Journeying Beyond the Mediterranean Coastline
We are now heading inland away from the Mediterranean coastline and our first stop is Quinson, a little medieval village, located on the lower Verdon River. It has the remains of defensive walls and gated entrances into the heart of the village. Our campsite was just outside the village, close to a large lake into which the water from a hydro-electric dam flows before tumbling into the lower gorges of the Verdon. I had seen posts on Instagram of a spectacular walk alongside the Gorge, which climbed up the sides to a small chapel on a summit so that was our reason for coming here.
After setting up camp, we walked into the village, where we had to battle with crowds of tourists and residents going about their daily business… or not! The village has a couple of bars, a very small shop and not a lot else, deserted but peaceful and quiet.
The village has lots of fountains with the date 1877 on them. This may be connected to the fact that just outside Quinson, between 1865-1875, a canal was built to supply Aix-en-Provence with water. The canal is about 8ft wide and about 6ft deep, cut into the side of gorge and was still operational until the 1970’s when it became obsolete as the Canal Provence was completed
At the edge of the village is The Museum of Pre-History (the biggest pre-history museum in Europe!) which houses bones, pottery and tools found in caves and grottos throughout France. The very modern museum was designed by English architect, Norman Foster. We didn’t visit but just over the road in the park is the ‘Village Prehistorique’, where there are full-sized replicas of various Peolithic and Neolithic dwellings, which was more interesting than it sounds.
The campsite was lovely although no signal at all or wi-fi which wasn’t great for work and although well away from the roads, on both nights, a bird making the most irritating call disturbed our sleep. After some research, I discovered the bird was a Eurasian Scops Owl. This owl does not hoot or twit or twoo, it makes a noise that sounds exactly like a smoke detector does when the battery is running low! The owl made the noise about every 2 seconds for HOURS, as did its friend, who made the same noise, every 2 seconds as well, but in the other 2 seconds. Google the call if you need to hear it.
On the morning of Thursday 23 May, we were up relatively early to hike the ‘Canal Guard Trail’. This trail follows the route the keepers of the old canal took when inspecting and maintaining the canal, (this canal was purely a water course not a transport link) and then the trail climbs high above the canal and river to the Chapel of Sainte Maxime. The 10 km round trip was estimated to take about 4 hours by the guide book. The first part of the walk is cut into the side of the gorge, sometimes drops into the canal itself and goes through one of the many tunnels, and then leaves the river’s edge and makes it way from the bottom of gorge, through trees covered in moss, fallen boulders and rocks to the top where the Chapel is situated. We sat for a while taking in the view and put our names in the Visitors’ Book. We managed to find enough space to squeeze onto the last page of the current book. On the altar there was a stack of least 10 large A4 completed books and no sign of a new one for those visitors behind us.
We decided not to return the way we had come but to take the alternative route back, this path was steep with hundreds and hundreds of steps all the way back down the gorge to the river. Hard on the knees especially when some of the steps had drops of more than a foot.
Earlier, when we had made our way up the gorge, we only saw one other couple making their way along the path. They were the noisiest couple, they did not stop talking LOUDLY, it didn’t matter whether we were behind or in front, their voices reverberated around the gorge disturbing the peace and any wildlife. If they’d auditioned for a Ricola advert, they would have got the job hands down! Luckily, once we entered into the valley and started our ascent, their voices were swallowed up by the dense vegetation or perhaps they were swallowed up by a pissed off wild animal!
As we neared the end of the hike, the trail became very busy. We were glad we had taken the decision to go early before the crowds. A bonus was that we were fairly sure we spotted one of the Golden Eagles that live in the area, catching the thermals, way, way above us.
We arrived back at camp just as a few showers swept in, which we waited out, before taking the moped to explore. The roads are very quiet and we passed fields of poppies, olive trees, cows, vines and spectacular views. The moped is very quiet and, as amazing as it is when Charlie is driving, we don’t whizz. You can see, smell and experience so much more if you are pottering. We stopped at a little roadside bar/restaurant for lunch as a few more showers rolled in. Late in the afternoon, as the clouds passed and the sun came out, we hired a little electric boat and motored up the river, gaining a new perspective on where we had walked that morning.
We returned to our campsite and found we had new neighbours.
On Friday morning we packed up and set off for Roussillon, in the Luberon region, known as one of the most beautiful villages in France. Our campsite for the next 3 days is just outside the village, set among pine trees. The areas is scarred in the most beautiful way by the remnants of ochre mining, the earth colour ranges from dark reds to vibrant yellows
After setting up, we hopped onto the scooter and made our way into the village. It is very beautiful but for the first time, we encountered a village busy with tourists, drawn by the spectacular landscape and the village itself.
We returned to the campsite for an afternoon of work and paella for tea.
The next morning we returned to the village to walk The Ochre Trail. This a short, easy wander through the spectacular coloured cliffs of a former ochre mine. The trail is marked and has walkways, you can do the 30 min or 60 min version. We did the 60 min which in reality took us a little over 30 mins with stops. The scenery is breathtaking.
A lazy afternoon followed and then in the evening, we went into the village for dinner, where our table overlooked the spectacular cliffs in the village centre.
Sunday was planned around the Monaco GP due to start 3 pm French time. We spent the day scootering around the countryside, soaking up the scenery and popping into another couple of the ‘most beautiful villages in France’ – Gordes and Lacoste.
Gordes was busy, goodness knows what it will be like at the height of the season. Managed to get photos without too many tourists in them.
Lacoste was the home of the infamous Marquis de Sade, whose chateau is now owned by Pierre Cardin. Lacoste was deserted apart from the couple of restaurants where the majority of customers were cyclists.
The highlight of the day however was lunch! Not my Salade de Chèvre Chaud or Charlie’s Carbonara, as delicious as they were, but our dining companions!
A local shepherd and friend were having Sunday lunch accompanied by 2 bottle fed lambs, one 10 days old and one 15 days old and his sheepdog.
We were sat on terrace and they wandered about, never straying far, but every now and then, the shepherd would baa at them, and they would trot back. The sheepdog kept an eye and gave them the occasional motherly lick. It wasn’t long, before all three fell asleep, the dog on Charlie’s feet and lambs by my chair. So any single guys who want to be ‘babe magnets’, don’t just get a cute dog, get lambs as well!
After the sun came the rain, but Monday 27th was a travelling day. We wound our through the Gorges de l’Ardeche, in the rain and cloud, stopping for the odd photo. As we neared Le Puy, our stop for the next 2 nights, we found ourselves driving through a verdant, green plateau of rolling meadows, where we pulled over for lunch inside the van, watching the rain stream down the windows.
Le Puy is the home of the Puy Lentil and was marked very jauntily at a roundabout, with ‘cartoon’ statues of ‘lentils (looking like fat green peas), perched on gold thrones and wearing crowns. And they say the French have taste…
Today’s weather also marked my mood, I can’t finish this part of my blog without mentioning the dreadful news I heard today. Georgie Campbell, an accomplished horsewoman, was tragically killed whilst riding in an eventing competition on Sunday. I had only met Georgie and her husband Jesse, a few times however Georgie has been a brilliant mentor, teacher and friend to my niece, Sophia. I feel so sad for Jesse, the families and friends and my niece, Sophia. A great loss. Rest in Peace Georgie.
RoundandAbout 