Leaving Calvi… eventually!

On Friday afternoon we departed Calvi, planning to anchor overnight in a small cove up the coast before arriving in lively St Florent for Saturday night drinks. However, two hours and 5 nautical miles into the sail from Calvi, we realised it wasn’t Friday at all, it was Saturday! What to do, what to do? Well, after a little persuasion on my behalf, we did the inevitable thing three guys on a boat in the middle of the Med would do - we turned right back around and sailed into Calvi for the night! We knew there’d be a party there because we were amazed how loud the music was coming from the bars the evening before (which we thought was a Thursday). So after enjoying a brief deodorant shower we hit the bars, and enjoyed a spectacle unlike any other – Simo attempting to pick up in French! Priceless! I won’t go into detail, but lets just say for Ben and I it was pure entertainment! Following the complete and utter failure with the local (and extremely beautiful) ladies, we decided to head for familiar territory and order a Kebab from a local street-side store. However, French kebabs are apparently a little different to our Turkish influenced late-night jems – they take a huge bread roll, coat it in Mayonnaise, add diced chicken marinated in pepper and mayonnaise, add French fries, then top it with mayonnaise (and tomato sauce if there’s not enough flavour for you)!

A little worse for ware in the morning, we departed Calvi for the second time in much more favourable winds for a secluded little beach 10 miles to the north-west. It was so secluded in fact that the majority of bathers, who had trekked down from their cars parked along the cliff-top highway, decided to bath naked. We didn’t indulge, and instead enjoyed a few beers and another spectacular Mediterranean sunset. In the morning we went for a quick snorkel in water with 20+ metres of visibility (though a disappointing amount of fish) and hiked past the myriad of nudists up a nearby rocky hilltop. After a 45-minute scramble up the steep slope we summated and were afforded magnificent views down the coast from which we had sailed. Our boat anchored peacefully below in the glassy turquoise water was the only one in sight!

With only a slight breath of wind, and temperatures reaching an energy sapping 35 degrees, we motored around the next headland in the late afternoon for only a couple of miles before spotting a small isolated beach, devoid of any hilltop highway - and therefore hopefully nudists – to enjoy a relaxing swim and a bit of dinner. Our only company was a small boat anchored off the headland and a canoe pulled up on the beach. Who would have guessed that the canoe belonged to an elderly couple who were sailing around Corsica completely nude? We certainly didn’t and got quite a surprise after snorkelling up onto the beach and coming face to face (well sort of) with them in all their glory. After that we stayed out of their way, and they left us to enjoy a beautiful shepherds pie, a couple of glasses of wine and a night sky full of more stars than I have seen in a long time. I’d have to say it was the most relaxing night so far on the trip (and that’s saying something).