Vizzavona

And so I make my first detour. My original plan had been to leave Corte and spend two nights in Ajaccio, the modern capital of Corsica. Unfortunately, I didn’t take the warnings in my guidebook to reserve rooms early very seriously, and discovered that I was only able to get a room in Ajaccio on Sunday, unless I wanted to spend over 200 euros for Saturday night…which I didn’t, so I found a guesthouse in a town that lies between Corte and Ajaccio on the train line (there are only 2 train lines on the whole island, so there aren’t a whole lot of transportation options for those without cars) and reserved it for Saturday night. And thus I ended up in Vizzavona. The town wasn’t in my guidebook and a brief search online brought up “a town in Corsica” (thanks a lot, Wikitravel), so I wasn’t sure what to expect.

I called the hotel again to tell them what time I was arriving and asked for directions. They seemed confused and didn’t give me any. How about an address? There is no address, the guy laughed. It’s I Laricci (the name of the house). And as I got off the train, I realized why he was so amused. Two restaurants flanked the train station, and behind the station on a hill, I Laricci. And that’s the town of Vizzavona. So I get an unplanned break from sightseeing and research. I’m staying in a dorm style hostel room in a large guest complex, surrounded by mountains, and roses, and silence, except for the birds and the sounds of the old French hikers who are sharing the guest house washing their boots. This town is just off the trail of GR20, which is supposed to be sort of like the Corsican Appalachian trail (although much shorter than the US trail, it only takes 2 weeks to complete), and quite difficult, so basically the only other people in town are hoards of old retirees who have just come off the trail.

mountains–view from the backyard

The guesthouse is a lovely a relaxing place, a big red-shuttered building in the midst of the Vizzavona forest. Looking out from the dormitory (the cheaper bunk-style rooms behind the main inn, where I’m staying), I can see a mountain that still has some patches of snow, and several minute waterfalls from the melting snow. I took a short walk in the nearby woods during the afternoon of my stay, something easy enough for my footwear, which is only sandals, since I didn’t anticipate leaving the beaten path. A full three-course dinner was also included with the price of the bed, so I went to bed with a very full stomach after my relaxing day in the country.

guesthouse, I Laricci