Corsica: The Bad

Corsican chestnut treeBefore I visited Corsica, I imagined hot, sunny beaches and perfect snorkelling lagoons with the lush backdrop of mountains. I think it does have all those things, but summer was on its way out by the time I arrived. It rained almost daily. Therefore, I’m classifying the weather as The Bad of Corsica. Corsica often is that sunny destination, but for four days, the clouds covered the distant mountains and warmish beaches were far too turbulent for any visibility to bother getting the snorkel out. The bad weather did, however, lead to good. This tree is the largest chestnut tree in Europe, and well worth a visit at this time a year for the abundance of chestnuts raining from the tree, as well as simply to witness its enormous girth. The walk through the forest was well covered from rain, making the weather less of a problem. I was there with three friends and we were unable to link arms around the tree. It has ferns and moss growing on its trunk, and the camera couldn’t catch its height without a wide-angle lens. It’s massive! Had it not been for the bad weather, I wouldn’t have a big bag full of chestnuts to roast for the first time in my life. Apart from the weather, there’s only one other Bad I can think of… (scroll down)
Corsican village on cliffI’m really scraping the barrel for The Bad here, but it will certainly be a bad day for some when the village pictured on this protruding cliff loses some of its buildings to the sea. Those rocks in the sea below are bits of broken cliff, and I don’t see any reason why the cliff won’t continue to break off a little at a time. The only problem is that the village on top is perched on a cliff that looks less than secure. I’m sure it’s been like this for hundreds of years, and perhaps it will be for hundreds more, but walking through some villages where the buildings overhang the cliffs (including the café we stopped for a drink , where the room was built out so that we were able to look back at the cliff face next to the café) made me wonder how so many people can live in these houses without panicking. I struggled to stay in the café for half an hour knowing the building was teetering so much! Apart from this disaster waiting to happen (and Corsican sausages), Corsica isn’t at all bad.
About

I'm a technical author, journalist and writer from Australia who has been living in Europe since 2000 and exploring the world from there. My passions are writing, snow sports and travel.

3 Comments on “Corsica: The Bad

  1. What a great tree! I recently saw a tv show where a couple was buying a home in Corsica and thought the same about the chances of sliding away one day.

  2. Tarrant, the tree really is very impressive. I felt dwarfed by its presence. Same with the cliffs actually…