Intro Part II (Liguria & Lake Como) Part III (Villages & Friends) Part I Saturday 18 September (continued). Following our visit to the perched villages, the bus took us to the harbor in Cannes. It parked a couple of blocks from the pier where we were to catch the tender out to the Star Clipper, and we all had to get our own luggage to the pier. Many in our group had a very difficult time of it. These arrangements clearly left something to be desired. On the other hand, we recognized that this was the first ever tour by either Elderhostel or IST to use the clipper ship, so some unexpected problems were pretty much inevitable. The Star Clipper is a four-masted sailing ship with about 70 cabins for 140 passengers. Our Elderhostel group was joined by another one taking the same tour except theirs didn't include Monaco. These two groups made up half of all the passengers. The other half were the clipper's usual clientele, some Americans but mostly Europeans. It was 6 p.m. by the time we boarded the tender that took us to the ship. There was a welcoming buffet that lasted until 6:30, so we didn't see much of that (not that we were hungry anyway). We went to see our cabin before the big buffet dinner scheduled for 7:30. The cabin was small but efficiently laid out with ample drawers and closets, really not bad considering the size of the ship. There was one medium-sized porthole. The bathroom was completely finished in white marble. It would be some time before our luggage would arrive, so we weren't able to change for our first dinner aboard.
By the time we returned to our cabin about 9 p.m., the luggage was there and we unpacked. Surprisingly, there was plenty of room for everything. The ship was to sail at 10:00, and we went on deck to witness our departure from Cannes. We were especially eager to see the sails being raised. Although still exciting, that turned out to be somewhat less impressive than we had expected. For one thing, the sails were raised (or lowered) entirely by electric winches; no sailors climbed the rigging. In addition, only about half of the ship's 16 sails were used on this occasion. The engines provided the main propulsion, as they did for most of the cruise. Still, it was a thrill to be on a real clipper ship. Sunday, 19 September. We had the buffet breakfast at 8:45. It included anything you could think of for breakfast, including omelets made to order. The lifeboat drill was held at 9:45, followed by an orientation and introduction of the crew. We learned that this was Captain Hensson's first cruise on the Star Clipper. He was very friendly and down-to-earth. By the time we had visited the ship's small boutique, it was 11 a.m. and the clipper was coming into the harbor at Calvi on the northwest corner of Corsica. The city was founded in the 13th Century by the Genoese, who also built the huge fortress to protect it. The entire island of Corsica was ruled by Genoa until the mid-19th Century when it was sold to France. Even today, the language of the island (Corse) is a dialect of Italian. After a buffet lunch on board, we took the 1 p.m. tender ashore. That was an hour before both Elderhostel groups were scheduled to go ashore for a bus tour of the island, so we had an hour to stroll the waterfront and the main shopping street. (Jane bought a Corsican shirt.) We were intrigued by the abundance of prickly pear cactus with huge bunches of fruit.
When the rest of the Elderhostelers came ashore, we boarded buses that took us northwest from Calvi along the coast. We had a nice view of Algajola with another of the huge Genoese fortresses. We stopped for refreshments at L'Ile Rousse, site of one of the many Genoese watch towers. Darrell was the first to discover that the chit provided with the tour could be used for beer as well as soft drinks.
When the rest of the Elderhostelers came ashore, we boarded buses that took us northwest from Calvi along the coast. We had a nice view of Algajola with another of the huge Genoese fortresses. We stopped for refreshments at L'Ile Rousse, site of one of the many Genoese watch towers. Darrell was the first to discover that the chit provided with the tour could be used for beer as well as soft drinks.
From there we headed south into the mountains on unbelievably narrow little roads. We passed through the Corbara and paused only briefly at the picturesque little village of Pigna. We stopped for half an hour in Aregno with its 11th Century chapel (and more of those ubiquitous prickly pear cacti). Just before we turned west at Cateri to head back toward the coast, we saw a man hang gliding. The mountain was so steep that he was only a few yards from our bus, even though he was hundreds of feet above the ground.
When we were dropped off in Calvi, the two of us decided to explore the fortress. Although affording some excellent views, the fortress itself wasn't particularly interesting. There was a vague rumor, apparently encouraged by the tourist office, that Christopher Columbus had once lived here. They have even labeled an old house "the Columbus house." However, Columbus' biographers have established conclusively that he never lived in Corsica. We caught the 6 p.m. tender back to the ship. The ship sailed at 7:00 for Bonifacio on the southern tip of Corsica. Dinner was served at 7:30. This was our first regular (as opposed to buffet) dinner on board. There was open seating. We could order any or all of about five courses from the menu, and there were two or three selections for each course. Alcoholic beverages were available for a fee. By the time the "fashion show" started on deck at 10 p.m., it was very windy and the sea was getting very rough. The show, done with humor, consisted of various crew members modeling clothing and accessories that were sold in the ship's boutique. Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 |
