You’ve lived in some fairly exotic places, Tina, so where is your dream destination? Or is it St Brelade’s Bay perhaps?!
Living here in the bay really is a dream, we’re so lucky! Customers often say the shack reminds them of a beach hut in New England – or a Greek taverna – or a cabaña in the Caribbean – particularly when they’re under the shade of the canopy looking out over the sea! But if I had to choose somewhere different, my dream destination would be Corsica.
Any particular part of Corsica?
Yes, the south coast near Bonifacio – we went there as a family three years ago – with my husband Digby, our daughter Libby (now 16) and son Marley (now 13).
We were there out of season in June which was perfect. They say that in July and August it’s totally different.
How did you get there?
We took the overnight train from Paris, picked up a car in Nice and caught the ferry over to Bastia. We had to sleep in the car near a small village because it was around three in the morning by the time we arrived! Next morning we drove down to the south of the island to the Rondinara campsite.
What was it like when you arrived
Stunning! All you can smell is rosemary, eucalyptus and lavender! I loved the landscape and the “rawness” of it all. There were wild boar and foxes as well as snakes. And plenty of fish in the sea.
It was like a little combination of some of the countries I’d been to myself: parts of Australia, Mexico, the USA and the Greek Islands.
So it brought back some great travel memories then…
Yes, just twenty minutes’ drive up into the hills was a river where we swam – and that part was reminiscent of Queensland in Australia. The landscape around us was similar to the Greek Islands where I’d lived briefly with a local family, picking tomatoes.
There was a beautiful sandy beach just ten minutes’ walk away and the sea was just like the Caribbean. Digby and I had hitched around Mexico, Belize and Guatemala and lived and worked in Key West so the colours of the sea brought back some great memories.
How was the camping experience?
Bringing our own tent as backpackers was a bit of a nightmare – it was such a huge tent! But we had a wonderful time and the campsite was very natural. Most people brought their own tents with them but there are some little wooden chalets as well.
The campsite also had an infinity swimming pool overlooking the sea to Sardinia which was amazing.
Camping suited us as package deals aren’t our thing. It’s all a bit stifled in hotels – you miss the magic of not knowing what’s around the corner. Even on our honeymoon in India we ended up going backpacking and being with other travellers again.
So, do you think you’ll return to Corsica?
Funnily enough we were talking about it on Mother’s Day. We were barbecuing down Belcroute and the kids said they’d really love to go back there again soon. So, I hope so. It was such a magical place …
