Trip to France- Paris, Provence, Cote d'Azure and Corsica. September 1-20,2025 : Part 3

Corsica (9/13-9/20)

In the afternoon we headed to the dock to meet our boat, Le Ponant to set sail for Corsica. This was our third cruise on a Ponant ship but this one is the smallest—a 276 foot three-masted sailboat.

There are 24 passengers on board with a crew of 34. It’s quite a beautiful sailing ship. We had an orientation, safety drill with life preservers and an orientation for this one week cruise down the coast of Corsica with on-shore excursions each day. On previous Ponant cruises the passengers were predominantly French, this being a French line. We were surprised to see that the passengers are far more diverse—Americans, but also Australians, Swiss, Brits, and Canadians as well as French.

Once we set sail (literally), Betsey immediately felt sea sick despite taking Bonnine. She tried to make it to dinner, but we had to see the nurse for medication, and she then went right to bed. After taking her to the room and getting her settled, I went back for a very good dinner with the Feinsod’s and an Australian couple who own a film studio in Australia after having started the video game development industry there. They are experienced sailors, having spent three years sailing around the world. Interesting couple. I came down after dinner to find Betsey feeling better but definitely sleeping it off.

Early in the morning we arrived in Saint Florent, our first stop in Corsica.  Betsey was in good shape, and we had a pleasant breakfast before heading to shore in Zodiacs since our boat had to anchor about 15 minutes off shore. We were headed to the Corsican equivalent of Sedona’s Pink Jeep ride—four-wheel jeeps up high into the mountains off-road, definitely off road. The views were panoramic, and if you tried really hard you could see Elba through the clouds. The mountains in this area are limestone and schist which is colorful and also good for the vines. Wine is Corsica’s biggest product although tourism is the biggest industry. As we rode higher and higher we encountered beef cows grazing like goats.

The ground cover was mostly ferns, spiny- plants that weren’t roses, and occasional small trees. Our guide broke off stems of Marjoram, anise, thyme, and wild lavender so we could experience the scents along the way. We were the only ones to elect to stay in the village for lunch rather than zodiac back to the ship. We had a pizza and salad and pasta (for Betsey)  and walked the little village before taking the zodiac back to our boat. I will say pizza and ice cream are the universal foods of the world.

We lifted anchor at 5pm. We will be sailing along the west coast since the east coast is less interesting and less stable geologically. I should say something of our accommodations. Although we are on a much smaller boat than previous Ponant cruises (24 passengers versus around 70) our stateroom is very comfortable and our bathroom seems actually larger than past ships. One difference—this sailboat has no balconies off our staterooms; only two normal sized portholes. A very comfortable king bed and a very good shower with real bar soap available. All the comforts of home. Tonight was the Captain’s dinner and he told us that his father was the first Ponant captain on this boat which was also the first Ponant boat. Now they have 14.

Monday was sunny as we made our way into Ajaccio, at 75,000, the largest city on this island of 355,000 (which swells by 2-3 million during the high season.) In this port we were able to dock in between a huge, 4000 passenger ship from Germany and a huge ferry from Sardinia. After breakfast outdoors on the deck, we met our guide for a walking tour of Ajaccio. Pascale, our guide, summed up Corsicans well when she said her passport is French, her DNA is Italian, and her heart is Corsican. Corsica was settled by the Romans (no temples found), and dominated by the Italians, actually Genoa, for centuries until 1769 when Louis XV of France demanded the island to settle Genoa’s debt with France. So the Corsicans really see themselves as more Italian than French (in fact, the Island is closer to Italy than France.)

Coincidentally, Napoleon was born in Ajaccio that same year (1769), and we visited the church where his mother’s water broke (honest) and she rushed home a few blocks away in a sedan chair to give birth at home. We saw in the church the baptismal basin where Napoleon was baptized and then walked to Napoleon’s house for a private tour.

Some history. While Corsica was still owned by the Genoans, a Corsican named Pascal Pauli

was a prominent nobleman and scholar who interacted with some of the leading philosophers of the day like Voltaire. He came to develop the first written constitution in Europe which allegedly was later exposed to Benjamin Franklin who again allegedly brought it back as a prototype for the US Constitution. I make no assertion of accuracy here. Napoleon supposedly was influenced by Pauli who was a colleague of his father.

We visited Napoleon’s childhood home which began as a four-room house, but was expanded by his affluent father, an attorney, and then under French rule expanded again to be suitable to entertain French nobility. Napoleon left to study in France when he was 8-9 and rarely returned. The rest is history. Our guide gave a somewhat meandering and convoluted dialogue along the way, but that’s the best I can make of the whole story.

We returned to our boat and had a leisurely lunch on the outside deck. The afternoon was full- reading on the deck and a  concert on the sun deck by three local musicians singing traditional Corsican songs that all sounded alike. A highlight for me was watching the sails lifted and then boarding a zodiac with others to watch Le Ponant sailing out of the harbor while drinking champagne and listening to Motown music. Betsey and the Feinsod’s watched from on board. A very enjoyable sunset activity followed by dinner.

Tuesday morning found us in the gulf of Sant’Amanza, about as far east as we’re going. We were up early for an excursion for what was billed as a “moderate” coastal trail. We wet landed on a beach, and it was nice to put my feet in the Mediterranean. The moderate coastal trail turned out to be a challenging three-mile hike up into the hills on a rocky  narrow path. The ground is covered with what they call Maquis which is a conglomeration of low bushes, brush, and various wild herbs which become very dense and a major cause of fires. It also hides the one million wild boars that roam the island. According to our guide, Corsica is really the top of a tall mountain range which plunges as deep as 7000 feet under water. Because of the depth of the sea around Corsica fishing is not a very big industry. Going back to Genoan times there was malaria along the coastline in the summers so the Corsicans became mountain people except for the winter when they would come down to the coast. Being up high was also a good defense against pirates who were very active in this gulf area.

We survived the hike and briefly came back to the boat before heading back out in our zodiacs for a hotel—M, Cocu Bianco (the white head, named for a rock outcropping that vaguely resembles a head). We were there for a wine tasting of local wines—the rose was best, and lunch, and relaxing around the hotel’s pool. Our food options were a bit esoteric for me ( I can’t abide black squid anything) but the panoramic views (including watching some incredible wind surfing) were wonderful, and the pool was very refreshing. I swam while Betsey et al napped. Esta alleges that I napped too after coming out of the pool. At 4 we headed to the hotel dock and returned to the ship on the zodiacs.

The evening had two highlights—dessert onboard was an orange soufflé which I loved, and at 9pm we entered the harbor in Bonifacio and watched as the crew brought the boat to the dock and tied up. What made it magical was the night arrival and seeing what I suspect will be an amazing walled city high above us and looming over the wharf. We are actually here for two nights, and one guide said this is Corsica’s tourist capital. We shall see.

Indeed, when the sun rose and we saw Bonifacio by day, we were not disappointed. After breakfast we boarded a tram train to take us up to the top of the citadel that surrounds the old town. Although there is evidence of human life here as early as 6500BC the citadel “modern” town was founded by an Italian Tuscan king, aptly named Boniface. So much of Corsica is more Italian than French, including the food. And it makes sense when you realize the Italians have been here since 823AD and the French only for about two hundred years.

Suzanne, our English/Trinidadian guide who was a goat shepherd here for 20 years, gave us a colorful tour of the town. We wandered the narrow lanes, and here, more than other places, the Corsicans built up, several stories for living space since they were confined within the Citadel. It’s a very scenic place with great vistas over the sea, including Sardinia, just 7.5 miles away and clearly seen in the distance. In fact, the two islands were once one until some geological divorce. The water here is very clear with shades of green and blue that makes for a stark contrast against the white limestone cliffs upon which the Citadel was built and which surround the town. We stopped for a brief wine and cheese interlude and then walked down to the bottom of a “new village” that took hold around what is today a very nice natural harbor and marina. We had lunch along the quay of the new village, headed back to the boat to drop some packages, and then rode up in a van to explore further. There really wasn’t much more to explore but we circled the old town twice, had some good ice cream, then walked down to our boat to relax.

Dinner was outside on the deck under a beautiful sunset sky with the citadel towers looming over our heads. A chocolate lava cake dessert was enjoyed by Jay and Arty. We departed Bonifacio at 6:30 am in the morning (I was told) and moved a short distance to the gulf of Figgari where we awoke and enjoyed breakfast on the deck on a warm and sunny day.

The morning’s activity was a zodiac cruise along the bay shoreline which featured jagged rocks leading up to maquis-infested hills. High on an outcropping was a medieval tower. There are 120 of them around the island, each about 12 miles apart. In Medieval times if danger approached, bonfires were lit in the towers and the fire and smoke warned the whole island of the risk of attack. Sort of a NORAD early warning system.

A short time later we arrived at the Gulf of Roccapina, so named because a rock outcropping on the top of a hill overlooking the gulf resembles a lion (ie “rock of lion”) although it took me a while and a couple of glasses of wine to recognize it. We were here to have lunch at Domaine de Murtoli which for us was a beautiful sandy beach and a series of tree-limbed awning terraces of tables. They had set a table for all 24 of us from the boat, and it was an endlessly long major menu—veal tartare (unusual but good although Betsey and Feinsods weren’t fans); fish and risotto; cheese; and floating island, although none of us got past the cheese. It went on so long the tide came in and out at least once. Some of us did manage to don bathing suits and dive into the sea. It was marvelous—clean, clear, crisp saltwater swimming. Just delightful and refreshing. Then it was a lazy couple of hours on the beach or in the shade until we got back on the zodiacs for the ship. Betsey and Jay had the best sighting of the day—a small wild boar running in between the outdoor dining room tables. Just before dinner we all witnessed a glorious sunset, including the green flash.

Early on our last full day in Corsica, as we had breakfast on the deck, we arrived at Calvi, a city of 5,000 which swells to 60,000 during high season. Like Bonifacio, Cavil has a large citadel built on top of a huge granite outcropping that encircles the old Medieval town.

Built by the Genoans to defend the area in the 13th century, Calvi has a half-circle of what look to be very inviting beaches. Our guide took us to the top of the citadel which has views of the mountains, including Corsica’s highest. The island has more than 100 mountains that exceed 2,000 feet and several become snow covered and can be skied on in winter and which provide the Mediterranean’s greatest source of fresh water. We stopped at a memorial to a US bomber plane that crash landed in the sea right off the citadel during World War II. If I haven’t already noted it, Corsica was the first place in Europe to be liberated from the Germans in the war.

We walked by a vacant lot with some ruins and our guide said this is allegedly one of the many places where Christopher Columbus was born.   The “new” town which nestles up to the Citadel was built by the Genoans in the 15th century. It looked to have good shopping but we are “shopped out.”

After a brief interlude back on board we headed to shore and boarded a bus for a 15 minute drive into the foothills and the hotel Signoria, a Relais Chateau hotel, for lunch. Actually all our hotel lunches have been at Relais Chateau. perhaps because Ponant, our cruise line, is the only Relais Chateau cruise line. Anyway, what was different on this ride into the hills (aside from being on a bus) is the terrain. Here there are lots of trees—Palms, Chestnuts, Avocados, Olives, etc. This is a fertile area of the island with valleys good for farming and growing fruits and vegetables. We had our best lunch of the trip at the hotel—a wonderful concoction of mushrooms and scrambled eggs whipped into a froth; fish; and a hazelnut ice cream and biscuit for dessert.

I have to say Ponant has been incredible about watching out for Betsey’s allergies to honey and hazelnuts (as well for other allergic passengers) as every restaurant where we had lunch had been previously briefed on Betsey’s allergies and were already prepared to serve her alternative dishes. Quite a high level of concern and service. After lunch we lazed at the pool with some of us taking a dip in it and then headed back to the boat to start to pack up to come home.

Our last dinner was special. The Feinsods and Selkowitz’ and one other couple were invited to dine with the Captain. We had an elegant meal—carpaccio of scallop, fois gras, Angus beef, and chocolate cake. I was in heaven. All was accompanied by fine white and red wines. Incidentally, the Feinsods have become real winos on this trip as we’ve all had multiple glasses of wine at most lunches and dinners. Captain John-David told us all about his experience with sailing Ponant and how he interacts with the crew. He told us aout the workings of our boat and how it was originally designed for the Caribbean and to sail perfectly at 20 knots which is the prevailing wind in the Caribbean. He was very gracious and we had a delightful last dinner on board.

Before I close, some final comments. Our fellow cruise passengers on the whole were very nice. The French speakers mostly stayed by themselves although some were more friendly than others. Of the Americans six were long-time friends who live in Boca Grande Florida for the winter; another couple are from Grand Rapids, and he was the creative director at Herman Miller and designed posters for them that are in the Museum of Modern Art in NYC. As I said most passengers were very nice although one couple became hard to take because he couldn’t stop talking and seemed to know everything. I will leave it at that.

We have enjoyed this trip very much and look forward to doing “bests & worsts” at the airport. That never happened because we had to wait on a line for over an hour to get through passport control because only three checkpoints were open. The line snaked through the entire terminal and was a demonstrated lack of hospitality by the French. The flight home, fortunately, was uneventful.