Day Five: Calvi to Galeria

After yesterday’s experience in the hills we took some time to figure out better ways to handle the big heavy bikes. They are really hard to manage since when stopping on steep gradients they tend to roll back. Equally, very difficult to push and walk uphill (or down). So after 4 days of cycling we finally figured out the “walk assist” function on the bikes. A ‘just in time discovery that made getting the bikes up the steep cobbled streets to the road out of Calvi a lot easier. Not sure how we would have managed otherwise!

Once safely at the top, we looked for breakfast. We had coffee and croissants at a cafe at the top of the city close to the Citadel which  set us up for the morning.

Once out of Calvi the D81b winds along the coast with spectacular views out over the lighthouse at the end of the peninsula. Arguably one of the most scenic rides in Corsica, which is saying alot !

Then it carries on, passing with towering pink granite crags on one side and the sea on the other. We went around a succession of headlands onto little bays with blue sea below us. However it is a very broken road surface, little better than a track in parts.  The front suspension on the bikes really helped. Round and along, up and down the road rolled by the sea . After some time it turned inland through a small pass and into farmland - mainly olives and vine.  We passed the Prince Pierre Napoleon Bonaparte Vineyard – a proud establishment with an interesting castle.  Sadly, we never did get a tasting.

The road briefly returned to the coast before turning into a deep valley and bridge over the river.  We finished with a kilometre  cruise into Galeria. On arrival, we felt pretty fresh so we stopped for a refreshing beer at a popular bar.

Then we cycled down to our hotel – the l’Alivu – a delightful, modern place with just seven, generous sized rooms, close to the beach. We had  a lovely ground floor room with a rather overgrown garden / patio, loungers and access to a very private pool. It felt very ‘greek’ for some reason and we were  sure that we have stayed in the hotel L’Alivu before.

We walked along the front for away and checked out the food options. Decided to have a light lunch of sea bass with lemon sauce which came with a super ratatouille ‘Legumes du Soleil’ that we must try at home. We walked along the quiet beach and enjoyed a swim.

Back at the hotel we made use of the super pool, which we had to ourselves. After that we chilled out in our little garden (aka crashed out in the hotel again).

That evening we ate in the darling restaurant of the hotel, it was just across the road. Lovely family run place, excellent food. We had a tuna steak, and a massive magret de canard, followed by corsican cheese.