Prepare for a great outing : today, I am going to the Lavezzi islands, for onland and sea discovery of a small idyllic corner of Corsica : the Lavezzu island.

Up early in the morning, I want to take the first boat that goes directly to the Lavezzu island : it is the biggest of the 7 islands (and numerous islets) that form the archipelago of the Lavezzi islands. Embarkation at 9.30 a.m. on the dot.

After 30 minutes of navigation, along the extraordinary cliffs with the houses perched almost in space, the batteries of my camera are already well heated. 10 a.m. : I arrive at the island which is a nature reserve managed by the Environmental Office of Corsica.

An outing on land before an outing on the sea.

Just disembarked, everyone goes to the right. Good idea, that way I will head to the left on my own. I discover a rich vegetation with a chaos of immense granite rocks. Blue and yellow flowers, and there, on a rock – no, I am not mistaken, a grass snake bathing in the morning sun. And once again, I take a series of photos.

Strange island : with two graveyards and a pyramide.

After a quarter of an hours walk following a marked path, I already arrive on a « postcard » beach: fine sand, turquoise waters, total ecstasy… and a small bucolic and unexpected cemetery. A little further, on an isolated islet, a headstone in the shape of a pyramide : this is a tribute to the 700 seamen who perished in the famous sinking of the Sémillante frigate, described by Victor Hugo in his book « Les Lettres de Mon Moulin ». Enough literature, the adventure continues !

All the colours of the rainbow.

I put on my flippers, my mask and dive into the unkown. We are in the month of June and the water is still a little fresh, but its OK.  It’s even extremely OK : I have just swum a few metres and already shoals of silver fish swim past my mask.  Some have a black dot on their tail fin, others on their head and some have yellow lines. Wait, there is a starfish and sea urchins and blue, red and yellow fish… as well as large, small, long, stocky… I must be in a giant aquarium, with no limits.  If I didn’t have a snorkel in my mouth, I would most certainly shout with joy.

Nothing like a small walk to dry off.

I am not the type to lie on the beach.  At the moment, there is a warm and caressing breeze – ideal for a walk to dry off.  There is a cute little creek just there.  And this one, just behind the large rock, is a corner of paradise.  But I also like this cluster of granite, it is really photogenic and my imagination is bounding.  Look at this one : it looks like a mammoth.  I am sure I will remember it, even if I don’t have the memory of an elephant.