Every good adventure has a preamble, in my opinion. You need to explain how it all started. In our case, the day before our GR20 departure is emblematic of our adventure in Corsica.
We arrived at Charles de Gaulle (CDG for those in the know) around 7:30 local time. Our only mission was to make it to the departure gate for our next flight to Calvi. Despite seemingly clear directions: "Take the blue bus to terminal 2K and transfer to the yellow bus to get to 2G," we got off at the wrong stop at terminal 2K and had to play detective, looking for the 2G sign in the huge terminal 2K. We didn't know it at the time, but it would be excellent practice for the trail that awaited us the next day, where you often have to play find the white and red marker. After nearly two hours of travel and three security checks, we found our gate and made it to Calvi.
From there, we moved on to our preparations in every sense of the word. Indeed, after walking 1.5km to the InterSport store to buy trekking poles and a knife, which we couldn't bring on board, we went to the grocery store to stock up for the trail. Having been sick from terrine and homemade cold cuts at Castel Di Vergio 8 years ago, we had resolved to buy Corsican sausage only if no other protein source was available. It was a challenge because all the cheeses are refrigerated and cut. After a good 20 minutes wandering around the supermarket, we found Babybel cheeses that stay fresh in the heat, dried figs, and protein-rich crackers in different grains. It was our first practice in the protein hunt that would set the stage for the trail ahead.
With the preparatory trials for the GR20 behind us, the day concluded with an excellent dinner that reintroduced us to Corsican cuisine at Via Marine, a little gem of a restaurant on a small pedestrian street in Calvi's port.