The fact that Corsica is not covered by concrete castles, like many other holiday paradises on the Mediterranean, is ultimately due to the defensiveness of the islanders. Even in Asterix & Obelix, the Roman garrisons trembled before the belligerent Corsicans. Later, it was the French prefects and real estate developers who allowed themselves to be chased away by the island folklore of blood revenge and firebomb terrorism. Of course, these are all stereotypes. And yet, it is precisely through these horror images that Corsica has been able to preserve its rough charm, not unlike the wild boars typical of the island to this day.
The Corsican adventure also includes driving along the island's mountain and coastal roads, to which Curves magazine has dedicated its latest issue, but first things first. Even arriving in Corsica is an art in itself: after embarking in Genoa in the evening and spending the night under the stars on the deck of the wonderfully old-fashioned car ferry, waking up to the scent of the maquis even before the mountains appeared in the morning haze, and finally fortifying yourself in Bastia with a croissant and coffee under the palm trees, the best way to start the tour is with a drive around the rugged Cap Corse with its magnificent views of the azure sea. Once the tyres have warmed up and your eye for the blind bends and potholes has been sharpened, you can finally get involved in the next level – the mountain roads.
Rally legend Christian Geistdörfer told us about the horrors and dangers of the infamous "Tour de Corse" at a recent dinner. And even if Henri Toivonen or Sandro Munari are no longer breathing down your neck, you'll be chased through the serpentines by a Corsican pensioner in a dented Renault, so your heart rate is likely to be the same. The western coastal roads near Piana, where the granite cliffs next to the roadside often protrude spectacularly into the depths, also promise a particularly pleasant horror. Once upon a time, the rusty bodies of unfortunate cars lay on the cliffs as a memorial down there, tossed by the surf. Today, the thrill is rather underlined by the wild beeping of the distance warning when circumnavigating Dutch motorhomes with millimeter precision.
For the latest edition of Curves, Stefan Bogner explored the island's roads in the new Porsche 911 Dakar. And there is probably no better modern sports car to travel through Corsica without limits - because the most beautiful beaches are usually found at the end of dirt roads so rugged that they would scare away almost all automobiles with conventional suspension. However, especially now in the off-season, the excursion is worth it.
Then you finally sit on powder-white, deserted dream beaches, sip a glass of "Cap Corse" and chew a piece of fragrant brocciu goat cheese before the sun sinks into the sea and you make yourself comfortable in your roof tent. Perhaps the Asterix creators, Groscinny and Uderzo, had the right idea when they stylized Corsica as an island of terror – the "Ile de Beauté" is simply too beautiful to share. And as much as we'd like to keep it quiet, you can find the Corsica edition of Curves magazine in the CD Shop.
