Bourques in Barcelona: Last days in Corsica April 6-7, 2012

The last corner of the island left to explore this week was the south, it's stunning Riviera-styled beaches and azure waters. We left Ajaccio on the N196 towards Propriano, stopping to visit the prehistoric site of Filitosa en route. The site was discovered in 1946 by the owner of the land on which it is located. It suggests a cave-dwelling people, as fragments of pottery, arrow heads and farming tools dating from about 3300 B.C. have been found and are on display in the small museum. More impressive are the number of granite menhir statues, 2-3 m high and carved to represent human faces. Their purpose has not been clarified.

Five menhir statues lined up in an arc around the foot of a 1,200 year-old olive tree!

Rock formation known as The Dinosaur!

From here we headed to our last hotel, the Hôtel Alivi on the Golfe de Santa Guilia, just south of Porto-Vecchio. Clearly the resort, located within a gated community of luxurious holiday homes, has JUST opened for the season, as there was no one around when we arrived and I had to call the receptionist to gain entrance through the locked gate! However, despite this, it was a lovely spot with a great view...below, from our room:

The beach at Santa Giulia:

We took a day-trip to the picturesque town of Bonifacio, located at the southern-most tip of the island in a stunning setting, perched on a thin peninsula. A mostly pedestrian-only town, it was decidedly touristy, but the views were pretty and we had a nice lunch with a local specialty, aubergines à la bonifacienne (a type of deep-fried eggplant Parmesan).

Our first stop was to walk along the cliffs south of the town, despite the fact that chilly gale-force winds nearly sent us into the sea!