Saturday 14 June 2014 - Bonifacio

We have spent the last two days in Bonifacio.  We set out on Friday morning a little later than planned.  The good dinner with too much wine made us rather tardy in getting up.  At first Richard thought Bonifacio would be another 20 or so mile hop, but on more careful plotting we find that it is nearly 35 miles.  So we have a long day on the sea.  When we started off there was a little wind, but it was more or less on the nose.  So we wound up motoring again for about half the day.  Eventually we turned away from the wind and as usual it got up in the afternoon.  So we had a steady 3-4 on the beam for a couple of hours.  Then we turned so that the wind was dead behind us and though it had freshened, we were only doing under 4 knots, which would get us into port too late.  So we wound up motor sailing again.

Bonafacio is a fascinating site.  It is a fortified ancient town on top of limestone cliffs.  The port is in a calanque (a mini fjord) at the base of the town.  All very dramatic.  The port is organised more like the ones in northern France.  That is to say, there are a number of visitor pontoons and it is up to you to find a space on a first come first served basis.  So we make our way to an empty space on a pontoon, stern to as usual.  This time there is no marina man to help, but other yachtsmen on the pontoon take our lines and we get in fine.

It is rather late and very hot.  We sign in at the office and pay for one night.  But this is a place that deserves more than a couple of fleeting hours to look at.  So I persuade Richard we should stay for two nights.  The mooring fees are not bad and there is a toilet block with free showers (though Richard finds that the showers in the mens are cold, I am luckier).  The harbour is very lively with lots of bars and restaurants and two little supermarkets plus a bakery, so we can top up the stores.

It is a fast day, so we eat a meagre dinner on board.  There is a very loud disco going, but we manage to sleep OK.

This morning we were up early and after breakfast made our way up the hill to see the old town and citadelle.  We get audio guides from the tourist office and do a fair job on seeing the main sights.  It is still early.  We have passed a restaurant that is recommended in the guides and decide the best plan is to have a leisurely lunch and just then a light supper on the boat.  So we do that.  We get back down to the boat after 2:00pm and just sit in the cockpit for a while before picking up some bits for supper and stopping at an ice cream parlour where Richard has a huge Café Liegoise and I just have a citron pressé.

So now we have to plan our last month.  We will probably set off for Sardinia tomorrow, though the weather is looking a bit iffy.  However after two days sightseeing in very hot conditions, I am looking forward to going somewhere we can stop for a swim.