Overnight we sailed across the short Straits of Bonafacio out of Italian national waters and into French territory. Corsica has belonged to France since just before the time of the French Revolution, when it was taken from the Genoese. The father of Napoleon Bonaparte had been a Corsican nationalist, but his son rose to power thanks to the opportunities provided by the French Revolution. The day before our arrival in Corsica, our historian, David Barnes, gave a lecture on the life and times of Napoleon Bonaparte, whose birthplace in Ajaccio, the principal town of Corsica, we would visit at the end of the day. In World War II, the island gave fierce resistance to the Axis Powers, since Italy with German help tried hard to take possession of the island again -- failing when the local resistance troops were victorious in 1943.
After breakfast, we landed by zodiac in the small fishing harbor of Porto, one of many such harbors along the spectacular pink granite coastline of western Corsica. The entire morning was devoted to an exploration of this unique countryside. Using the small market town of Piana as our base, walks were made to the edge of the cliffs and along the narrow coastal road, our naturalists explaining the unique vegetation of the maquis, a name which became synonymous with the French Resistance in WW II. The first rain showers of the entire trip only added to the drama of the scenery .
After lunch, we sailed for Ajaccio arriving in time for an early evening exploration of the old quarter of the town with an opportunity provided to explore at leisure throughout the evening.
