I spent the whole night packing. Preparing the breakfast bags probably took the most time. I made oatmeal mixes with dried fruit and extras in three different versions. One portion I packed especially for the first morning before starting on the trail.

I will see how they work in practice. For now everything looks fine, but only a few days of walking will show if this idea really makes sense.

Because of all this packing there was almost no time to rest. Before leaving I had maybe fifteen minutes to sit down and catch my breath. At 4:30 I was already at Gdańsk airport, departure at 6:00, and two transfers on the way — Frankfurt and Munich. Fortunately the whole journey went without any bigger problems.

In Corsica I was greeted by about 35°C. The difference compared to Poland was obvious from the first moment. After landing — the usual wait at the baggage belt, a bit anxious whether I had packed the backpack well enough and whether it arrived undamaged. A good trick I will use again: a rain cover that was a little too big, plus a few straps with buckles to tighten and protect the pack. The shoulder straps in particular have to be tucked away, so the handlers do not grab them and throw the bundle around when transferring it to the next flight. Counting every gram, I could not afford an extra bag, and I had to take the rain cover anyway.

Fortunately the backpack arrived in one piece. After unpacking it I could finally go out into the main hall of the airport.

Only now does the real adventure start, and the check of all the plans I made in front of a monitor at home. A real test of whether the earlier research is correct. I did leave some safety margins and a bit of reserve just in case, but there is still a huge number of things I did not predict, and things that can simply go wrong.

My first steps went to the information desk — how to get from the airport to the city? And how to get from Bastia to Calvi? As usual, the tourist information point was not very helpful. I have the impression that I had found more useful details on the internet earlier than I managed to get on the spot. The woman looked rather tired of the fact that she had to sit at the desk, and I had the feeling I was interrupting her phone scrolling by asking difficult questions. An extra attraction was the language barrier. We did not find one common language that both of us knew well enough. Fortunately, with a bit of trouble, we somehow managed to communicate. The problem with this kind of mixed-language, half-gesture conversation is a lot of uncertainty whether both sides really understood each other.

I did not get a clear answer from her about whether the bus from Bastia to Calvi was running today, and whether it was at 16:00 or 17:00. That mattered, because I wanted to reach Calvi the same day. The confusion came from the fact that I arrived before the official season, right at the end of the school year. The timetable is different on school days, different on Friday and Monday, and different on the other days of the week. She had a completely different opinion from mine — according to me it was still the school year, the bus was at 17:00, and I still had time to get to the bus station. On top of that she was sending me to some other stop closer to the airport…

Anyway, without any firm conclusions I went to the shuttle bus stop from the airport to the centre of Bastia — it runs more or less every hour. Apart from me, only two people were waiting for the bus. Such are the charms of travelling before the season.
I reached the bus station in the centre of Bastia without any bigger problems, interestingly even a bit early, and immediately checked who was right… there was no bus at 16:00.

I decided to use the remaining time well and sent a parcel to Vizzavona. That is where the food for the second part of the GR20 will be waiting for me. Thanks to that I do not have to carry everything from the first day. Even so, the backpack still came out heavier than I had planned. Apparently there is still something to work on — either eat less, or eat at the refuges to make the pack lighter.
One interesting detail: the Bastia–Calvi bus runs only once a day. The next one is only tomorrow. This is exactly why a spare day is necessary.

I also went to a pharmacy. I bought magnesium and a few small things that were missing from my list. It was nice to see that after many weeks of preparation I did not really need to buy anything important anymore.
For now everything looks according to plan. Of course only the first day on the trail will check all the earlier assumptions.

The journey to Calvi went without any bigger adventures. During the ride I still managed to book a hotel for one night. I had not done it earlier, because I was not sure where I would actually spend it.
I am already spending the evening quietly at the hotel. The standard is okay, nothing special, but that does not really matter. There is a shower, there is a bed, and most of all I can catch up on the last night, which was almost entirely spent on packing. The best thing is the location, right by the main promenade in Calvi. After a short conversation with the woman at reception I heard that I was extremely lucky to find a room at this price in this hotel — normally it is not available.

In the evening I still went for a walk around Calvi — a relaxing evening before the hard work waiting for me on the GR20 from tomorrow. I decided to use the opportunity and go for a local dinner as well — one more proper meal, later it will only be food at the refuges. I ordered something good — Corsican veal: Sauté de Veau Corse au y Olives, and a glass of white wine. A very pleasant end to the day.

Today I have to admit that I was really lucky. Not only did I make the bus to Calvi, I also managed to deal with all the things I had planned, without any trouble.
Tomorrow I continue without rushing. Only in the evening do I have to reach Calenzana. I am a bit worried that the bus will not go all the way into the village and that a few kilometres of walking will still wait for me at the end, but I will worry about that tomorrow.
There was also a moment of stress. At the airport I dropped the camera and for a moment it looked as if it had stopped working. Fortunately, when I started checking everything, it turned out that only the battery was empty. I put in the spare one and the camera came back to life at once. I have to admit I was relieved. A camera failure before the trip even started would have been really bad luck.

After all the chaos with packing, travelling and getting to Calvi, this quiet evening was exactly what I needed. Tomorrow the real adventure starts.

Overnight stay: Hotel in Calvi.