Monday, September 7 – Ferrying Away
We departed Lucca on Monday morning for the Corsica ferry crossing, one hour west of Lucca, in Livorno. Since we’d been having trouble receiving replies from the Regional Agricultural Inspection Service in Pisa, we thought it was best to pay them a surprise visit in person. We arrived around 9am, and being unable to read Italian, we didn’t realize they had a reserved parking area, so we paid for street parking a block away. Although the office building itself was quite drab on the outside, the adjacent pond of lotus, fed by city effluent was quite stunning.
The receptionist told us that none of the inspectors were available, but just as we were preparing to depart, Nella Fofana, the Head of Inspections for the region, with whom we’d been emailing, showed up. After a short meeting, she assured us that since she would not be in the office when we returned, one of her inspectors would be available to issue the phyto. With that assurance in hand, we were ready to continue on to our to the ferry departure point, an hour away, for our 2pm ferry reservation.
With a bit of spare time in hand, we first opted to swing by the famed Leaning Tower of Pisa, which was less than a mile from the Inspection Office. We quickly noticed that downtown Pisa is much more chaotic than downtown Lucca. Not only were there more people, but the parking situation was horrific. If there were parking decks, we certainly couldn’t read the signs to find them. Also, the number of motorcycles and miniature vehicles in downtown Pisa was staggering. You could tell that Pisa was more of a foreign tourist city, both by the tour trains and the shady street vendors, selling jewelry and watches.
After the obligatory photos, we were quickly off on our one-hour drive to the ferry terminal in Livorno. We had selected Corsica Ferries, the larger of the two ferry companies that ran these 4.5-hour routes from Italy to Bastia, Corsica. We grabbed a quick lunch near the ferry terminal, adjacent to the famous 17th century Four Moors statue, then off to the ferry. We thought we’d allowed enough time to get in the ferry line for our 2pm departure, only to find that the directional signage was less than ideal. Despite being told by the ferry gate traffic director to take two consecutive right turns, which we did, we found ourselves back on the highway, heading away from the ferry. Turning around for a second try, we found that the left-hand turn, after the two right hand turns, was the missing part of the directions. We finally found the correct cue for loading with only 30 minutes to spare.
Today, this route was serviced by the smaller of the Corsica Ferries, which, when full, held 600 vehicles. Fortunately, for our trip, they only had about ½ that number of vehicles. As I had only traveled on smaller ferries, it was a new experience being on a ferry with many of the luxuries of a cruise ship, including cabins, and a series of sit-down restaurants and lounges. Unlike the ferries I’d ridden before, you were not allowed to remain in your vehicle.
By 630pm, we neared the end of our journey across the calm Tyrrhenian Sea, as we arrived into the town of Bastia, on the French island of Corsica. The island of Corsica is 115 miles long and 52 miles wide, so you could drive tip to tip in just over three hours. After disembarking, it was an easy, but crowded ten-minute drive to our destination, the nearby Sud Hotel.
Part 9 coming tomorrow!