23-07-2015     Bonifacio → Burgo   91 km
      for route click here

Breakfast at 7 a.m.   In that respect our hostess is helpful; the official starting time is 8 o'clock   Breakfast is served in a kind of party tent. It's rather stuffy in there, until the sides are folded away. Not surprisingly we leave before the Swiss family gets up. An advantage of the location north of Bonifacio is that we have less time to spend on the N198. The highway is not that busy yet, and the view after a bend (at the Col de Parmentile, 45 m) over the straight road is certainly not ugly. I have two alternatives in mind for the 'killing' shortcut of yesterday, for both of which we 'pay' with a longer while on the N198. Shortly before the decision moment a large truck approaches us from the front and we are scared to death by a sudden LOUD and lasting hooting by a truck that's coming from behind. Without thinking we steer onto the side of the road. If not, we might well have been shoved onto it, or maybe even been run over by the hooting truck. What an asshole the driver must be. Didn't he see us from far enough? Was he busy with his mobile phone?

The N196

where we almost got killed

Well, after this (fortunately only figuratively) shocking event, our decision is made: some 2 km further we turn left onto the D159. Follows a stiff climb of some four km while we're still fresh, as is the morning. In retrospect on the north side we admire ourselves for the STEEP road we got underneath yesterday in the heat. From the low mountain range, the last ripple till the sea, we enjoy nice views to the higher mountains in the north.

	The same low		but steep intermezzo as yesterday
	with great views		to the north

We revisit the Coop in Sotta and a little further along its mainstreet have a short coffee break. In a small bar a tiny, shriveled granny prepares a minuscule cappuccino for Enya. I opt for a coca cola. And, alas, there's no pastry. We sit inside to elude the heat that has already restored its domination. The heat that has no mercy for the next 16 km. The D59 stays even till the junction where the road to Porto-Vecchio splits off . At this junction two other people seem to have the intention to climb the Col de Bacinu. A man severely mis-shifts gears, a woman rides up 50 meters and makes a complete turn. Not much later a car passes us with a (her?) bike on the back. We try to find a convenient speed and slowly ride up. The first part of some 4 km (of the 12 km climb) certainly asks for a solid effort and quite a bit of sweat, but we reach the easy middle part without suffering too much. During the second steeper part, with great views, we take a few short breaks for breath and shade; to Enya it feels like it is never ending.

The long, warm climb

. . . .

Quite a climb to the Col de Bacinu!

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	. . . .		. . . .
	. . . .		. . . .

. . . .

. . . .

And then it ends. And it took quite some time: it's close to 12:30 already! So we ride on until the fontaine we remember in Orono. Above it there's a little lawn surrounded by bougainvillea where we have a healthy cereals break. In the meantime the sky is getting overcast and we hear some rumbling up north. It feels like we will have our first drops of rain in Corsica, and to have our raincoats within easy grasp we have to dig deep into our panniers to find them.

Short descent to Orono

Colourful lunch site in Orono; risk of rain?

We leave our route of yesterday for an small road to the west, this way also escaping a possible thunderstorm. Until now the 'interesting' small curvy roads (the white ones on the map) are the best to enjoy the country, even though they usually contain the steepest sections, and so it is today. The roads stays on altitude for a while, even confronts us with such a (short) stretch of 10%, before it drops down into a never ending descent with several sharp (180°) hairpin bends.

	GREAT descent		over a SMALL road

The descent brings us down eventually to the river Fiumicicoli which we follow with hope of a swim. No luck there. At one point we think we've found it, but the parking place appears next to a resort with sources (water temperature > 30°).   Having a look at the time (and having in mind the efforts of the first half of the stage) I decide (despite our experience on the N198) we will follow the direct route to Burgo, via Propriano. It's good the Parisians in Serra-di-Scopamène mentioned that the gîte in Fozzano is in fact in Burgo, which is in another valley. Burgo is not even mentioned on the Michelin map, and over the road the distance between the villages is almost 20 km − probably it will take hikers less time than bikers, since the straight distance is at most 5 km! So we follow the D268/D69, passing under Sartène (from a distance beautifully located) and then get back unto the much apprehended N196. It's only 6 km, and most of the time the shoulders are large, so only the last km, which has no shoulders (partly a pavement) and goes up (to the Col the Sainte-Giulia, 80 m) is horrible. At the big roundabout from where we will get off, Enya notices a Sport 2000, and suggests we buy a replacement for my leaking bidon. We add a nice Corsica cycling shirt − souvenir for Dad − and need a lot of patience in the line at the cash register.

Sartène from afar

Big roundabout

The end of a bidon

A steep km brings us into stuffy, busy, HOT Propriano. We put our heavily loaded bikes in a corner and walk through the horrible (queue filled) main street in search of a quiet, shady terrace. Which is very hard to find! And it is so bloody warm! There should be something close to the harbour, where an impressive ferry "Le Meridional" lies along the quay. Finally we sink down into two soft chairs and order a big beer and a big coup de glace.

	Warm,		busy
	Propiano		Yuck!

And then the last 10 (?) km. We follow another steep road up to get back to the N196. Well, is it another road? . . . .   It appears it is not, we arrive at the same big roundabout, so I add un unwanted climb and an extra km along the N196. Well, we get down to sea level, up 100 m, and then finally get into (figuratively) higher spheres for the final 6 (?) km. With all the time lost I think it's better to let the people at the gîte know we will be a little later than announced by phone. Well, that's no problem. Two km further at a junction with a half (!) sign for the gîte (of which the half with the arrow is broken off) I phone again, to ask for directions. For 3 km the road is almost flat, then it starts to climb, and the distance of 2 km our hostess mentions appears to be rather 3 or 4. We notice a huge white hotel-like building high up . . . . will that be our place? . . . . it will indeed. For the steep last 100 m we need our slowest gear (to which it's best to change before the bend, Enya!)   A huge dog is awaiting us; it's more like a bear. As soon as we arrive the difficulties of the day are forgotten: we are heartily welcomed, we decide to change to a room of our own, a nice room, and after a shower enjoy a delicious dinner on a terrace with a five-star view over the valley, down to Propriano and to the sea. Absolutely a top location!

	Back in better surroundings		The end is steep
	STEEP		Great view
	More great . . . .		. . . .   views
	And good food		!!