Corsica is the perfect hiking destination compromise for Chris and me. Chris loves forests and streams, I definitely like streams with waterfalls and pools a lot. We are also both fans of alpine meadows and I like rocks, Chris tolerates them. I am missing glaciers, though.
Today we did the most beautiful walk up the Manganello valley which is famous for its stream that cascades pleasantly downhill through pools that are theoretically inviting to swim, but today the water was just too friggin’ cold for the outside temperature. Which was perfect for hiking, but not for getting warm again after diving into a pool which defies physical laws by remaining liquid although temperates are definitely below zero (Celsius) – subjectively.
The hike started out gently and we passed one or the other waterfall (shout out to Dan, Chris’ father, who never lets a waterfall go by without enjoying it).
The hike up the valley was really pleasant, physically not too challenging with 7,5 km in one direction and around 500m ascent, but the going was sometimes hard with a lot of loose small to medium sized rocks on the path.
This vacation we are taking it a bit slower. Although we hike every day, we usually do not get up before 8 and then leave the house after a good breakfast at 10 to start walking at 11. On the way we take our time for breaks and some more photo stops and as we rarely do roundtrips we go as long as we want and then turn back. So not too stressful, but a lot of fun nevertheless.
Further up the valley we passed through light pine forest which produced an interesting lighting effect with the sun shining through.
Finally we reached the cascades of our dreams (and our destination). Here are some pictures of the stream with us posing.
But then, what is a hike without some avifauna in it? On the way up I heard a Eurasian Treecreeper/Waldbaumläufer which is a very close relative of the more common Short-toed Treecreeper/Gartenbaumläufer.
But then a very good sighting of a White-throated Dipper / Wasseramsel topped it off. Like Chris mentioned in the last post, we had seen (and heard) it before on other hikes, but today it showed all its beauty. As the name and its habitat close to rivers suggest, this bird is not averse to taking a bath and is actually the only songbird to skillfully hunt insects below water. We saw it happening, but for a closer look go to Youtube and check out some underwater footage. It’s amazing.
And as there might be people out there who are not only interested in birds but also other animals, I add two pictures of some rarer species that we met up there.
For the lizard people:
Then by chance I took a picture of a butterfly which is endemic to Corsica and Sardinia and is actually on the Red List of endangered species, the Corsican Wall Brown.
(For those of you who are wondering: I have not become a lizard and butterfly expert (yet). It is amazing what technology can do, you take a decent enough picture and you find out what creature it is a second later. And you contribute to science as all of these sightings go into a data base.
This post has to end at some point as all others did and why not with a picture of me power-napping before following Chris downhill.
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