Canyoning in the Vallee du Fango from Casa di Luna
Continuing our clockwise trip around Corsica's coastline we arrived at Casa di Luna campsite at 11am. We'd chosen it for its location half way between the sea and the promise of wild-swimming in the Vallée du Fango.
The whole site sits in the shade of huge olive trees. They'd never been shaped as would trees for olive production and had grown tall with their spindly branches forming a beautiful canopy of dappled light. It had the feeling of an enchanted wood. We were allowed to choose a pitch and we picked a really spacious plot with trees for our hammocks.
We were delighted by the campsite but not particularly hopeful the wild swimming location, chosen from our Wild Swimming France guide, would have any water. It was only a kilometre upstream from the dried up river bed beside our campsite. We spent two days at the beach in Galeria, just a 20-minute cycle away before investigating the suggested swimming spot on our third day.
I was overjoyed as we cycled closer and I began to hear the trickling of water. We arrived at the designated coordinates where a few people were swimming under and jumping from a bridge.
We were fully prepared this time around with a waterproof backpack and minimal belongings. We left our phones back at camp and the campervan keys were sealed inside a plastic tub we usually keep ground coffee in and added to a couple of towels and my waterproof GoPro camera. This time around we'd be able to get the full canyoning experience as we swam upstream in the gloriously clear water in another one of Corsica's rugged and beautiful landscapes.
We locked up our bikes, put our clothes in the rucksack and sealed it's top before climbing down a rocky slope beside the bridge. The water was knee high here before plunging deep in the middle of the river as it went under the bridge. We swam close to the edge under the bridge, wary of people jumping from the bridge wall. The back pack was strange on my back, keeping me buoyant.
We swam a short way before the water grew shallow and we were walking again, over stones and boulders to the next deep pool.
The trip up stream continued in this vein for several hours with shallow sections interspersed with beautiful pools of crystal clear water to swim around in. All the while the green-sides of the imposing mountains framed the scene, reminding us where the water in the river had trickled down from.
We had no phones and so we didn't want to stop until we reached a landmark we could identify later so we knew just how far we'd canyonned. Plus it's just so exhilarating you always want to know what's around the next corner. We spent a full day exploring the gorge, only climbing back onto dry land at the next bridge and following the sea-to-mountain hiking trail back to our bikes. Even then we couldn't resist getting back in the water again once at bridge number one.
The whole site sits in the shade of huge olive trees. They'd never been shaped as would trees for olive production and had grown tall with their spindly branches forming a beautiful canopy of dappled light. It had the feeling of an enchanted wood. We were allowed to choose a pitch and we picked a really spacious plot with trees for our hammocks.
We were delighted by the campsite but not particularly hopeful the wild swimming location, chosen from our Wild Swimming France guide, would have any water. It was only a kilometre upstream from the dried up river bed beside our campsite. We spent two days at the beach in Galeria, just a 20-minute cycle away before investigating the suggested swimming spot on our third day.
I was overjoyed as we cycled closer and I began to hear the trickling of water. We arrived at the designated coordinates where a few people were swimming under and jumping from a bridge.
We were fully prepared this time around with a waterproof backpack and minimal belongings. We left our phones back at camp and the campervan keys were sealed inside a plastic tub we usually keep ground coffee in and added to a couple of towels and my waterproof GoPro camera. This time around we'd be able to get the full canyoning experience as we swam upstream in the gloriously clear water in another one of Corsica's rugged and beautiful landscapes.
We locked up our bikes, put our clothes in the rucksack and sealed it's top before climbing down a rocky slope beside the bridge. The water was knee high here before plunging deep in the middle of the river as it went under the bridge. We swam close to the edge under the bridge, wary of people jumping from the bridge wall. The back pack was strange on my back, keeping me buoyant.
We swam a short way before the water grew shallow and we were walking again, over stones and boulders to the next deep pool.
The trip up stream continued in this vein for several hours with shallow sections interspersed with beautiful pools of crystal clear water to swim around in. All the while the green-sides of the imposing mountains framed the scene, reminding us where the water in the river had trickled down from.
We had no phones and so we didn't want to stop until we reached a landmark we could identify later so we knew just how far we'd canyonned. Plus it's just so exhilarating you always want to know what's around the next corner. We spent a full day exploring the gorge, only climbing back onto dry land at the next bridge and following the sea-to-mountain hiking trail back to our bikes. Even then we couldn't resist getting back in the water again once at bridge number one.
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