Today we decided to get up to some beautiful lakes situated in the valley Restonica (lake Melu) in the mountains above Corte. A narrow road went up from the town for 15kms and then the walking trail started. With a bit of shuttling in Mark & Nina’s small hire car we eventually got all 8 of us safely along to the starting point. Safely was no exaggeration either as the road had heaps of steep drop offs and really narrow lanes. The country side was absolutely spectacular though. Jagged rocks jutting straight up with small pines and shrubs nestled into crevices. There were goat farmers huts built of stone along the way and they almost looked like the countryside itself.
The walk up to the lake was steep but well worth it when we got to the top. Kailin and Genevieve had been hoping to touch some of the ice that was lingering in places on the peaks but we didn’t get up high enough. However we were 1170m above sea level now! At the lake we all went for a refreshing swim in the icy cold water of the lake. It was a picturesque spot indeed.
The hike down was more difficult than going up of course. With sand and loose rocks I was concerned for the kids safety in places. Marks boys Kasper (6yrs old) and Thomas (4yrs old) had pretty much climbed the whole way up on their own. I was very impressed! We linked up with Adri half way down as she had decided to have a nice nap beside one of the wild mountain pools there and not climb to the lake. Clouds were starting to come in now.
Then Kailin was down and screaming up in front. He had slipped on a rock and was lying in amongst a small stream holding his knee. He had a nasty, very deep gash below the knee. We had just passed a rock hut of a goat farmer who was selling drinks to walkers. Adri and Mark went back to see if he had any first aid materials while I washed out the wound and tried to figure out how we were going to get him down the next 2km’s. He was definitely going to need stitches this time so I wanted to keep his leg as straight as possible. Adri and Mark didn’t have much luck with the old man but they managed to scrounge a few bandaids and even some chlorhexidine solution from a few different walkers on the track. So after we cleaned the wound and taped it up we slowly continued our descent with Mark and I supporting the hapless lad on either side. Once down off the mountain we needed to find some medical attention. This was going to be interesting. As it turned out there was a hospital opposite our Hotel and after much broken French, Italian and English conversations Kailin was stitched up by 10.30pm!
Kailin’s Word: in Corsica we went climbing a huge mountain. At the top were some huge lakes we could swim in. The first part was easy, and the country scenery was beautiful. Then it got a bit harder when it started to get steeper. I was surprised to see the two Danish boys we were staying with were not being piggybacked the whole way. In fact when it got very narrow and there was a man coming down, little, fearless Thomas saw no way around him, so he just ducked in between the startled man’s legs. On the last part of the journey, mum thought the climb would be too hard, so she stayed behind while the rest of us climb up the rest of the way. It was a little tough, but it wasn’t that hard and when we got to the top it was worth it. The water looked so nice, but it was deceiving, as it was so cold! I guess I should have known; you could see the ice the water comes from only 200m up the mountain. After our ten minute swim, we went back down and met up with mum. Unfortunately, I slipped on a rock and cut my knee open. Mark and dad had to help me down the rest of the mountain. I got to the hospital and waited five hours while the other four patients, all French, complained about the wait. When I was called I got jabbed four times in the wound with a needle, and then they gave me three stitches.
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