Another wonderful sunny day which began with a walk down to Bodri beach, crossing over the Calvi to Bastia railway line which runs just above the beach. Since we had no food for breakfast we had to buy some at the Super U supermarket before we could get going. We’d elected to avoid the busy N197 direct route so took to the hills, calling in on the restored hill village of Pigna. We saw a lemon tree laden with fruit in a garden, and enjoyed looking at the prolific roadside wild flowers and cacti as we wound steadily up following the contours of the hillsides through the inland Haute Balagne.
The highest point was Col de Salvi at 509m, after which we rode through Montemaggiore and down to Calvi with views of the 1938m Monte Grosso. We had to join the N197 for the last few kilometres and we were glad we’d missed the rest of it. We camped at Paduella campsite.