Corsica - Part 3 Ile Rousse et Monte Tolu

Our next stay was in a tiny appartment in the village of Corbara. First day we headed to a beach at Ostriconi on the edge of the Desert des Agriates - not an actual desert but an area which became overfarmed at the end of the ninetenth century and has since become a protected natural park without roads or development.

Corbara

The following day we visited the nearby hilltop villages of Pigna and Sant Antonino. We had a simple lunch at the very top of Sant Antonio with an amazing panoramic view and were circled the whole time by a red kite - which were by far the most common birds we saw on the island.

Sant Antonino

Our restaurant for lunch

Our next trip was across the Desert des Agriates to the little port of St Florent. It's often called the St Tropez of the island because of the wealthy celebrity yacht-borne visitors. It was pleasant but not really our thing so decided to head onto Bastia.

St Florent

Trying to find somewhere to park proved problematic but eventuallt we succeeded. Bastia is Corsica's main city and had quite different vibe with squares and pedestrianised streets. We explored the old port area, before heading for home and lovely meal out in Corbara.

On our last day in Corbara we headed into Ile Rousse to explore the town which we preferred to St Florent. In the afternoon I headed off to explore the villages beyond St Antonino - Cateri, Muro, Feliceto and Speloncato. I climbed in the car to the pass at Bocca di a Battaglia then made a quick walk over several tops to scramble up the Monte Tolu 1332m.

looking out over Speloncato from the start of the walk with the red Ile Rousse in the distance

Speluncato

The last section of the ridge

Monte Tolu

looking back along the ridge

The weather began to deteriorate so I made a swift return the car.

Corsica - part 2 Bonifatu Forest - Muvrella et Punta di Bonassa

On our first day we we decided to climb up to the Refuge d'Ortu di u Piobbu. A mixture of forest and ridge walking in the granite heartlands and our first glimpses of the high mountains. The Bonifatu is a large pine forest and heat and high humidity made for a rather exhausting 6h30 walk. Susie's toes, still sore and bruised from the half marathon made for a painful descent.

Next day Susie decided to have a rest day, so I opted to tackle Muvrella 2148m. A centrally located mountain with amazing views but a tough 1800m of ascent - some of it on the GR20.  The guidebook said it was a tough 10 hour day but I was keen to test myself. I set out early and reached the Spasimata bridge in about 1h30 well ahead of schedule.

From here on I began to pass the groups on the GR20. I felt fast and light - most of them did have bigger packs - but I was flying along!

After passing through the pass of Bocca Muvrella with a strange rock feature resembling a rabbit's head some scrambling lead down and across to another pass Bocca di Stagnu high above the ski station Haut Asco and opposite Monte Cinto the highest mountain on the island. 

view down the Fangu valley from the rabbit ears pass

From the second col I climbed to the summit following the edge of the rocky crest to arrive in just 4 hours from the Auberge. Spectacular views in all directions.

On the descent I was amazed to pass some of the slower parties I passed in the morning who were still a long way below the first col - a polish guy of 63 living in Boston who said this was his 7th traverse of GR20 and a couple of English guys who were on the verge of giving up having realised how tough GR20 was. The descent took 3h30 so I was very pleased with my fitness given how few trips to the mountains we've made this year.

Day three we chose a slightly shorter walk following the Corsican "coast to coast" walk to summit called Punta di Bonassa 1153m. Another walk mostly through the pine forest before emerging for views to the coast. At our lunch spot we finally had some encounters with fauna!

A distant golden eagle

The Corsican nuthatch

A spotted flycatcher and her fledgling who she was still feeding

Corsica - part 1 the west coast

Our first proper holiday (more than a couple of days) since COVID. A 12 days tour of Western and Northern Corsica with a final dash through the centre. Susie and I met up at Ajaccio. Susie flew from Bristol via Nantes as she had been running a half marathon in Cheltenham to raise money for the Sue Ryder hospice where her sister died and I flew in from Toulouse. First stop Cargèse.

View from the window

The first day we spent on the beach at plage de Péro, swimming and snorkelling. We saw lots of sea bream and a little octopus in the crystal clear waters. Everything in corsica is expensive, especially food which was a bit of a shock - fortunately we had opted to mostly self cater. 

Next day we headed up the coast to Piana and a lovely beach at plage d'Arone.

view across the bay of Porto on the way to plage d'Arone

In the late afternoon we took the road to Porto passing through the amazing Calanques an incrdible landscape of red granite towers and weathered extraordinary shapes dropping steeply all the way to the sea.

On our last day in this area we headed to Porto once more and then headed inland for a stroll along the gorge de spelunca before heading out on a boat trip from Porto to visit the Calanques, Capo Rousso, the nature reserve of Spandola and the village of Girolata. the boats takes you in and out of caves and tunnels through the cliffs. Alas the seabirds for which Scandola is famous were entirely absent. We opted for the high speed Zodiac which was exciting crossing the bay.

A long drive on incredibly twisting roads took us to our next destination the Bonifatu Forest.

Filature de Niaux - a waste of time

The wool mill at Niaux "Sibada Laine" is the only mill within 300km of us and for a long time was closed following an industrial accident in which a worker lost his arm. When they finally started again we asked them to wash our wool. It came back mostly felted and we were very unimpressed, vowing never to use them again. 4 or 5 years later they have completely overhauled their machines and we thought we'd try them again for some carding. Six weeks after dropping off the wool we got a message last week saying it was ready for collection today. We confirmed we would arrive in the morning but when we got there after a 90 minute drive the place was locked up. We called and texted the mobile number of our contact, sent more emails and left messages but no reply. A wasted morning not to mention the cost of the fuel.

We will have to make another appointment to get our wool back. It will be the last time I waste my time with company. I have nothing positive to say about their competence or customer service. 

crazy weather

 Last week we were in a heat wave with temperatures of 38 degrees and high humidity (55 in the sun), even going out side was difficult then in the space of 24 hours all change and the temperatures have plummetted to 11 degrees with snow on the mountains.

Sampling

Whilst I m waiting for a new loom reed suitable for the bathroom rug project, I put a narrow warp on the loom to do some sampling. Playing with bateman blend and basket weave twill.

 

Tractor problems continued

Day 3 - So I took the bolts from the flywheel which were rubbing against clutch and ground their heads down so they protruded 2mm less. Next I cleaned up the PTO drive shaft and re-greased it. I reassembled the tractor (see last post for the process). Then I tried to start it. The starter could barely turn the engine. The lights were suoer bright so it wasn 't a flat battery. something was stopping the engine from turning over - which could only be the PTO shaft. I tried to engage the PTO with the lever on the tractor, but it too was blocked from moving....something was afoot! I tried to see if I could unblock things by turning the PTO from the rear, engaging the PTO clutch but nothing would move.

Nothing for it but to tear down the tractor third time. So another couple of hours taking everything apart. I separated engine and inspected everything. All seemed OK. So reassembly for the thrid time. This time I just couldn't get the drive shaft splines to align with the clutch. It's a difficult job especially without an assistant. I tried to keep forward pressure on the trolley holding the engine whilst slowly turning the flywheel hoping for forward motion when the spline was in the right position. On the tractor there are two sets of splines - one for the drive shaft and one for the PTO and both have to be correctly aligned. It took over an hour of trying before eventually "pop" in they went. The PTO levers were moving and the PTO rotated so I tightened everything up and reassembled. I turn the key and it's still blocked! After putting aside suicidal thoughts and wonder if the battery is a little flat after all? Its 7pm and time to call it a day. I take the battery home with me to charge.

Day 4 - Tomorrow is another day. I put in the freshly charged battery and try to start it....still blocked. The PTO is stuck fast. Damn. After much head scratching Nanou my neighbour arrives ( he works in the local agricultural workshop). He too agrees that something must be blocking the engine and it can only be the PTO. He suggests just slowly parting the engine and clutch from the tractor to see at what point everything frees up. Whilst he goes home for breakfast I do this and find that 1mm of separation and everything turns any less and things quickly jam. Nanou returns and we try to wiggle/shake whatever is causing the block free but nothing will work. So teardown number 4 ensues. We split the tractor and inspect everything again taking measurements shining torches to look for contamination...nothing. So together we put the two parts of tractor back together (quicker to get things aligned with two). We tighten the bolts and everything seems to be free. So Nanou leaves me to reassemble so that I can try to start it again. I just connect the essentials - no need for the accelerator, the fuel tank and battery are just sat loose and the fuel and hydraulic filters are just hanging from bits of wire. I turn the key............SUCCESS!

When Nanou returns he's happy but is at loss to understand why it was blocked before. The modifications to the flywheel nuts has worked and the clutch is quiet and smooth. Another 2 hours to fully reassemble, zip tie cables and hoses neatly and reverse the accelerator cable as I ve had enough of lying under the tractor trying to rethread and block it - now this done at the engine end where it's easier to see. One of the bolts securing the starting motor gets cross threaded and strips the thread but fortunately a cut down new bolt cuts a new thread and all is well.  

Moral of the story....Never give up.

Tractor problems

Tractor tear down to get at the clutch. There are horrible sounds coming when the clutch is depressed and they can't be ignored. Likely cause was the clutch throw out bearing. My local repair shop couldn t fit me in for a least 2-3 months and I daren't think of the cost! So after eventually finding the part in Italy (Argofrance were as usual totally unhelpful) and my neighbours at Pinsou letting use there garage, I embarked on the installation.

Day 1 - Roll bar off, indicators off, mudguards off, battery disconnect and remove, starting motor remove, fuel lines disconnect fuel tank remove, primary fuel filter unbolt, hydraulic hoses x 3 disconnect, accelerator cables x 2 disconnect, electric connectors disconnect, hydraulic filter disconnect, jack up tractor, support engine on trolley, unbolt engine and wheel away! prise off old clutch release bearing and install new. Reassemble (reverse of above) and re-adjust clutch. Start tractor and the noise is still there!!!

the lady sawn in half!

clutch throw out bearing around the spigotted drive shaft 

Day 2 - repeat the dismantling above. Take clutch apart, inspect. Possible sources of noise:

1. damper spring is a bit loose and shows signs that it might be rubbing on some bolts holding the flywheel on.

rubbing on one of the clutch plate damper springs

2. The PTO shaft (connected to the flywheel) runs inside the drive shaft (connected to the clutch). When the drive shaft stops because the clutch is pressed the PTO shaft continues to spin and there is rust on the latter which could be causing rubbing/noise. Strangely there does seem to be any bearing between the two just a bit of grease. 

I ll have another look in the morning, but I m guessing fixes for these two minor ailments might resolve the frightening sounds

PTO shaft inside drive shaft

 

Marsh tits on the sunflowers

jump

Partial eclipse

drop

A bite on the arse from a great tit

Still an alternation of storms and hot sun here, I ve had some discomfort as a wisdom tooth has decided to join my other molars. First the ache and bruising as it ripped it's way through my gum and now the jostling of tmy other teeth to make room for the new neighbour.

Triage

about a third of the triaged white wool

With a lot of wool for Susie to wash card and spin we thought about trying to have some of it done mechanically "out of house".  There is a mill about an hours drive away in Niaux. We sent out first batch of wool there to be washed about 7 years ago but were not happy with the results as it came back felted. I think ouessant wool being very fine, felts easily if not treated carefully. We washed our white fleeces soon after shearing but then found out that Niaux will only spin batches of at least 50kg into yarn - equivalnt to about 120 ouessant fleeces! We have 12 white and 12 brown/black. We eventually found a number of smaller mills in other parts of France but because of the equipment used, won't accept washed fleece.

Niaux have no minimum for carding, so we decided to give it a go on the remaining white fleeces. First we needed to do a third triage to eliminate any remaining vegetable matter, coarse or felted fllece. The fleces are already triaged at shearing and before washing. Three enormous sacks of white fleece weigh just 7.5kg. The triage took us about 7 hours and eliminated about 1kg. 

Now we have to wait for the results. Meantime there are the brown fleeces to do.

Susie is keen to try putting coats on the sheep to keep the fleeces clean and unfelted...we may try a couple.

Cagateille circuit

Another break in the weather and another escape to hills, this time with Al and Breezy. The Cirque de Cagateille circuit (Etang Hillette - Etang Alet) is an old favourite. 1200m height gain and opportunities for a dip en route. We expected it to be busy but we only saw a handful of people all day. We were above the clouds once above the tree line (in the valley it was overcast all day).

A small group of Ibex

the descent with cables before Etang Hillete

Elevenses at the huge erratic boulder above Etang Hillette

Etang Alet

After the swim and a relaxed lunch

starting the descent with Pointe de Rabassere in the distance