Campomoro with update on Piracy in Corsica

We sailed from Bonifacio to Campomoro on October 4, 2013 and found a place to anchor partially sheltered from the swell here. This large bay is Propiano Bay, with a town of the same name at the mouth. It was too shallow for us (and too far) so we chose this cove at Campomoro. Exactly opposite is a town and reported anchorage called Porto Pollo, but when we were there, it was a ghost land with moorings in every patch of water under 80 feet, and too close together for us. So we rolled in the swell on the Campomoro side.

This turns out to be the same bay a couple and their captain washed ashore after pirates seized their yacht The Armageddon, and left the owners in a life raft, absconding with the yacht. Read about it here: http://www.maritime-executive.com/article/Pirates-Hijack-Luxury-Yacht-in-Mediterranean-2014-02-20/

Back to Campomoro on a good day…

It wasn’t to bad to sleep, but the swell was quite noticeable. We went on a hike the next day from the dinghy dock at Calanova and hiked to the Genoese Tower. The hike passes through a gated community then proceeds to the Genoese Tower on the point. These towers were built in the 15th century to stand sentry against pirates. There were once 85 of them, placed as far apart as visible by fire, so that in the event of an emergency a lit fire could be seen and repeated, circling the alarm around the island in short order and warning the inland people to lock the doors and hide the women and children. (read all about them here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genoese_tower). We kept going from there for about 3 or 4 miles along the coast. This coastline is interrupted by the oddest and most intriguing formations of limestone, that have been carved in the brutal Mistral winds into almost frightening sculptures.

Here is the route of the hike:

We stopped for a swim, and enjoyed a well-earned beer at the end of our hike.