Waiting for the bus at Grenoble-warm

Waiting for the taxi

On train to paris

Managed to get the scheduled train and even found we were in first class! Just got to rebuild bikes,  cycle across Paris and get the eurostar home.

On route to Marseille

Bikes packed in makeshift bags and now on train to Marseille. If the French can keep working just for today then we might get home!

Toulon here we come

Managed to get ferry to Toulon at a cost and hope to get train to Marseille at around 8:30am.

We ain't going nowhere

Turns out SNCM are on strike indefinitely so no ferry home. Looking into Corsica ferry to Toulon.

Bike bags

Caught ferry to Ajaccio but bike bags not waiting at the post office. Trip to Mr bricolage for ground sheets,  parcel tape and luggage straps.

Olmeto to Porticcio

The objective for the day was to get close to Porticcio, from which we can catch a ferry to Ajaccio tomorrow - or so we hope. We studied several routes on mapping web sites and decided to go on minor roads through the mountains rather than using the coast road. The climb through the mountains was actually less than round the coast although most of it was compressed in to one 10km section.

We were up and out by 9:15 and the traffic on the initial section of coast road proved we were right to use the . The climb of about 500m started at about 10km in and apart from one dip was unrelenting all the way to the Col de Gradello. Fortunately we had light rain rather than full on sunshine, so didn't have to stop too often. We had stocked up with extra water for the climb and by the top had emptied both extra water bottles.

Large coffees at the cafe at the top of the Col and then a search for the viewing point marked on the map on the road to Porticcio, where we planned to have lunch. Didn't find it, so lunch waited until the camp site, which is slightly scruffy but also nice and laid back. Thunder started off over Ajaccio as we were having lunch and so we quickly put the tent up and stashed away the bags. The expected storm never arrived and the temperature and humidity built and built. Campsite bar was shut but Sally bought some cold fizzy water from the shop - very welcome.

Cooked our own meal and watched the sun set over the bay. Sally even went for a swim.

Ferry from Ajaccio to Marseilles tomorrow evening.

I've tried to add some photos but the internet is not doing well here this evening.

Some photos from friday

Lunch time in the mountains

Sally at the top of the big climb

The loo at our omelette stop came complete with a bath. Jackie - you would have had to try it out!

Zonza to Olmeto

Started the day with cold porridge (yes it does taste really nice) with bananas, yoghurt and apple puree. Truly delicious. Quick coffee in Quenza and then a climb up to Serra-di-Scopamene - which got us up to about 950m. Another coffee in Aullene and then a sit on the bike whilst gravity did its thing for the next 17 miles. We stopped a couple of times to release the pressure on our hands with the brakes and again for a lunch break - not often to get to do that on a hill. The temperature increased as we went downhill until the Garmin thermometer was reading 40 celcius. Horribly hot climb to get into Propriano. Beer and water bottle refill and another horribly hot climb up towards Quenza and the campsite. Quite a queue at reception but the pitch is lovely and the camping very quiet. It's really hot down here!

It's just so beautiful (we must stop saying this all the time)

Yet another lovely village in the mountains

Zonza and Zoza

The camp site at Zonza was so lovely we decided to stay for 2 nights, even though it doesn't have wifi. We originally fancied going to the Col de Bavella, however it's the same road out and back so we switched to a circular route taking in Quenza, Zoza, St Lucie-de-Tallano and Levi. First stop for coffee and supplies at Quenza. Got free croissants with our coffee however at €2.50 a go I think we paid for them anyway. The route was very hilly but incredibly beautiful. The mountains are covered with woods and the villages cling to the hill sides, with houses built from stone with pan-tile roofs. In Levie they were having some kind of festival where everyone was dressed up. It looked like a gay pride march at first. In the evening we ate at a hotel in Zonza with a great view over to the mountains.

When the sun goes down, so does the temperature and the ride back to the campsite was quite chilly.

Scrambled eggs for breakfast!

Zoza

Sally the mountain girl

Porto Vecchio to Zonza

Zonza is a great name and it’s also 900m above sea level, which means a lot of slow pedalling if you are coming from Porto Vecchiowith fully loaded tourers. We were up at 6:30 and off by 7:30. By 7:31 we were fixing a puncture on my bike - probably connected to the awful weather the day before and all the storm debris on the road. We had to go back through Porto Vecchio en-route to Zonza and intended to buy provisions at one of the large supermarkets on the outskirts, however they weren’t open so a quick coffee and croissant (for me only of course) has to suffice. The road started climbing as soon as we crossed over the main coast road. We had about 1000m of climb to get to the summit followed by about 20km of rolling road, so we divided the ascent into 200m chunks and monitored the altimeter to see when we should take a break. The views back over Porto Vecchio were spectacular. After about 800m of climb we saw a road side cafe and stopped for coffee and omelette, delicious and reasonably priced. After the cafe the road goes through l’Ospedale before coming to a viewing point which I guess acts as some kind of summit (though the road drags on upwards for another 2 or 3 km). Again the views back to the coast were spectacular but also the immediate scenery was rather stunning. Pine trees, craggy rocks, lakes and streams. We had purchased some cheese in the village and picnicked just off the road before I dozed in a chair whilst Sally explored the nearby paths. After lunch we crossed into the next valley and down into Zonza, stopped briefly to check out the shops and then another 2km on the other side to our camp site. Pitched up the tent, made a brew and then back up the hill to Zonza for shopping. It took 2 mini-markets and a trip to the butchers to find enough for supper, followed by a beer and a wine at the Sanglier Then a whiz down the hill to make a fine supper of bean stew with home made burgers.

It’s very beautiful up in the mountains but a bit chilly at night so we’re off to bed soon. Tomorrow we intend to explore D268 toward Solenzara on the coast, returning to Zonza in the evening.

No photos I’m afraid because we have no wifi tonight.

Bonifacio to Porto Vecchio

We initially started on a very busy road this morning, following it for about 4 miles. We were both very relieved to turn off onto a quite road, even though it went upwards. We were left marvelling that other cyclists choose to stay on the coast road for their whole tour, it's so unpleasant. 

The road took us up into some beautiful hills with lovely views. The small places we went through had no bars, so no coffee for us. We stopped at a small supermarket at Sotta to buy picnic foods. We also found a bar and settled down for a coffee- only to discover it was shut. We continued out of town, eventually settling on a lovely shaded spot under some trees at the local football stadium. A good picnic.

We continued on quiet roads, cycling faster as thunder and lightening appeared over the mountains along with ominous dark clouds. We peddled into Porto Vecchio just as the first raindrops fell, just making it to a bar before the torrential downpour started. Andy cleverly positioned the bikes under a nearby awning, only to be asked to move them a short while later. The kind lady running the shop seemed to mention a garage around the back- Andy moved the bikes into a garage he found around the back but it didn't appear to be connected to the shop at all. No one complained, and the bikes stayed wonderfully dry. After about an hour the rain stopped, we bought provisions and headed out of town to our campsite. Great to have another dry warm evening.

Cooked up a very tasty stir fry for supper, washed down with a very expensive bottle of wine bought from the campsite bar. Turned out there was no campsite shop. 

Photos from yesterday

Corsica!

The campsite at Porto Pollo occupies an island connected to the mainland by a small sand bar and seems to be fairly popular with windsurfers. The campsite obviously used to sprawl across the whole island but is now limited to the southern end with the northern part left to return to nature. It’s a nice setting but rather scruffy as well. After cold porridge and packing the tent we took a walk around the island, spotting wild leeks, lizards and a long brown snake. The rocks by the sea have been carved into crazy shapes by the sea and look like Henry Moor (unsure of spelling) sculptures.

Just as we arrived back at our pitch (where we had left the bikes) the campsite called on Sally’s mobile phone to see where we were. Obviously worried we might have done a runner!

I had some work to do and the wifi at the bar was quite good, so we had a coffee and some fresh orange juice before heading off up the hill (overtaking much younger people riding unladen bikes) to the main road to Santa Teresa Gallura and the ferry to Corsica. Fortunately it wasn’t as busy as we had feared and most drivers were considerate, though the lorry that gave a friendly warning toot did make us both jump. Stopped off along route for lunch shopping and arrived at the port around 1pm. Two singles to Bonifacio cost a hefty €53.10.

It was very hot at the port with almost no shade but we set up lunch camp between the ticket office and cafe. We were soon joined more cycle tourists - a German couple and 2 chaps from Cagliari and the campsite was complete (picture to follow when wifi found again).

The ferry ride to Corsica was probably less than an hour but did provide an opportunity for some battery recharging for Sally and laptop recharging for me. My dynamo hub has been doing a great job keeping my phone and garmin running. Bonifacio is very impressive from the sea - houses and castle walls punched at the top of very high white cliffs and a great view from the deck of the ferry, though it was extremely windy and the salt spray covered everything.

Off the boat and no passport control or customs, just straight onto the quayside and up the steep, steep hill to the old town. Tourist hell hole but very beautiful and probably not best done on the bike due to the small alleys full of people and the many steps, so after getting a flavour of the place we left on the road to Porto Vecchio to find our campsite a few miles out of town. Thunder focussed the legs on pedalling hard and continued whilst we put the tent up, however the expected storm never arrived and a pleasant evening was had in the bar and restaurant.

Quite a relief to be at French campsites, with there order and attention to detail. Quite a contrast to the haphazard style of the Sardinian campsites.

Island hopping

The hotel turned out to be a good move as when we unpacked, we found that a fair amount of water had made its way into the panniers. Indeed, Andy's bags are so waterproof that they were holding a reasonable volume of water in the base. We had left our loaded bikes parked under the run off from the bar roof yesterday and Andy hadn't secured the top of his panniers so water had just been pouring in. We spread stuff all over the balcony and mostly had it all dry by departure time. 

Great breakfast at the hotel, even had gluten free bread and cakes along with scrambled eggs and bacon. Feastings! We then stored our bags at the hotel to give us a day of unloaded cycling. The plan was un ambitious- to cycle over the causeway to the next island, find a beach, picnic and relax. The sun shone and the sea was blue, we found a lovely white sand beach and fulfilled the plan.

Then picked up the luggage, back on the ferry to the mainland, and just 6 miles around the coast to Porto Pollo. A strange campsite, almost an island. Quite chaotic. We were driven

around the site in an electric buggy to choose a pitch, but every one we were shown seemed to have been taken. We almost set up on a pitch only to find that had too been taken- by a colony of ants. Eventually found a space next to someone's washing line. Now eaten and rested, explored amazing rocks and back to the bar for some blogging. Corsica tomorrow. It will be a relief to be trying French instead of Italian.

Photos

The campsite by the sea at Palau

Spooky trees near Palau campsite

Come on Germany!

Ferry to Maddelenna

Harbour at Madelenna

Rain, work and football

Brief post due to time but here goes...

Much thunder during the night. Packed up tent fast before rain. Neighbours lovely husky dog not well - taken off to vets. Stopped off at bar for me to do some work. Torrential rain. More work. More torrential rain. Campsite using diggers to prevent tents being washed away. More work. Much and beer at bar. More work. More torrential rain. More beer. Germany vs Portugal. Bar crowded. Bought food at campsite shop. Ferry to Maddelena Islands. Campsite not very nice. Hotel Excelsior. Sorry kids the inheritance is nearly gone. Good night.

Thunder!

Woke up to rumblings his morning and it wasn’t just my stomach (I could have said Sally’s stomach but am not that rude). The hot weather had finally broken and it looked like thunder in the mountains. The breakfast at the Pausania Inn was OK, at least for me though Sally had a job putting together enough stuff that was gluten free. The hard boiled eggs were very hard boiled. By the time we had loaded up it had started to rain hard so we delayed for a few moments under a tree before heading up into town to see why tourists came to this place. Most of the town is modern but the central part is older and built out of granite - as are the large cobbles which are not easy to cycle on. I nearly came a cropper cleated in when my wheel got stuck between 2 of the cobbles. A quick coffee and a call to the bank to see why both my cards had been “timed out” at the hotel - apparently it was not an issue at our bank. Quick look at the church. Stopped off at a bakers and managed to get some fresh focaccia for my lunch and then a call in at the supermarket for Sally to get something she could eat. Many of the supermarkets here seem to have young men who unofficially help people to their cars with shopping and sell a range of goods from a hold-all in the car-park.

Heading out of town we passed a sign to the right saying ‘“Nuraghe Major” (the Nuraghic people inhabited the islands in the bronze age and built structures a bit like brochs in Scotland). We ignored this and carried on down the hill until I said “I wish we’d stopped there” and Sally agreed, so around we turned and went back up the hill. It was well worth it, not simply to see the interesting structure, but one of the rooms contained a colony of Lesser Horseshoe Bats (the smallest bat apparently) that were sleeping in a fidgeting kind of way.

We finally set off to Palau around noon and made speedy progress since it was mainly downhill. This is big country with craggy mountains and long straight roads. Stopped for lunch in a field of hay bales with amazing colonies of ants, connected by super highways largely free of obstructions. After lunch the road dropped into another valley and then joined the main coast road to Palau. Picked up some water on our way into town and then found the camp site. We are camping about 10ft from the sea and looking out onto the Maddalena Islands - very beautiful even if the campsite itself is slightly scruffy. 

To top the day off we even found the gas cylinder we have been looking for in the campsite shop. We just needed to stop looking!

More thunder and some rain but nothing to worry hardened campers - especially when you are cooking on gas!

Tempio Photos

Shade!

Love quiet roads and lovely hills

Road side foot-wash - sorry, spring water.

Valledoria to Tempio Pausania

Having had enough off the busy coastline we decided to head for the hills today. The only problem being that they don't do campsites away from the coast in Sardinia so we booked a night in a hotel in Tempio Pausania due west from Valledoria.

Last night we had a fairly poor meal at the campsite but slept well despite the heat. Fewer insects trying to eat us at this campsite.

Breakfasted on oatmeal soaked overnight in water and mixed with strawberries, figs and banana. It doesn't sound great but in a hot climate it's a really tasty and quick breakfast. Coffee at the campsite cafe and on the road by 9. Bought provisions in Valledoria and headed out of town across the elevated coastal road and on to the minor roads. By now the temperature on the Garmins were reading in the high 30's and we were consuming water fast on the long uphill stretches, pausing briefly in whatever shade we could find. I had to stop and put socks on under my sandals because of sun-burn but other than that we were both OK. Picnic lunch in a small track in a wood just off the road and then more toiling up hill until we finally came to a great valley containing the main road to Tempio. Stopped for a sparkling water (50 cents each) at the cafe in Bortigiadas and then descended to the main road before climbing again to Tempio. My Garmin registered 39.9 C on this climb.

Just before Tempio we came across a road side spring complete with man filling up water containers, so we stopped and refilled our bottles and stuck our heads under the tap to cool down. Quick call in at a supermarket then a little out of town to our hotel where we will eat this evening.

A few notes:

1. The shops hardly have anything in them. When we were last in Sardinia (Cagliari) we were overwhelmed by the choice in all the small food shops.
2. It's very very quiet in terms of tourists and the campsites have not really got going yet but the roads by the coast are quite busy.
3. The Exped Air mattresses are great - well worth the money.
4. The dynamo recharger is great except the battery (not part of the dynamo) has an irritating light that keeps coming on!
4. We saw one squashed snake and a mashed tortoise on the road today (not at the same time).
5. We also saw a massive bird that might have been an eagle but we will have to look it up.

Will add some photos later.

Gas hunt continues

We set off at 8 this morning after a very tasty breakfast of 'no-cook' porridge- oats soaked in water overnight and then mixed with sliced bananas and strawberries. This was delicious and will be a staple this holiday I think. 

We detoured from our coastal route into Sorso as part of our fruitless search for gas. Market day and the one way system made it harder work than it would have been. Then we popped into to a large supermarket called 'Euro Spin'. This was like a cross between Lidl and Poundland. Cheap bananas though, two for 47cents. We then cycled around this new housing estate for a while trying to escape:

Back on the road, we went through Castelsardo, stopping to picnic on the outskirts in the shade:

The temperature has been around thirty degrees today, so it was great to get to the campsite and go for a swim. We then went for another gas hunt- have now decided to abandon the hunt until Corsica. The canisters here are ALL the ones that you have to pierce. We have attachments for two other types with us. I have always resisted buying the self-piercing type through irrational cowardice, but will have to bring an attachment for those in future. We will be eating at the campsite restaurant tonight!

Going slowly on Sardinia

I’m writing this sat outside our tent in a campsite “Golfo Dell’Asinara” in Platamona. It’s lovely and warm and we’ve just finished a “non-cook” meal of salad, strawberries, cheese, salmon and quinoa. Washed down with red wine and finished with a chocolate desert (with more strawberries of course).

It seems a long time since we got off the train in Marseilles and thankfully the experience hasn’t stayed with us. At Marseilles station I managed to find the post office OK and send the bike bags off Poste Restante to Ajaccio before catching up with work using the free wifi in the coffee shop. We had some difficulty finding the ferry terminal and had to battle our way through a party of school children with parents to get in the right queue for the ferry. To be honest it's just chaos controlled by disinterested people with walkie-talkies (am I beginning to dislike France?). Parked the bikes on the ferry with the motor bikes and secured them with ropes and bungees. The parking was next to the room for dogs, full of slightly hysterical dogs presumably a bit freaked out by the sound of clanking metal on the car decks. Would not do that to Bella.

The cabin on the ferry was lovely though probably one of the more compact bathrooms I’ve ever seen on a boat. Pre-dinner drinks in the bar before a fine meal in restaurant - quite different to last years ferry to Corsica. Great nights sleep followed by first cock-up of the day - missing breakfast in the restaurant. My fault - not reading notices properly. I thought they opened at 8:30 - didn’t think they might close at 8:30. So Sally had to use emergency buck-wheat and I had a croissant with coffee in the bar - porridge it ain’t!

Boat arrived in Porto Torres in Sardinia around 11:40 and we were in the town centre by noon. Tried a supermarket for food for lunch food without much luck but did better in one of the small grocery shops further into town. Had a picnic in the park then put on sun-tan lotion in preparation for cycling. It was very hot so we had decided to only do the 5 miles out of town to the nearest campsite. Arrived, pitched the tent and had a swim in the sea. Got lost in the holiday complex next door to our campsite then back to base. Had to go to the local supermarket since campsite shop closed and can’t find any camping gas for our stove - hence “non cook” meal. Don’t care though because it’s lovely and warm in the evening and not a bit like the Orkneys.

Objective for tomorrow is to find some gas!

The hell of a TGV on a strike day

Mighty hot in Marseilles

Our non-cook meal

Paris to Marseilles

Quote of the day from Sally - "It's a bit like child birth. Once you get there you forget about all the pain".

French stations don't have luggage trollies and the baggage reclaim at the Gare du Nord is a long way from the taxi rank. Also, there is a train and taxi strike. So we rebuilt our bikes, cycled to the Gare du Lyon and packed them again. The train platform is announced and we drag our bags to carriage 5 to find that they have put about 4 trains worth of people on 1 train and our seats are taken by 2 ladies who aren't going to budge (can I blame them?). So we sat in the corridor for 3 hours until Avignon where we finally got a seat. What's more they tried to convince us that the doors were not working in our carriage and we would have to take them out by the next carriage. We sensibly waited to test this theory and found they they were wrong - a small victory on a fairly awful journey. Currently at Marseilles station about to go and catch ferry to Sardinia.

I'm not really here!

What a lot of bags!

Bikes built today: 4
Bikes packed today: 2

Gare de Nord, Hotel Kryiad

Are these girls across the way from us the famous Caryatid sisters or are they not enough of a supporting act? I suspect they can't be because they are not part of the structure - just decoration.

And we're off...

The builders left a very convenient ramp for loaded touring bikes. It's usually quite hard negotiating the steps. 

This is the view from our hotel in Paris. We are right opposite the Gare du Nord, which is great as we can't carry our bags any further than that. We sent our bikes as baggage on the Eurostar and will collect them tomorrow morning before we catch a taxi to the Gare de Lyon. We saw our bikes being unloaded from the train- so that's good news. The bad news is that there is a train strike in France tomorrow, but it looks as if our train may be ok.