CORSICA GR20 Phase 1: DAYS 1st-2nd-3rd-4th-5th
GR-20. HIKING DAY 5: Casas de Capanelle, U Fugone hut, 1.590m - Vizzavona, Monte d'Oro Hostel, 1.000m
4.30h (4h in movement) 13,3 km +465m/-900m
We get up at 7:00 a.m. and go down to breakfast at 7:30 a.m., which to be honest, to continue with the trend of this hostel, we find it a bit disappointing; coffee with milk and a few pieces of bread with jam, nothing more. Although the service was good and they gave us a room just for ourselves we have not been very happy in general, the food has not been good and the showers hardly any water came out …
Without further ado, we left at 8:30 a.m. and started the day today, which after several days a bit long, today it will be just half day and thus we be able to recover a little.
Start of the day next to the Gite d’etape U Fugone GR20 signal.
We start the day on a forest path, crossing some streams and a couple of bergeries where you can stop to buy cheese.
During the entire course of the GR20 we will find these ‘bergeries’. These are old reformed pastoral settlements where in some cases you can buy artisanal sausage and cheeses. These have water and electricity facilities and you can see even past pastoral arts and herds of goats in the vicinity. Some of them even have a place to plant a tent and food service for mountaineers.
Bergeries di Scarpaccedie
In the second half of the journey (2h), we climb to a small hill, Bocca Palmente (1,645m) where you can see impressive views of Monte d’Oro (2,390m). It is a colossal massif with a triangular shape, very beautiful but impressive! With the encouragement that perhaps in the next day we will climb this mountain, we hasten to continue the march 🙂
Climbing to Bocca Palmente
Monte d’Oro views from Bocca Palmente
Monte d’Oro views from Bocca Palmente
We now continue downhill, which becomes somewhat long and monotonous with the heat that is already strong. We leave the GR20 following yellow markings, at a well-indicated junction that marks the direction of the Vizzavona hill, since we do not go to the town but we made a reservation at the Monte d’Oro hostel, 3km further up, given that the opinions we have read The hostel looks very good.
Down hill path to Col de Vizzavona
Chestnut trees near Vizzavona
Col de Vizzavona sign close to Vizzavona
We arrived at the hotel at 1:00 p.m. and as they still don´t have our room, we decided to stay for lunch, although the restaurant is a bit “high standing”, and with our backpackers look we just didn’t go with the place. Despite this, the treatment is very friendly and they put us at a large table with more chairs so that we can leave our backpacks there.
And we eat really well! Corsican salad (lettuce, tomato, apple, orange, walnuts, 2 large pieces of ham and 2 breads with melted brie cheese) to share first, and lamb with tomato sauce and mushrooms, and trout with pine nut sauce, second and in these dishes to choose the accompaniment: spaghetti, vegetables or potatoes. We chose spaghetti and they brought us a good vol each! In addition to bringing us hot rolls to accompany.
Total that we end up stuffed without the possibility for our stomachs to take any dessert despite we saw some that look delicious! Having said that, the restaurant is not cheap, but for the quantity and how good everything was, it´s really worth it.
Monte d’Oro Hotel
Monte d’Oro Hotel restaurant
Corsican salad at Monte d’Oro Hotel restaurant
Second course at Monte d’Oro Hotel restaurant
Very happy after this feast, we go to our room. It is an annex building in an old house where they have enabled, as a hostel, double rooms with their own shower, there are no towels, toilet paper or sheets, but the price is in line with the service. The decoration is very authentic, “old retro” vibe without reforms and simple, but we like it, and it has its charm.
Monte d’Oro Hostel
Old street sign in Vizzavona
After a well-deserved shower, nap and rest, we went down to buy some snacks in a little shop further down towards the town of Vizzavona, crunch bars, cookies and nuts for the following days.
In the street, right in front of the hostel there is a fence with chickens and we see jays, which come down to try to eat the food from the chicken feeders. We have also realized during the GR20 that chickadees and finches get very close, they are curious and do not care about human presence, the truth is that it is very gratifying to be able to see these birds so close.
We go down to dinner at the hotel at 8:00 p.m. and the menu is very good; Cord Bleu with salad as first, curried chicken stew accompanied by white rice as second, and some millefeuille pasta with cheese cake as dessert. All super good!
Hotel Monte d’Oro dining room.
We order breakfast before 7:30 a.m. and they prepare a tray full of food: 4 muffins, 2 of them very large homemade, bread with jam and chocolate, muesli bars, juices and coffee with powdered milk. We pick up the tray after dinner and take it to the room.
The truth is that the price of half board in a double room and private bathroom for 59 euros, and the food service seems even cheap to us. We have been very good and eaten great, a place to repeat!
So far we have finished PHASE 1 of the GR20, the ‘supposedly easiest’. From here it begins phase 2 and phase 3, much tougher. But we attack them with great motivation. In the following phases we will already enter the highest and most rugged mountains of Corsica… Who knows what will it bring to us? Will the weather be as good as it has been so far? Will we be able to do it?
We will know shortly … We are so excited!
Now we go to sleep and rest to be at 100% the next day.
Information Monte d’Oro Hostel:
- Half board price in a double room with bathroom at the Monte d’Oro Hostel: € 59.
- Web page link
