CALENZANA
Calenzana, the largest village in the Balagne region, has been a major centre of olive production since the time of the Romans. Set against the awesome backdrop of Monte Grossu’s massive north-facing cliffs, its nucleus of old granite houses, grouped around the grand Baroque belfry and facade of the Church of Saint Blaise, preside over a swathe of gnarled trees that tumble downhill to meet the coastal maquis behind the Golfe de Calvi. It’s an archetypal Mediterranean hill village, with twisting lanes that open onto a square where you can join the old boys in their blue overalls sipping strong coffee in the shade of plane trees.
But beneath Calenzana’s sleepy feel, broken only by the steady stream of trekkers that plod through to begin the GR20 and Tra Mare e Monti trails, lurks a decidedly dubious underbelly. Among Corsicans the village is infamous as a taproot for organized crime on the Côte d’Azur, the so-called Milieu. It is often asserted that its prosperity, which has endured generations of emigration and economic decline, derives from gangsterism in Marseille, a short ferry hop across the water. This might merely be jealous slander but few would deny that Calenzana remains discernibly better off than its neighbours. Come here in August and you’ll notice a disproportionate number of luxury German cars sporting ‘13’ (Marseille) number plates.
After a nose around the church, whose ornate, gloomy interior is dominated by an early eighteenth-century altar and very gory tabernacle, there’s not much to do other than fortify yourself for the trials ahead.
Orientation and services
Advice on how to get to Calenzana by public transport from Calvi appears on p107. A taxi here will set you back around 20euro one-way. Heading in the other direction, from Calenzana, call Taxis Biancardini on tel 04.95.62.77.80 or tel 06.08.16.53.65.
Anyone who didn’t stock up with supplies before leaving the coast can do so at the large Spar supermarket on the main Calvi road. Fresh bread and pastries are sold there and at the small bakery, five minutes’ walk east of the square.
Where to stay
In peak season, Calenzana struggles to cope with the influx of trekkers, in spite of the fact its Gîte d’étape Municipal (tel 04.95 62.77.13; open May–Sept) was recently upgraded and enlarged. Situated just below the village proper, a stone’s throw off the main road, this is where most people heading off on the GR20 hole up. Its four-berth dorms, ranged around a gravel-chipping courtyard, have en suite bathrooms and cost 13euro per head.
Bivouackers are charged 5.30euro for a pitch under the trees in the garden, plus 3.80euro per tent, for which you also get the use of an impressive power shower and toilet block. Self-catering facilities are limited to a tiny kitchen equipped with a single electric hob and some pans – a move obviously designed to encourage you to eat in one of the restaurants up in the village. For the same reason, breakfast is not available here (see p115).
Two hotels up in the village centre offer more comfortable alternatives. Neither is particularly swish but their rates are low compared with Calvi. Hôtel Monte Grossu (tel 04.95.62.70.15, fax 04.95.62 83.21; open May–Sept) stands to the left of the main street, a short way beyond the Spar, and has 10 simple, clean double rooms (all with en suite showers but toilets à l’étage). Rates range from 38euro to 42euro depending on the month.
Opposite the square, Hôtel Bel Horizon (tel/fax 04.95.62.71.72; open May–Sept) is in much the same mould, with rates from 30.50euro to 45.60euro.
Where to eat
There’s only one restaurant worthy of note in Calenzana. Situated opposite the main facade of the church, Le Calenzana ‘Chez Michel’ (open daily March–Dec, but closed Mon in Jan–Feb) offers staunchly traditional, delicious Corsican mountain cuisine and wood-baked pizzas. If you’re not expecting to be within range of a decent meal for a while, splash out on one of the set menus (15euro and 16.70euro). These kick off with a rustic soupe corse (complete with the bones) or terrine de figatellu (fragrant liver-sausage pâté), followed by wild-boar spaghetti, pan-fried veal with broad beans, or the restaurant’s signature dish, tender suckling lamb and wheat-rolled roast potatoes.
Although marginally cheaper, neither of its competitors down the road, Pizzeria Prince Pierre and Café-Restaurant Le GR20, offers comparable value for money, nor the same degree of hospitality. You may, however, be tempted by Café le Royal set breakfasts, served on a terrace behind the church. Since the gîte was forced by the municipality to stop serving breakfasts (in order to faire travailler les cafés), something of a price war has broken out in the village. A string of places now open at 6am to catch the dawn trekking exodus; the Royal is the friendliest and best situated.
On your way up the hill towards the trailhead, another place to carb up is the stark Pâtisserie E Fritelle, on a lane called U Chiasu, which runs to the right off the main street just after the bend (if you’re approaching the centre via the Calvi road). Open from 6am, it’s renowned for its hot Corsican doughnuts (beignets) and Calenzana’s own speciality biscuits, cuggielli, made with appropriately calorific chestnut flour. Ask for a bag hot out of the oven.
GR20 STAGE ONE: CALENZANA TO REFUGE D'ORTU DI U PIOBBU [MAP 1, p117]
Overview
Leading you from the coastal olive belt around Calenzana to the windy heights of the watershed, the first day of the GR20 is an unremittingly tough slog involving a net altitude gain of 1245m (think of Ben Nevis and then some). Weighed down with two or three days’ provisions and three litres of water (there’s no dependable source along the route once out of sight of Calenzana), most trekkers find it a gruelling introduction to the joys of Corsican trekking. You’ll certainly make life a lot easier for yourself by getting an early start, which will enable you to cover the first major climb in cool shadow.
The stage’s highlights are a succession of extraordinary panoramas revealed from the passes. Encompassing a large chunk of the Balagne coast, these grow steadily more impressive as you climb, culminating in your first glimpse of the Cinto massif and Paglia Orba, which flag the onward route.
Because of the length and overall difficulty of the next (second) étape, this is not a leg of the GR20 to double up unless you are already fit and comfortable with the altitude. Anyone arriving early in the afternoon at the Refuge d’Ortu di u Piobbu would do better to consider the ascent of Monte Corona (see box on p120) as an extension.
A Variante route to the refuge runs along the Tra Mare e Monti trail to Bonifatu and thence up the Melaghia Valley (see p118). Keeping to easy gradients for most of the way it has little to recommend it other than as a safe bad-weather approach to the main trail. Basically, if the first étape seems too much for you in favourable conditions you should probably think twice about attempting the GR20 at all.
Route guide
PNRC signboards dotted along the road from the gîte and around Calenzana’s square point the way to the GR20/Tra Mare e Monti trailhead at the top of the village.
The official start is marked by a tiny chapel, the Oratoire Sant’Antoine (275m), opposite a gushing spring of the same name where you can fill up your water bottle. Beyond it a paved mule track squeezes between old retaining walls to start a steady climb through a mix of Laricio pines, ferns and maquis dotted with lightning-charred chestnut trees.
A stately old pine, roughly 45 minutes up the trail, heralds your arrival at a second spring, the Funtana di Ortivinti, which stands to the left of the trail a short way before it splits; this is the last dependable source of drinking water before Ortu di u Piobbu. At the junction (550m), the orange waymarks of the Tra Mare e Monti/GR 20 Variante run west (to the right). The main GR20, meanwhile, presses south (left) uphill through spiny maquis to cross a shoulder pass, the Bocca di u Ravalente (616m), from where you can see up the whole Figarella Valley to the Cirque de Bonifatu.
Once over the spur a steady traverse sweeps around the eastern flank of the valley to a distinctive rock outcrop, the promontoire d’Arghioa (820m). Take a break here to steel yourself for the hard, zigzagging ascent of more than 400 metres through scruffy heather and pines to the Bocca a u Saltu pass (1250m). Affording grandiose views across the wild Frintogna Valley to the summit of Monte Grossu, this pass forms the GR’s gateway to the high mountains and is a great spot from which to admire the panorama of the Balagne coast (clearest from atop the outcrop immediately north-north-west of the pass itself; see Map 1, opposite).
The Bocca a u Saltu also heralds a marked transition in the trail. After a short, easy descent through a beautiful Laricio pine forest (Le Bois de la Fratte) the waymarks thread steeply uphill though a messy mass of exposed granite that should be approached with caution, especially in wet weather. A stanchion cable has been fixed to one of the trickier pitches. Although a welcome help in slippery conditions it can prove a bottleneck in peak season.
Above it, more enjoyable scrambling across rocks dotted with spotted orchids and helebore brings you eventually to the second major pass of the étape, the Bocca a u Bazzichellu (1486m). The col is more rounded and wooded than the previous one but has less imposing views; you’ll probably want to get straight on with the climb through the pine forest above it. Once clear of the trees, a wonderful panorama opens up to the south across the Melaghia Valley to Monte Cinto and Paglia Orba on the horizon.
With the last significant ascent of the day behind you, the traverse that follows, contouring around the headwaters of the Melaghia River, is a real joy. After crossing a stream the path rounds a boulder-strewn spur and ascends for one last push to the plateau on which Refuge d’Ortu di u Piobbu is situated.
Refuge d’Ortu di u Piobbu
Nestled below the summit of Monte Corona, the Refuge d’Ortu di u Piobbu (1570m) is one of the most attractively sited on the GR20. A perfect spot for sunset, the refuge sits on the site of an old bergerie at the head of the Melaghia Valley, looking west over ranks of receding ridges towards the coast. Arriving here from sea level in fine weather you’ll be struck by the clarity of the light and shimmering silver birch wood that spills down the stream gully nearby. The high-mountain ambience is accentuated by prayer flags fluttering from a cairn behind the hut; the flags were erected by the gardiens and some Nepali friends they met on an expedition to climb Mansulu in 2000.
The refuge itself accommodates 30 people, with a spacious dining area and adjoining stove room. Dry-stone bivouac and camping shelters are dotted around the building. If you’re sleeping in the open without a tent, expect to be hassled by cattle during the night. Note, too, that this mountainside can get especially chilly in the small hours as the warm westerly from the sea dies off and cooler air currents drift down from Monte Corona; so bed down in one of the round, tall-walled shelters rather than semi-circular wind-breaks if you can.
Hot drinks and cooked food, such as soupe corse and omelettes, are available here, in addition to the usual range of basic supplies when the refuge is staffed (from June until mid-September).
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