All’s Well that End’s Well…

I was up bright and early, and soon packed up and leave Les Cigallons, ready for my trip to Nice, and onwards to Bastia, Corsica.. I was so early in fact, that when I went to the supermarket before I left Ste Maxime..it was still shut, so I carried on ,eventually stopping at a large ‘Casino’ shop on the outskirts of Frejus..buying what I though may be more expensive in Corsica, although not really anything perishable, in case I struggled to get on a campsite..

I’d set the satnav for the port in Nice, however as I drove along, I found several ‘ports’ in Nice, that my satnav kept ignoring..and so did I – glad I did, eventually arriving at the main port, although it didn’t really look it..as I turned into the port entrance I finally saw a sign ‘Bastia’..and breathed a sigh of relief, and another one when I told them I didn’t have a ticket, nor passport, just my ticket number…and was accepted so happily joined the throngs on the quayside, with no signs of any large ferries.. however that soon changed when a big Corsica Ferries ship reversed into the harbour, quickly discharging it’s load, and loading us all up in quick time – I was one of the first to be loaded ( you know what that means !)

Very quickly I was sat on a deck chair next to the swimming pool, looking backwards at Nice as we sailed off , although I couldn’t take the hot sun for too long, and spent the voyage wandering around sitting inside and outside, sometimes training my binoculars on the sea, maybe even spotting a whale surfacing in the distance.. a smooth journey across, with the sea air giving me a passionate hunger, so much so as I heard the restaurant opening for dinner, I was first in the queue for a nice Beef Entrecote steak..and chips !

We arrived in Bastia around 7-45 p.m.,guess who was the very last vehicle off ?! - I was hoping to find somewhere to stop nearby for the night, so I could select a campsite at leisure the next day…most of the stopping points and beaches had signs indicating no campers/mobile homes, so I continued up onto Cap C’orse, the northern  tip of the island, which I’d had a good view of from the ship and soon arrived at Camping La Pietra, in Pietracomba… thankfully still open, with space – there was a large field which was full (and I’m glad now it was !), so I selected a large hedge trimmed emplacement to reside in, and was soon unpacked and exploring my surroundings..a nice site, which is in the middle of nowhere, everything though looks clean, and relatively new (with a nice large swimming pool), so should be a good spot

Good news is there is a bus I can get to Bastia…bad news it goes at 6-55 a.m. or 1-17 p.m., and only 1 bus back at 5-45 p.m…!-looks like I’ll be riding the 10 miles each way, along a hilly coast road..

I was soon down at the local sandy  beach, looks good, although quiet..with great night starry sky..which I was later examining, unfortunately now I can’t change my camera settings, so won’t be able to take any pictures, a shame because I bet there’ll be some great skies, a new moon only just appearing, and little light pollution around !A happy and satisfied Bonne Nuit to all !