Friday 22nd February 2002

We drove along the Porto road and parked just beyond the Col de Palmarella.

We walked down to the beach (Plage de Tuara) under a cloudless sky. It took us an hour and 10 minutes from the road. On the way down we saw a glimpse of Girolata and realised that it has a ruined Genoese castle.

On the pebble beach we sheltered in front of a strip of rock. Helen paddled, then swam on the second attempt while Jeremy paddled and then warmed her up. We had lunch on the beach under the sun. It was very picturesque with the sun glistening on the bay.

We took the coastal path and walked to Girolata. The walk was quite spectacular as we had the sun-drenched bay to our left and the rocks of the Scandola peninsula in front of us. We saw many scuttling lizards along the way. And a cow.

We found Girolata largely deserted. Girolata itself lies above its own natural harbour. It has three jetties along a broad beach lined with Eucalyptus trees. We tried to visit the castle ruin which sits on the headland overlooking Girolata but it appeared to be private. We sat on the end of one of the piers, having a drink, watching the little fish in the bay and watching the sun go down.

In the fading daylight we made a mad dash back to the car (which took an hour and three-quarters). On the drive home, while negotiating the twists and turns of the Porto road, we came upon a pair of wild boar (sangliers), one black, one white. They are smaller than you might expect - about knee height - and very compact. They stopped on the road in front of us and tussled briefly before disappearing out of our headlights.

4892--6-25-24A: View towards Girolata from the Porto road	4894--0-01-0A: Helen starting out on the Girolata loop	4894--0-02-01: Cow
4894--1-03-2A: First glimpse of Girolata with its ruined Genoese castle	4894--1-04-03: First view of the bay of the Plage de Tuara, nr Girolata	4894--1-05-04: Lizard (skittle!) on the path to Plage de Tuara, nr Girolata
4894--1-06-05: Plage de Tuara, nr Girolata	4894--2-07-06: Helen going swimming at Plage de Tuara, nr Girolata (1)	4894--2-08-07: Helen going swimming at Plage de Tuara, nr Girolata (2)
4894--2-09-08: Helen going swimming at Plage de Tuara, nr Girolata (3)	4894--2-10-09: Helen going swimming at Plage de Tuara, nr Girolata (4)	4894--3-11-10: Helen going swimming at Plage de Tuara, nr Girolata (5)
4894--3-12-11: Boat on the bay at Plage de Tuara, nr Girolata	4894--3-13-12: Jeremy paddling at Plage de Tuara, nr Girolata	4894--3-14-13: Helen climbing the headland between Place de Tuara and Girolata
4894--4-15-14: The headland between Place de Tuara and Girolata	4894--4-16-15: As we round the headland from the beach we catch sight of Girolata again through a gap in the maquis canopy	4894--4-17-16: Girolata
4894--4-18-17: The pier at Girolata	4894--5-19-18: Sunset over Girolata's ruined Genoese castle	4910--0-01-01: Girolata bay from the Scandola peninsula
4910--0-02-02: Jeremy on the Scandola peninsula	4910--0-03-03: Sunset over Girolata and its castle