As we’d agreed to tackle our
journey round the coast of Corsica clockwise to benefit from the alleged
‘safer’ inside track, our first drive threw caution to the wind as it was south
from Ajaccio and therefore on the outside! As we’d planned to spend only about
two weeks in Corsica, we’d reached the conclusion that we couldn’t see
everything, so we each opted for a few ‘must do’s’ to get a plan together.
Visiting the 6000 year old Filitosa
menhirs was Mr B’s idea, so he took the wheel for the coastal drive. It wasn’t
long before it was obvious why we’d read clockwise was safer, as once we
reached the twisty and switchback-rich mountain roads, the reason for the
multiple roadside shrines we passed became clear – what would usually be a
definite no-no overtake on an uphill blind bend, was more of a leap of blind
faith by the locals that surely nothing could be coming round the bend…could
it? Glad that our brakes were recently serviced and that there were plenty of
pull-ins to let the convoys building up behind us pass, the short drive to
Filitosa was a good foretaste of driving a la Corse!
Described in our Rough guide
as ‘extraordinary’ and as ‘distinct from nearly all other Neolithic menhirs of
the megalithic period’ our expectations were high as we pulled into the nearby
free carpark under low cloud (some of our route had actually been through the
cloud as we climbed into the interior!). Not to be put off by the weather and
reconciled to not taking any photos quite as dramatic as the guide book, we
treated ourselves to an English translation booklet so as to better understand
and enjoy the visit.
Having seen menhirs at Stonehenge
and in Scotland, we probably had some clear expectations given how they had
been described. So, as we walked past the most famous one not far from the
entrance, not much taller than us (and actually a reproduction), it soon became
apparent that we needed to readjust our sense of scale! The site itself is a
private enterprise and run by the family of the farmer who found the stones
(and, as our English booklet informed us, had erected some of the stones near
an ancient olive tree to evoke the atmosphere of the original site). The small
loudspeakers dotted about the site, playing ambient, new-age tunes were also no
doubt designed to add to the atmosphere – until a visitor pressed one of the
help-point style buttons and the music was replaced by an audio explanation of
that part of the site in one of four languages!
In spite of all of the
above, the site did have a very real sense of history and a presence that was
hard to describe – it was certainly easy to imagine it as a logical and special
place for Neolithic people to congregate, whatever rituals may or may not have
been attached to the menhirs.
Our photos don’t do the site
justice – but they do capture what it was like to wander round on a cloudy day
– and hopefully some of the atmosphere!
S&J
No comments:
Post a Comment