Motorbike holiday to Corsica and Sardinia - part 2

I have long wanted to see Bonifacio, that town perched perilously on the cliffs at the very south point of Corsica. By fortuitous planning, we were catching the ferry to Sardinia from Bonifacio, a mere 50 mins crossing, and decided to spend our time visiting the town instead of taking the long winding mountain lanes inland from Porticcio. Taking them would add several hours to our journey and we would have had time for nothing else.

We took the scenic coast road instead, and arrived in Bonifacio in time for lunch.We found a sandwich bar, ordered a couple of sarnies and then went to sit on the other side of the road on the bar's terrace. My DB went off to use the loo so he wasn't there when the bar owner came over to give me a bollocking. We had committed the cardinal sin of ordering our sarnies at the bar instead of sitting on the terrace and waiting for the waitress to serve us. Was there a sign in hell-fire warning us NOT to order at the bar if we wanted to sit down? Nope, we were just supposed to know. Did I give a shit? Not really, I just wanted her to leave the sarnies, shut up and go away. Which she did, and we sat on the terrace and ate, in the sun. For the beginning of the season, she was a tad tetchy, I found...

Motorbikes park for free in Bonifacio, which meant we could enjoy the sites without getting ripped off at the end of it. We took a boat trip out to see the town from the sea for the spectacular views of it perched on the cliffs (which we would also see from the ferry but not so well...).

Bonifacio from the sea

The house at the end on the right belongs to actress Marie-José Nat

We had lovely weather for it, and the boat was packed. Lots of people had been stopped by the attractive girls plying boat trips along the marina. We were sat at the back of the front section which meant I could stand and take photos without bothering anyone. Cool.

Bonifacio from the marina

There's a little train that takes you to the top and drops you off for €10 (and brings you back down) but you can make exactly the same trip by car. The train shows you no more than you can see for nothing. Cars have to pay to park though. We had a party of extremely exuberant (post-lunch) retired fonctionnaires on our train who were loud and brash and thought themselves terribly funny the whole way up.

Coming into the port from the sea, ferry on right

 Later, we were on that ferry which wasn't packed but there are 15 crossings per day!

No cars in the old town. Wonder why...

Napoleon lived in Bonifacio for a while. His name is on a plaque on a house in the middle somewhere. Peeking inside, the stairs up were terribly steep, the sort you haul yourself up.

Looking east towards the cliffs from the edge of the town

The views were nothing if not dramatic, and seeing them in the lovely weather just made them all the more spectacular. You can see more amazing pictures on this website: www.bonifacio.fr 

Fortress walls

  

The coast looking north-west

I was happy to spend the afternoon there. Even on a motorbike holiday, it's nice to stop and visit sometimes, and Bonifacio is certainly worth the detour. I think it must be hell on earth in the summer though with all the visitors.

We got on a late afternoon ferry and arrived in St Teresa di Gallura, our port of arrival in Sardinia in a bit of a drizzle. It was also pretty chilly. Our hotel was marvellously placed in the centre, two minutes from the port, so we could pop into town to buy a map of Sardinia (much needed!), notice that no one was about because of the cold, and that the place looked dead.

How different it looked on our return a week or so later when the weather was good, the sun was out and the temperature balmy. The piazza was alive with chatting folk, the bars had happy drinkers, and the shops had customers.