Detour #22: Tour de Corse, France
In Corsica the post is never late. To cross from one side to the other of the 3,350-square-mile island, which is one vast mountain range, you have to conquer the wildest roads in Europe. With so much practice, the men and women at the wheel of the distinctive yellow postal vans can out-corner any rally driver.
The island is best known for hosting the Tour de Corse or, as the locals call it, the Rally of 10,000 Corners. In 1973 it became one of destinations on the inaugural World Rally Championship calendar. As a result, whichever way you turn inland the roads will test the resolve of you and your car.
When I visited, my vehicle was not the most suitable for getting kicks behind the wheel. The car was a diesel-powered Toyota Auris, albeit an SR 180 cooking version, and it is testament to the island’s roads that I still enjoyed every mile that passed under the Toyota’s wheels.
However, there are plenty of signs that not all of Corsica’s inhabitants are happy with their lot. Bullet-ridden road signs flash past the car’s windows. The Corsicans have only had the briefest taste of independence, just 14 years from 1755 to 1769. Today, despite referendums, it’s clear that the desire for self-government continues to run high among some sections of the community: French language road signs have fist-size holes ripped in them by shotguns at point blank range. The authorities are gradually replacing them with bilingual signs.
During my travels, in the village of Evisa, I stumbled across ‘Gun Boy’. John Wycherley, the photographer, and I asked the teenage lad armed with a rifle if he’d mind having his photo taken. The tone of his reply left us in no doubt. ‘Je n’aime pas les photos!’ he barks. We didn’t feel it was a picture worth pursuing.
Instead, we continued to soak up the distinct landscape of the island. Some roads, such as the N193, which is the spine of the island, are indecently fast with barely a bend of interruption. Others will have brakes wilting from the repeated need to check your speed and be granted safe passage.
From Plage du Liamone, the finishing point for a key World Rally Championship stage, to Vico, 21 miles away and the start of the stage, you begin to sense what’s on offer. Yet’s it’s a mere taster. From the smooth, wide and fluid D70 up to Evisa, take the D84, which runs from Porto to Castirla and you’ll experience a true challenge and spectacular, ever-changing scenery, with none of the traffic you can find at peak times on France’s other roadtrip mecca, the Col de Turini.
Protection from the drops is laughable and most walls are no higher than a street kerb. Large holes appear randomly, some from cars crashing through – their wrecks below a stark reminder of the consequences of a moment of misjudgement – but another frighteningly large proportion due to Indiana Jones-style boulders rolling down the mountain.
So what ever you do, don’t try to keep up with the postie.
Words James Mills Twitter | Instagram
Photography Ferenc Horvath, Kevin Langlais, Kilyan Sockalingum / Unsplash
Roadbook
Class: Island adventure
Name: D84
Route: Porto to Castirla
Country: Corsica, France
Distance: 46 miles
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