The plan is that I arrive in Corsica on 8th June. The walk will follow the GR20 long distance path from Conca in the south east to Calenzana, 200kms away in the northwest. In between I will climb the three highest mountains on the island. I will be camping along the way and take everything with me, except for food and water. I'm not bothering with food and water this year.
Now don't think that by sponsoring me you are paying for the trip. I paid for it. I've had quite a few disparaging remarks (R.Gourlay, S.Steer) incinnerating that I am a freeloader. All the money raised goes to Casa Alianza.
Thank you for looking at this page and donating money. Please donate ideas of impractical items that I should take with me. I will look through the suggestions before choosing at least one utterly pointless item to take. Clearly electrical items would fit the bill, but I would say that they are the obvious choices. Thanks to one donatorer (Robert Utting) for suggesting the he himself is the most impractical thing to take. I have to agree.
Anyhow, you may be worried by my carbonara footprints, but let me assure you that I will be travelling there by train and ferry. I would like to take the moral high ground, however my motivation is purely borne out of my fear of flying.
And why Corsica? Apart from being the fifth largest island in the world, Corsica has a wonderful array of delights. The first donkey was discovered in Corsica in 1855. The lush savannah that covers most of the island is known as 'marquee' because it is ideal for camping. So I look forward to pitching my tent each night. It is commonly known as 'Ham Island' by the mainland french, because of the shape of the island- a leg of ham. I am told that the Corgi people are egregious and outgoing, and famous corsicans include many stars of stage and music, e.g. the late great Liberace, Britney Spears (although her parents were originally from Brittany), Billy Connolly, and Richard Whitely- not to mention Malcolm X, and Bez from The Happy Mondays.
I have a couple of months to learn a bit of Cornish and of course get fit. I will no doubt bring lots of photos back, but they will do well to beat the ones fom last year's Pyrrhic Adventure in Spain and France.
This year's trip will be run with military precision. The sort of military precision used by the Paraguayan Army in the War Of The Triple Alliance (against Brasil, Argentina, and Uruguay) which left 90% of the Paraguayan male population dead by the time it was over. That sort of thing.
Anyway, I've gone off at a bit of a tandem there. So please read the serious bit below. (No Paraguayans were harmed in the creation of this page, and no Corgis are likely to be harmed during the course of the expedition). Mind you, the Corgi I met in the Blue Boar in Walsham didn't take kindly to the content of this page. And look what he did to my face. Still, you should see the mess I made of his shoes.
So thanks to the staff at Ipswich Hospital for putting my head back together. It was a shame that the surgeon threw away a spare bit of my cheekbone that was hanging around in my face, it could have been my useless object to take with me.
Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Casa Alianza Charitable Company gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.- NB- I didn't write this paragraph so I can't guarantee the vertacity of the content therein and herewith.
Itinerary
Follow the progress of our champion as he crosses mountain and valley....
June 8
leave London at 5.45 am- train to Paris and then Marseille. 7pm ferry overnight to Porto Vecchio
song of the day -High Hopes- Pink Floyd
book of the day -Journey without maps- Graham Greene
June 9 (happy 8th wedding anniversary TW)- Did you get the flowers, darling?
from Porto Vecchio get to Conca somehow about 10 miles away- I suppose I could walk if I felt energetic- start of the GR20- Conca to Paliri
song of the day -Sylvia's Mother- Dr Hook
book of the day- What am I doing here?- Bruce Chatwin
June 10
potentially a long day- Paliri to Bivouac I Pedinieddi- 10 hours
song of the day Walk On By - Stranglers
book of the day- The Strange Journey Of Donald Crowhurst- Nicholas Tomalin
June 11
might do some more walking- Pedinieddi to Refuge d'Usciolu
song of the day 99.9F - Suzanne Vega
book of the day- The Idiot- Fedor Dostoyevski
June 12
Refuge d'Usciolu to Refuge Bocca di Verdi
song of the day This Land Is Your Land- Woody Guthrie
book of the day- Far From The Madding Crowd- Thomas Hardy
June 13
Bocca di Verdi to Bergeries d'E Capanelle- climbing Monte Renosu on the way
song of the day- Waltzing Along- James
book of the day- Into The Wild- Jon Krakauer
June 14
Bergeries d'E Capanelle to Vizzavona (this is a town with people in it)
song of the day- One Day Like This- Elbow
book of the day- Catch 22- Joseph Heller
June 15
Vizzavona to l'Onda- including climbing Monte Oro
song of the day- Long and winding road- The Beatles
book of the day- Heart Of Darkness- Joseph Conrad
June 16 (39 years old today)
l'Onda to Petra Piana including ascent of Monte Ritondu
song of the day- Happy Birthday-Altered Images
book of the day- The Long Way- Bernard Moitessier
June 17
Petra Piana to Hostel Castel de Vergio- on foot
song of the day- Walk The Line- Johnny Cash
book of the day- Gideon bible- I might have one night in a bed
June 18
Hostel Castel de Vergio to Ciottolu di I mari including ascent of Paglia Orba
song of the day Aguas Claras - K'alamarka
book of the day- The Country of the Blind- H G Wells ('the one eyed man is king...'
June 19
Ciottolu di I mari to Haut Asco
song of the day- Blue Ridge Mountains- Fleet Foxes
book of the day- Of Mice And Men- John Steinbeck
June 20
Ascent of Monte Cinto
song of the day- This Must Be The Place- Talking Heads
book of the day Keep the aspidistra flying- George Orwell
June 21
Haut Asco to Carozzu
song of the day- Big Daddy - Talking Heads
book of the day- As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning- Laurie Lee
June 22
Carozzu to Calenzana and the end of the GR20
Tune of the day- Fanfare For The Common Man- Aaron Copland
book of the day
June 23
Calenzana to Ile Rousse- I may even walk there- overnight ferry to Marseille
song of the day- Mountain Bed- Billy Bragg/Wilco/Woody Guthrie
book of the day- The book of Dave- Will Self
June 24
Marseille to London by train and then on
song of the day- A Sort Of Homecoming- U2
I've run out of books
June 29th Back at work and trying to collect the money-
for the record I completed it all OK and even managed to do it a little quicker to give me a day at the beach at the end.
Its hard to believe but I actually met some lovely people on the way and I think that they liked me- well they didn't say that they disliked me
so my thanks to them
Steffi, Bianca, Roberta, Olaf and Tina
Barbara, Hannah and Pete
Erick and Aurelia- Les Pompiers
Tibo
Thomas, Michel and their Dad
Jean-Luc and Jerome
Roland D'honneur, Frederic, Bruno, and Petit Robert
Iron Man and Stephanie (did you have a real name?)
The welsh blokes who believed me when I said I worked for Suffolk Mountain Rescue
That Englishwoman who believed me when I said I was an Officer in The Royal Hairdressing Regiment.
and definitely the old bag that sat next to me on the eurostar home- you are the most unpleasant and rude person I have met for a while, including colleagues and family- and they are awful
