Occi for goats (23rd May)

Wednesday dawned with clear blue skies and we headed eagerly off along the coast towards the village of Occi. This little gem wasn’t in our (admittedly vintage) Rough Guide but we’d seen mention of it on Trip Advisor, as well as some amazing photos. Occi is just beyond Lumio, only a few kms from Calvi, and the directions we’d read detailed the perfect spot to park the camper, opposite Camping Panoramic, and within a few minutes we were heading up a small track to this deserted village with stupendous views along the coast.

Occi was inhabited from the 1500s to the mid 1800s, when the wells ran dry, although the last inhabitant is said to have died in the 1920s. Since then the little village, originally built by villagers fleeing invading forces, has been left to crumble away. It’s hard to imagine how life must have been in such a remote spot, with just a narrow track as access, and the only sound the gentle chime of bells on the herds of goats. The buildings are still there; dry stone houses, stores, and an old chapel, the only building that’s been restored. It’s a wonderful spot to soak up the atmosphere and admire the scenery.

All across the site were flowers and herbs, including a huge patch of the bright blue stars of the borage flower, and we wondered if the mediaeval villagers had produced their own herbal remedies and oils that Corsica is now well known for, including both the locally produced cistus or rock rose and also the green myrtle essential oil Mrs B had been keen to find in Calvi, but found no sign of the company that we’d seen advertised. We’d been fascinated after reading that some essential oils used to be harvested by combing the oil from goats’ beards – not sure we believed it, although it could have made for a soothing pastime up in the hills on a quiet evening with a cooperative

goat . . .(!) and we had read that some of the oil varieties are unique to the island.

Over much of Corsica, but in this area in particular, are the scents of the maquis, the scrubland that covers this rocky island. Wild flowers and herbs are everywhere and the scents can be quite intoxicating on a sunny day, with wild thyme, fennel, lavender and rosemary growing in abundance and rock rose bushes everywhere, with their beautiful white and pink flowers.

Of historical note (cue Mr B) the fighters of the French Resistance in WW2 were named after the maquis of Corsica, where they successfully kept hidden in the maquis/scrub and were re-supplied by submarine, the outcome of which gave rise to the name for French resistance more generally.

Reluctantly, we scrambled back down the rocky path, sharing the walk with dozens of darting green lizards, and back to the camper to head off towards Cap Corse - in a clockwise direction!

J&S