We arrived in Corsica yesterday and caught the old mountain train from Bastia to the mountain town of Corte. We stayed in the campsite near the centre of town - although quite crowded it did have good facilities including a wood fired pizza oven.

We spent today exploring the town and had a good lunch in one of the squares before again catching the train to the Camping de Savaggio near Vivario.The campsite is basic but has good level terraces. On seeing our passports and discovering that I was from Manchester the owner wanted to have a conversation about Manchester United.

Today we packed up from Camping de Savaggio and started our first climb - 750m up to meet the GR20 at Refuge de l'Ondo.

We followed the Mare a Mare Nord Variante from the campsite across the valley where we met a road which climbed up to the small village of Canaglia. Here we left the road and followed the wooded path as it climbed alongside a the Manganello river. In places there were falled trees to negotiate around but in general the going was quite steady.

We arrived at the refuge shortly after 6 pm and pitched up in the small campground with spectacular views up to Monte D'Oro. The temperature dropped quite rapidly after the sun went down so we soon retreated to the tent.

Today we continued westwards along the Mare a Mare Nord. The plan was to make it to Guagno where we knew there was a Gite d'étape. According to the Trekking Corsica guidebook this should have been easily possible.

We set off bright and early and after the very short climb to the ridgeline near the refuge it was downhill into the valley below. It soon became apparent that our walking speed was nowhere near that of the person who had written the book. We have to make a few detours on the way down to avoid fallen trees and rough ground. By lunchtime we were only about halfway down the valley and decided that a change of plan was needed.

Following a quick swim to cool down we continued through the wooded valley to Chiusa and from there followed the road to Pastricciola arriving just after 6pm. We hoped to stay at the hostel but upon reaching it we found it locked with no sign of life.

It now looked like we had to continue to Guagno which would need a 600m climb over the ridge so we headed back up the hill to the small store to get provisions. However, whilst standing at the till we were accosted by a man carrying a large sack of food who explained that he was the owner of the hostel and had followed us up the hill in order to get things to cook for us.

The hostel itself was quite large and we were the only people in it and so had the pick of all the rooms. The owner proceeded to cook enough food for maybe half a dozen people including soup, omellete, lamb and loads of bread. He then left, telling us that there was ice cream in the freezer if we were still hungry!

Tonight was the champions league final between Liverpool and AC Milan. We managed to watch the first half before going to bed exhausted. Liverpool were throwing it away losing 3-0 at half-time.

Waking up this morning we learnt on the radio that Liverpool had somehow managed to win the champions league. This seemed quite miraculous considering how badly they were playing when we went to bed.

Today was a short day as we were only planning to get over to the gite at Guagno which was just over the ridge to the north. The 600m climb up to the ridge was quite steady through a wood of conifer trees. The descent although initially steep soon levelled out through the dappled light of the woods on the northern slopes. Here we saw our first Coriscan pig wandering around in the trees.

We arrived at the gite in the early afternoon and got ourselves some beds in the dormitory. With it being quite early there were no other trekkers about but soon the the owner told us that she had to go and pick a group up from further down the valley. Leaving Paula in charge of the gite she then drove off in a minibus.

The hostel was soon a lot busier as the owner returned with a bus full of French hikers. We learnt that we would again have to change our plans for the next day as it appeared that the campsite that we were aiming for at Guagno-les-Bains was not yet open for the season. Instead we decided that we better climb back up to the GR20 and continue northwards along there.

Tonight we ate at a small restaurant in Guagno before settling down in the now noisy dormitory.

We awoke this morning to find the hostel empty again as the French hikers had made an early start. Today was a long 1200 m ascent over 10 km back up to the GR20 and Refuge Petra Piana.

The walk was initially for 3 km along the road eastwards from Guagno climbing steadily. Here we left the road and followed the valley. Some bits of the path were a bit overgrown and we had to force our way through some of the undergrowth which meant getting covered in pollen.

In the late afternoon we reached a col and the high level GR20 between Refuge de l'Onda and Refuge Petra Piana. Turning northwards we soon reached the refuge and pitched our tent. The view from the camp area is spectacular and there was a nicely sloping, sun-warmed outcrop near to our tent which was a perfect place to site and admire it.

We "showered" in the cold waterfall next to the refuge under meltwater from Monte Rotundo and felt a lot better. Since the refuge was also manned we were able to buy a beer to enjoy!

After a rest day yesterday we made an early start today for the walk northwards to Refuge de Manganu. This was the highest bit of our walk and so started with an initial climb up to the ridge above Refuge Petra Piana. We were soon crossing patches of snow and once we climbed over to the north side of the ridge the snow became more extensive.

Sunday lunch was crispbreads and lonzu at 2000m with a stunning view of the Restonica Valley below.

One final climb and we reached at Brèche de Capitello just as, for the first time, the weather started to look a little threatening. We headed quickly down through the snow with the sound of thunder rolling behind us in the mountains and after a couple km of fairly easy walking reached Refuge de Manganu.

We pitched up the tent in stony campground behind the refuge and after showers (in dark uninviting shower cubicles in the refuge) ate our usual meal of spaghetti with garlic and chilli before heading to bed.

After the ups and downs of yesterday's walk today was a little more gentle as we walked the 16 km to Vergio. This took us along the Tavignano Valley to Lac de Nino and in places the landscape was strangley reminiscent of the Yorkshire Dales.

At the lake we stopped for the usual lunch and watched the wild horses in the meadows near the water. Then is was another climb up to the windswept ridge of Serra San Tomaghiu which we followed for a couple of kilometres before dropping down from Bocca San Pedru into the wooded northern slopes below. After following the path for a couple more hours as it contoured northwards we eventually emerged from the forest at the gite d'étape at Vergio.

This had a large, flat, grassy camp area next to the gite and we made use of the laundry facilities to clean all our gear after a couple of days in the mountains. We then went next door to the Hôtel Castel de Vergio and instead of our usual spaghetti for dinner we ordered from the menu. The hotel is probably not the most luxurious but after walking for a few days and camping it appeared to be!

Today we left the GR20 and got back to our original itinerary joining the Mare a Mare Nord. This involved an initial walk northwards until we turned eastwards and headed down towards Albertacce. This was a fairly easy walk through pine wooded slopes next to a bubbling river.

Around midday we reached an area of smooth rocks, cascades and pools which was perfect for swimming in the sun. The pools were just long and deep enough that it was possible to swim against the current whilst staying stationary.

We were planning to stay at the gite d'étape at Albertacce but once we got there we discovered that it was not open and so continued down the hot, dusty road towards Calacuccia. By now our feet were starting to ache and so it was with some relief that we reached Couvent St-Francois-di-Niolu which now houses a gite d'étape and a very good one at that. The room we got was small and clean with shutters that kept out the heat and light. Outside is a shaded patio area with tables and chairs. We liked it so much we have decided to base ourselves here for a couple of days rest.

Today was a rest day and so we left our packs at the convent and walked the short distance into Calacuccia to buy some provisions. Unfortunately it turned out that the guidebook was wrong and there was no cash point to be found in the town which meant we were running a little low on money.

We had a lazy afternoon at the convent relaxing on the shady patio.

Given our lack of money we now had to press on to Refuge Sega and from there Corte. We made a reasonably early start and were able to reach the Bocca a l'Arinella around lunchtime. From there it was a reasonably steep ascent down into the forested Tavignano Valley below.

Refuge de la Sega is in a delightful spot next to the river with the camp area in the pine trees nearby. After paying for the campsite we only had 4 euros left which we spent on a half litre caraf of wine. No money until we get to Corte tomorrow evening!

Today was a wonderful walk following a Genoan mule path down the Tavignano Gorge to Corte. It was very beatiful but also very hot once we got onto the south facing slopes.

Once we reached Corte we had another slight climb following the road to tonight's accomodation - the terraced campsite at l'Albadu. We were booked in for dinner, which is served family style, but because we were so tired we almost missed it completely by misreading the time as one our earlier than it was. The food itself was very good and there were around half a dozen other people staying either in the campsite or the ferme-auberge.

Today we caught the mountain train back down to the coastal town of Calvi. It is very hot in comparison to the mountains and so we haven't done very much apart from find the campsite, have lunch and gaze at the mountains across the yatch strewn bay. We did go to a bar in the old town and had the world's most expensive mojitos - I think they mainly cater to the yatch owners.

We hired a little motor boat today and went around to the little bay near the headland west of Calvi. It was yet another stunningly sunny day in Corsica and we spent the afternoon anchored in a cove swimming off the boat.

Unfortunately the small digital camera got drowned whilst heading through the waves this morning and these are the last photos it ever took.

This evening we stayed up too late drinking beer on the campsite with some other English trekkers. Bus to catch tomorrow.

We are planning to do one final walk along a stage of the Mare e Monti. Today we caught the bus from Calvi to Curzu which is our starting point for tomorrow's walk. We are staying tonight in the gite d'étape.

Today we walked a stage of the Mare e Monti from Curzu to Girolata. The walk itself was a horseshoe along the ridge between the two and was reasonably straight-forward. Unfortunately whilst at the top of the ridhe John got attacked by a strange fly that decided that it wanted to stay in his ear and had to be flushed out with water.

After re-crossing the road it was a hot descent back to sea level and arrival in Girolata. This is the only inhabited village on the island which does not have access by road. We booked into a wood cabin behind the beach before going to the other side of the bay to visit one of the two seafood restaurants.

We spent the morning relaxing around the bay in Girolata before packing our stuff up for the trip back to Calvi. We did this using the regular boat service which beings day trippers from Calvi. This is fast although a little bumpy once it gets past the headland.

This is our final night in Corsica and to avoid packing we stayed in a hotel not far from the station rather than camping and ate at one of the restaurants in town.

We caught the train back up towards the mountains but changed at the Ponte Leccia to catch the train back down to Bastia.

After an afternoon wandering around the town it was eventually time to catch the plane back home. As we stepped out onto the tarmac to cross to the plane it started to rain, the first time in all our time on the island.