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.
mmmmm food sounds good!!
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