Bonifacio 2009 – Part VIII

Posted on June 4, 2009 by Didier

There are no hotels on the Lavezzi Islands. No cafes, either. Not even a single toilet.

And that’s precisely why people come. Classified as a Natural Reserve by France in 1982, the islands, in the strait between Sardinia and Corsica, have been protected from development. But there hasn’t been any shelter from the wind. Without buildings to break them, gusts have whipped the islands’ granite into fantastic shapes. In the coves between the rocks are protected spots of empty, sandy white beach. The clear water is teeming with anemones and fish, particularly grouper (merou in French), which explains why divers know the islands as Merouville.

The winds also caused one of the Mediterranean’s worst shipwrecks. On the 160-acre main island (the only one that’s more than a pile of rocks), a hiking path leads to a 46-foot-tall pyramid-shaped memorial for the sinking of the Semillante in 1855. The disaster took the lives of 700 sailors and soldiers.

So, last pictures of our Corsican trip. Surely of our best experience there, the Lavezzi Islands!

Bonifacio 2009 – Part VII

Posted on May 29, 2009 by Didier

Now, some shots from the Bonifacio citadel and the fantastic limestone cliffs.

Some descriptions from Wikipedia:

The southern coast in the vicinity of Bonifacio is an outcrop of chalk-white limetone, precipitous and sculpted into unusual shapes by the ocean. Slightly further inland the limestone adjoins the granite of which the two islands, Sardinia and Corsica, are formed. […]

The city of Bonifacio is split into two sections. The vieille ville (old town), or la Haute Ville (the Upper city), on the site of a citadel, is located on the promontory overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. The citadel was built in the 9th century with the foundation of the city. The Citadel has been reconstructed and renovated many times since its constructio and most recently was an administrative center for the French Foreign Legion. Today it is more of a museum. […]

The city and its fortifications also extend for some distance along the cliff-tops, which are at about 70 meters (230 ft) elevation. The cliffs have been undercut by the ocean so that the buildings, which have been placed on the very lip of the precipice, appear to overhang it. The appearance from the sea is of a white city gleaming in the sun and suspended over the rough waters below.

Bonifacio 2009 – Part V

Posted on May 18, 2009 by Didier

Now have a look at these pictures from the Golf of Figari.

Very special with all these rocks, beautiful ocean and sand.

Absolutely fantastic!

Saint Barth – Part XXII

Posted on March 10, 2009 by Didier

Although we are back from paradise/Saint Barth, and fully jetlagged, I would like to continue for a while to publish some posts, in order to finish this “Saint Barth 2009 series”.

The last two days in St Barth were quite windy and consequently, we have decided to have a walk on the “wild” coast of St Barth. Completely different landscapes there, you should understand rapidly the reason of the name “wild” ;-)

Our first walk was around the Grand Fond Bay.

For some pictures, it looks a bit like … Ireland ;-)

A video will also follow!

Saint Barth – Part XX

Posted on March 7, 2009 by Didier

And now, the Lorient beach!

Some pictures

A video

http://cdn.smugmug.com/ria/ShizVidz-2008120101.swf

And two panoramas!

Saint Barth – Part XII

Posted on March 2, 2009 by Didier

Some new big panoramas (created with Panorama Factory).

The first one is from the Colombier beach (8’480 x 2’728, 16.8 MB)
The second one from the scenery behind the Saline beach. You can see also the small path which is arriving to the Saline beach (14’957 x 2’277, 27.9 MB)
The third one is giving an overlook on the old salins of Saint Barth (5’703 x 2’365, 12.2 MB)

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