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| THE IMPRESSIVE AIGUILLES DE BAVELLA |
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| FREDDY CLIMBING YET ANOTHER ROCK BARRIER |
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| PIGGING OUT AT 'LES AIGUILLES DE BAVELLA' RESTAURANT |
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| BRIT DAVID & AUSSIE ADRIENNE AT REFUGE D'L PILARI |
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| LAST POSE BEFORE CONZA |
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| SUCCESSFUL GR20'ERS BERNADETTE, LINO, ADRIENNE, MOI & FREDDY |
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| MANUEL MAKES SURE THAT NOBODY ELSE GETS OUR 4X4 |
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| FELLOW WALKERS DRIFT OFF INTO THE DISTANCE, SOB |
My choice committed me to a long climb up a zig-zag path, but I just plodded upwards at a steady rate as I'd done many times before. Eventually I reached the high point, a plateau at 1,611m called the Bocca di u Pargulu. The views of the pinnacles and other rock formations out to the eastern coast were both impressive and beautiful.
Getting down to the Col de Bavella involved a descent of 400m and was a slow, intricate affair. The route was complicated, the rock was crumbly and, at one point, progress required a steep climb up a rock face using chains for safety. However, just beyond the Col is the village of Bavella where there were several restaurants, and I felt I deserved a reward for my efforts. I chose 'Les Aiguilles de Bavella' to order lunch comprising a 'traditional' Corsican set menu of charcuterie, veal with vegetables and chips (as an alternative to pasta), cheese, then creme caramel, washed down with a little vin rouge.
The food was excellent value, but I struggled to eat it all, feeling a little bloated as I left the restaurant. My destination for the day was Refuge d'l Piliri which required another 2 hours of walking. I was pleased when the path initially looked smooth and flat, but it soon took a right turn into the forest and started to climb. To get to the Refuge it was necessary to surmount a 200m rock barrier, with the path reaching its highest point at Foce Finosa (1,206m). Groan!
Once at the Refuge I decided to hire one of their tents again, rather than use my own, because I wanted to get away earlier than usual in the morning. This would be the last stage of the GR20, finishing at Conca. The Refuge Guardian informed me that there is transport at Conca that leaves for Porto-Vecchio at around mid-afternoon each day, and I intended to be on it.
The late afternoon was spent chatting to Adrienne, David from Shropshire and Freddy from Germany. I gave supper a miss as I was still feeling full from lunch. Before turning in, I filled my water bottles in preparation for an early departure the following morning.
Monday 21st of September, the last day of my GR20 trek, and I was away from Pilari by 7.30am - an early morning record for me. As I departed, I passed Freddy and the four young Belgian lads still packing up, but I knew I would see them later. The route descended slowly through woodland to begin with, but then climbed up to the Bocca di u Sordu. It was here that Freddy caught me up and the Belgian lads powered through.
For the rest of the route Freddy and I walked together. He was 10 years younger than me and faster on the climbs, but we were pretty evenly matched on the level and downhill sections.
The low morning sun gave the rock pinnacles around us a beautiful orange hue and we took many photographs. All too soon we reached the last viewpoint, the Bocca d'Usciolu, before the final rocky descent into Conca. We reached the official end of the trail just before 12.30pm, so had completed the final stage in under 5 hours. Also, because I did two double stages, I had completed the GR20 in 14 days, two days less than the guide suggested. I was pleased, as this gave me more time to explore Corsica before my flight home on the 27th.
What next? Well, we followed some signs through Conca that led us to La Tonnelle Gite d'etape where transport could be booked to take us the Porto-Vecchio. The four Belgian lads were already there, eating burgers and awaiting their ride. Freddy and I booked ours, and shortly after several others arrived, including David, Manuel, and yet another Belgian couple Lino and Bernadette. Adrienne was already there and had decided to stay in Conca for a day, but joined us at our table. Unsurprisingly, most of the conversation was about our experiences on the GR20.
Gradually everyone left, and eventually our own ride came to pick us up. It was a big black 4x4 with huge tyres. Thirty minutes later we were delivered to Porto-Vecchio. When I enquired about the cost it seems that Freddy had already paid for me. Freddy, David and Manuel headed for a camp site on the edge of town, but I craved something more comfortable and found the Hotel Panorama in the town centre. Over the duration of the GR20 I had made many acquaintances and had never once felt lonely, so it was an odd feeling to be completely on my own again.
I bought my supper from a local market to eat in my room, and spent the evening getting myself and my clothes clean again. It was wonderful to have access to a hot shower and a comfortable bed again, and also to be under no pressure to do anything in particular in the morning.
I had considered staying in Porto-Vecchio longer, but when morning came I concluded that there was not really enough here to justify another night and decided to catch the 1.00pm bus to Bonifacio instead. After checking out of the Hotel I visited the Tourist Office to post a blog page using their WiFi when Adrienne came in, having just travelled from Conca. She was trying to get to Nice, but having some difficulties with ferries. Finally, she concluded that the best option would be to catch a bus to Bastia, which is a major ferryport.
We shared a smoothie and walked down to the bus stop to find David also waiting for the Bonifacio bus. Thus, as David and I boarded the bus, we waved goodbye to Adrienne probably for the last time. It was a parting tinged with a little sadness.
Half an hour later the bus delivered us to the harbour in Bonifacio. A quick glance around confirmed that we had made the correct decision to come here.
