Wanderings: Ferry to Corisica

March 12, 2019

The train from Parma to La Spezia on the Italian coast goes through the Ligurian Apennine Mountains. The line passes by mountain villages and towns, and through a number of tunnels. Passing through one tunnel, the feel of the train changed as we reached the line's summit and began our descent to the Sea. The southbound seaside train through Pisa brought me to Livorno, where a brisk 2-mile walk (1) ended at the ferry terminal.

I had planned to take the ferry tomorrow, but the high wind forecast suggested today was the better choice. The ferry ride was a pleasant 4 hours to the French Island of Corsica. Judging by its effects on the Sea, the wind was Force 3, "gentle breeze," (2) and the motion of the ship was relative mild. We arrived at Bastia as night fell.

I found a local place to eat (3). There was a group of women with dogs, kids running about and a local couple, well known to the waitress, who seemed to enjoy arguing with each other, including slamming their glasses on the table, then going out for a smoke. Whatever the argument was about (my limited knowledge of French was not up to the task), they seem to have had the same argument before.

In the main plaza of Bastia, there is a large statue of Napoléon Bonaparte, who was Corsican (4). He is presented as the Roman God Jupiter. The statue had been commissioned in 1814, shortly before Napoleon's defeat and exile to Elba (5), just off the Italian coast. After Napoleon's defeat, the statue languished in the sculptor's Italian studio until 1849, when he convinced the Corsicans to buy it.

(1) I had planned a leisurely stroll, but the train was 40 minutes late. I still had plenty of time upon arrival at the ferry terminal.

(2) The Beaufort wind scale is based on observable effects of wind, which can be difficult to measure at sea in a moving vessel. A gentle breeze/force 3 (a) wind is described by the following attributes: "Large wavelets; crests begin to break; foam of glassy appearance; perhaps scattered white horses" (b).

(a) A knot signifies nautical miles per hour. A nautical mile is about 1 1/6 statute miles.

(b) I checked later and the winds were recorded at 9 to 10 knots, which corresponds to a Force 3 wind.

(3) They seem to cater to a local crowd; the menu was in French and Italian only. I ordered my meal (as well as I could) in a combination of pidgin French and Italian.

(4) Sometimes spelled Buonapart (especially in older texts), reflecting his Corisican birth.

(5) He promptly escaped from Elba (c) and recreated his army, before ultimately being defeated at Waterloo and exiled to St Helena (d).

(d) A small, inaccessible (i) island the mid Atlantic between Africa and Brazil from which Napoleon did not escape.

(i) The only way on or off the Island was by boat until 2016.