Porto Pollo to Sartène

Parc Préhistorique de Filitosa
Parc Préhistorique de Filitosa

The hotel breakfast consisted of a coffee each and eight pieces of baguette with butter and jam between us, and when we went to pay the bill, they insisted they’d quoted €68 not €60. As nothing was written down and they’d taken our passports as is the custom, we had no choice but to pay the extra, so it wasn’t such a good deal after all. The hotel itself was fine, simple but clean and we slept well. We called at the supermarket on the way out as we were still hungry and once more encountered the German cyclist, much happier as he’d found a friendly local resident who allowed him to camp for free on her land.

It was hot again as we toiled up to Filitosa, cursing the ancient Corsicans for not erecting their menhirs lower down! The site wasn’t discovered until 1940 and after excavations were completed, it was opened to the public in 1954. The quarried megalithic statues are unusual for their stylised representations of human features and are thought to have been designed to frighten enemies. After a quick coffee we pressed on to the lovely beach at Olmeto Plage where we sat on a rock and got stuck into our bread and cheese. We spent some time in the busy little town of Propriano withdrawing cash, topping up our water supplies and scoffing ice-cream then a long exhausting slog up to Sartène in the heat. The small campsite was 2km short of the town so we erected our tent and Rowan stayed behind for a rest while Christine and I rode up for the evening’s food shopping. It was a lot easier without our luggage. The town was very lively, tourists inspecting the old fortified town and residents chatting in the outdoor cafés. We bought some bread made with chestnut flour for breakfast and returned to cook a late meal.

Day 13: Sartène to Zonza