May 29, 2022 — Stage 6 — Castel de Vergio to Manganu — 11mi / 2,000'

Lovely and fairly easy 10mi walk traversing forest, then up and over into the upper Tavignano basin and the Lac de Nino, where we stopped for lunch. Very beautiful and views north to Monte Cintu and south to Monte Rotunda. We caught up with the young French ‘team Amazon’ at the first bergerie (still closed for the season) and then had a swim in the river as it formed its first pools, leaving just another couple of miles before the Manganu refuge. Here we came across the biggest crowd we’ve seen so far, and it was still less than thirty people. Beautiful, remote setting. 

I learned today that the the controversial legend of the "Moor" emblem on the Corsican flag tells that Jaime of Aragon would have chosen it after a Corsican of his entourage presented to him on a white sheet the severed head of one of the Moorish slaves guilty of conspiracy. Another hypothesis according to which King Theodore of Neuhof paid homage to his faithful Moorish servant who would have saved him from a criminal plot hatched against his person, illustrates the birth of the Corsican flag, "A Bandera."

The refuge was not crowded. We slept inside in the bunks for once, because it seemed like a cold night, but this was a mistake. The refuge was too hot, stuffy, and there were some bugs :/ 

Strava GPS: https://www.strava.com/activities/7226406550