Sunday, October 13th - Day 33 - Last day in Serra di Ferro

 Sunday morning dawned beautifully and we decided to get to know our local surroundings better. But before we left Munroe browned the lamb in the second package we bought while en route back from Ajaccio and then added onions, garlic, carrots, and small potatoes - using up virtually everything we had left in the fridge - to make a lovely lamb stew that slow cooked for hours.  So after breakfast and getting that stew going, we set off on foot for the village center - taking a detour en route to explore one of the mountain-top drives.  It ended in a private driveway so we didn't get far!

The air was fragrant, the birds singing, and the mountains visible in the distance seemed shrouded in a gauzy mist that was simply magical.  Perched on the hilltop, the vistas from Serra di Ferro stretch in every direction, and two of them involve different perspectives on the Mediterranean.  In other words, it is a little bit of heaven!  

  

Serra di Ferro is actually larger than we'd originally appreciated.  There are many tentacles to the hilltop village that aren't visible until you look closer - or walk by them and decide to look more closely.  We enjoyed just wandering around - the local Catholic church had its doors open and we could see that it was empty, so we poked our heads in there.  We even found a local post office tucked in behind in the lower level of the community building! We had searched for two days to find an elusive post box in Porto Pollo so that Deb could mail her post cards - only to find that we had that and more right at our doorstep!

As we walked around the town, we noticed two trucks full of dogs and guys pull up at the town square.  They were dressed in neon orange, and as we climbed the hill towards them two of the big and lean dogs ran furiously down the street towards and by us.  They were obviously filled with adrenalin and had recently been hunting.  It turned out that the wild boar hunting season had started on October 1st.  We'd heard 3 gunshots earlier in the day and had noticed wild boar tracks and the results of them routing around on the side of the trail up to the tower earlier.  There we no signs that they had been successful in the hunt that morning, but the sight of armed men and dogs was exhilarating and intimidating.

We took a quick look at the path we'd read and heard about to Cupabia beach and walked down part of it. After about 10 minutes it started to get pretty rough underfoot so we decided to call that off and returned to the village, and then to home.  

After lunch, we got changed into our swimsuits and headed for Porto Pollo, about 2 km down the mountain on the coast.  This was our closest coastal town and home to the beachside Spar grocery store.  We had explored the beautiful swimming beach the day before and decided that if we were to swim anywhere or anytime during our trip, this would be our last best shot.  The water was warmer at Eze, but we didn't follow through on our intention of swimming in the Cote d'Azur!

The water was cool - actually, cold until you got ducked - and then it was lovely.  We probably stayed in for around 20 minutes, swimming and floating on our backs so as to be able to take in the gorgeous scene.  We dried off in the sun and then returned to our spot to begin packing, organizing, and cleaning up a bit. Munroe took the vacuum to the car, which had collected sand as a result of our several beach excursions, and power-washed the dust off the exterior because we'd been instructed to return the car as clean as we found it.  So we did!

We enjoyed the lamb stew - and indeed finished it all.  Then it was time to watch one last glorious sunset and turn in for the night and the appearance of the bright moon.