the hiking in between. There will be no hotels in this area and trust us when we say, the whole island is much better experienced in it’s oldness and authenticity, anyways. Take a day trip to one of the beaches in the North and another day trip driving through the Natural Reserve Forest to Corte, a university city tucked into the mountains. This is a great place to stay if you plan on doing lots of hiking. Visit a winery, do a boat trip in Porto, on one of the various beaches, see where Napolean was born in Ajaccio, drive up into the mountains, and don’t forget to visit the cliffside city of Bonifacio in the south.