Lac du Santa Croix and the Grand Canyon du Verdon

This blog relates to two of the most beautiful areas we have seen since we have been in France, so I make no apologies for the number of photos.  Following our morning driving through the beautiful hill top villages of Provence we arrived at Lac du Santa Croix.

This is a man made lake now owned by EDF. It was created in 1974 when the valley was dammed. I do not know how much controversy was caused by creating this lake but I do know one village was completely flooded, Les Salles du Verdon, and was rebuilt adjacent to the lake but also many farms were destroyed.  What has been created is a beautiful lake that now brings water to many in this region as well as power generation.  But enough of the politics it was an idyllic camping spot for Mike and I to stay.  We were also fortunate to meet a Belgian gentleman who gave us some in depth information about the Grand Canyon du Verdon. I had seen this place listed on the map but had read little information about it.  I am so pleased that we found out more about the area and did not miss this awe inspiring site.
The canyon is 25 kilometres long and in parts is 700m deep.  Our plan was to visit it tomorrow, so you can imagine our disappointment when we awoke to rain - not the weather to go exploring canyons but we set off hoping things would improve.  We left the lake and we took a road high above the lake to Moustiers - Ste- Marie, another hilltop town backed by towering cliffs with numerous waterfalls cascading down.  By lunchtime the rain had eased so we decided to try the canyon route.  The road rose upwards even more and the scenery became more and more spectacular.  As we climbed upwards the rain became snow.  This meant that one of roads we had been advised to use was closed so we continued on a more major road. Further down this route we came to a parking place called Vue Sublime. We parked here and a 10 minute walk took us to the edge of the gorge.  The views made you feel dizzy, the drop down was tremendous and you could see the river, bright green, snaking below.  Heading back to the van we saw huge birds circling overhead which we later identified as griffon vultures.  Later we saw 10 of these birds resting high on the rocks above us.  By this time a local trader had arrived and he managed to part us from our euros in exchange for some raspberry and pepper vinaigrette and a cherry syrup.    He told us more about the vultures which had been introduced here. He also said that our 'closed road' was probably open by now.  So we retraced our steps so that we could explore this stunning area further.  The road still had a closed sign but we drove through anyway. There were numerous stopping places for phots and we continued upwards until we hit a bend covered in snow and ice.  Not wishing to take our van any further we parked on the edge of the road just as a snow plough came through.  We decided to get the bikes off and continue our journey to the summit.  Mike flew up the hill but whether it was the higher altitude or I am not as fit as I had hoped I found it a difficult climb but I did make it to the top where the route was definitely barred.  I really enjoyed the downhill cycle! but it was pretty chilly.  We felt we had got as much of the area as we could without actually walking the gorge so we headed back down and drove around the other side of the lake and back to our camping spot.  

Provence

16th March, Avignon, Nimes and Fontaine-de-Vaucluse.

We woke to find the morning bright and sunny. We had planned for a rainy day with Jacqui needing to do some more Keele work. Change of plan. We both decided to go back into Avignon and head off to Le Halles, the popular market hall specialising in local Provence produce. There was an extensive range of meats, cheese, bread, and home-made food products but nothing excited us enough to buy. So we took our last look around the old town through the back streets and back to our van. Today we decided to go back on ourselves, to Nimes. I wanted to see the best preserved Roman amphitheater in the world and the Maison Carree which is the only fully preserved temple also from the Roman times. This allowed Jacqui to put in a few more hours of work. I returned back after seeing the two monuments, baroque gardens and the recommended "old town walk". I felt a little guilty as I had all the fun that day. We then headed back to Provence and skyped Millie who had just returned from her Chase Water school trip. She had a great time and told us in great detail about the events of her week. We eventually arrived at our destination "Fontaine-de-Vaucluse" and parked between a few motorhomes that arrived early to protect us from the winds. We had supper, then went to bed.

 

Sunday 17th March. Fontaine-de-Vaucluse.

 

Jacqui had got up early and walked into the village and had a pleasant surprise. The village was in an absolutely beautiful setting, lovely village square, mountain plateau backdrop, and a kayak slalom race was being set up.  She hurried back with the news so that we could both take a better look together. We also found that this village contained the source of the river Sorgue which was a fast flowing glacial blue river due to the winter rain and snow fall. We watched the kayak racing for a while then set of to the source of the river. At the end of a deep green gorge, at the foot of a tremendous cliff sculpted by erosion, the most beautiful river appeared. With a total average outflow of 630 million cubic meters per year, the spring is the greatest in France and one of the most important in the world, for its water outflow volume. It results from an emergence of a huge underground water system with water collected from Mount Ventoux, its plateau and other local mountains and the rush of water is spectacular and what is seems, from nowhere. On our way back down we passed the water mill and its museum showing how it is still used to make hand-made paper. We really enjoyed browsing the working museum, especially as it was warm inside and so cold out.

When we returned we noticed a couple who we had bumped into twice before on our travels and exchanged stories of what we had done and our planned routes for the coming months. As the weather was bad then we drove onto the next village, Isle de Sourge to find wifi where we could both do a few hours on the Internet. Once completed we returned back to Fontaine-de-Vaucluse for another night. This time the wind had died down so it was a quiet night.

Monday 18th March. Luberon region of France (Provence).

Expecting rain today we had planned for Jacqui to complete some more marking. It's getting more difficult as the work for her is coming in thick and fast. But first I went into the village and picked up some maps of the area. After five hours of work we decided to call it a day and set off using the maps we had picked up to see more of the region of Vaucluse and Luberon. Provence is a very pretty area. We saw many fruit trees about to blossom and as we drove through the villages of Cavaillon, Merindol, then Lauris and Loumarin the scenery changed and we were driving through limestone crags until we reached Bonnieux, perched high on a cliff edge. 

   

From there we dropped down, crossing the plain of Luberon to Rossillion which was built around an amazing terracotta coloured cliff. We then continued to Gordes, which is listed as one of the most beautiful towns in France and stayed the night. 

Thursday 19th March, Gordes to Santa Goix de Lac.

It was a bright morning and after breakfast we took our bikes off and headed uphill to the centre of Gordes. As you can see above the views of the plains of Luberon were fantastic. There was a market in the small square where we bought some lavender honey, pain de raisins and sampled some local sausage. We picked up our daily local bread, wandered all around the town then cycled back to the van for coffee and lunch as it was now nearly 1 pm. We then set off on our bikes again to an ancient stone village "Village des Bories", the most recent was built in the 18th century and they were inhabited until the late 19th century.

After this short excursion we put our bikes back on the van and set off for another scenic drive across to the Haute Provence area. Once again snow capped mountains came into view in the background although the predominant scenery was rolling countryside covered with lavender fields. We promised ourselves we would return to this area in the Summer to see the fields in full bloom. We took the long route to Apt, Forcalquies, Manosque, Valensole and Riez ending up at a huge a very picturesque manmade lake at Santa Croix.

First week in Southern France (and its cold)

Carcassonne - Le Cite

 Monday 11th March.

This morning we drove into Perpignan which was only 20k from our overnight stop. Today was about gathering info from tourist information and catching up with our laundry, we had lots. Sorting out the Old Stables and a little bit of work for Keele University. By the afternoon, once our tasks had been completed we headed off to the coast at Port Barcares. We found a site next to the lake set out for motorhomes. Only three spaces but we were the only one there. Once parked we set off on our bikes to find the sea and investigate the area. The location was attractive but the accommodation was clearly laid out for holiday homes. So it all looked very empty. At the end of the town we decided to cycle back through a pine forest that would take us back to the lakes and our van. When we returned the evening was so still we decided we would come back in the afternoon and launch our kayak for the first time this year. Jacqui had just finished reading "Enduring Love" by Ian McEwan and really enjoyed it. I had just finished reading " A woman in Berlin " which I found interesting in a historical way. So I started a new read.

Tuesday 12th March.

We left Barcares early so Jacqui could have a Skype conference call with Keele. However we managed to get connected on line but were unable to keep up the connection. So Jacqui had to abandon her part of the call but used the allotted time to complete some more marking. We then drove off to Carcassonne. One of Mike's ‘must do’ sites.

The drive to Carcassonne was one of the most beautiful yet. We followed the river Aude through vineyards, beautiful hills and through very deep and high gorges. We had failed to launch our kayak today (too windy)but on this route we saw loads of sites where one could set off from, but to be honest the river was too fast for our novice abilities. Who knows where we would end up?

Carcassonne is split into two towns. Le Cite, the old town which dominates the skyline with a medieval fairy tale style fortress. However, by the time we arrived we did not have time to explore so we travelled to our Aire at a small village called Fonties D'Aude. The Aire was no longer in existence but we managed to squeeze onto a bit of wasteland at the side and hope we wouldn't upset anyone. Jacqui and I walked through the village which was deserted except for a couple of barking dogs and an elderly woman.

Wednesday 13th March. Carcassonne.

To our horror there were light snow flurries when we woke. It had been 25 degrees a couple of days ago and now it was 1. We hadn't expected this drop in temperature as we had travelled from Spain to France. It was also very windy. The Mistral winds had started. Not to be put off, we dug out our warmer clothes and headed for Le Cite. Parking around the site was expensive so we drove down to the main road, parked by a wall and walked up to Le Cite. Le Cite was really worth visiting, despite the very cold weather. As it was still early in the season some of the shops and cafes were closed but you could imagine what it would be like here in the summer. Six million people visit the site every year so it was good to explore and see everything while the place was comparatively empty. In fact when we went into the beautiful church of St Nazine we were the only two there. Again this gave us plenty of time to take in the architecture and the lovely 13th Century rose windows. As we now completely frozen we returned to the van and set off to see the second half of Carcassonne known as the Ville Basse and the Canal de Midi. We saw this by van as we were too cold to venture out again.

As we had an early start to the day we moved towards our next overnight stop. Taking, as always, the scenic route to Narbonne and then to Narbonne de la Plage through the pine forest, hills and into the national park. Here we found motorhomes not welcome but we decided to ignore the signs and park on the the sea front to have lunch. From there we followed the road to Adge along the coast where there was supposed to be another aire. We noticed that all services were available but later on that night we were told that we could not stay as the car park overnight.

That afternoon we visited Cape d'Adge. I (Mike) had enjoyed a holiday here thirty years ago and wondered how much it had changed. Over developed is all I can say.

It was now dark and we had been moved on from our planned Aire. The wind was still blowing hard and the only alternative stop we knew about was on the sandbank between Cap d'Adge and Sette. Not the most sheltered spot considering the gales. However, we really had no alternative so we decided to brave it. We arrived in complete darkness and  found there were other motorhomes here prepared to do battle with the winds. To make things a little less noisy we removed the bike cover as this tended to flap loudly in the wind.

Thursday 14th March. The Carmargue and Arles.

We survived the windy night and woke to a sunny but still high winds. After breakfast we dressed up and went for a stroll on the beach which was full of perfect shells. Jacqui could not resist picking up a few to take back to England. By 11.30 am we were in Montpellier. Although still windy and cold it was a bright sunny day. The streets of Montpellier were lined with plain trees giving it a very pleasant feel. We parked the van near the Antigone area and walked into the city centre. Although we only spent two hours here it was a very pleasant visit. We decided to have lunch in the Camargue as Jacqui was very anxious to see this natural park she had heard so much of. We drove down to Aigues - Mortes which was a lovely walled town but very difficult to get with all the motorhome directional signs designed to ensure we only parked in designated parking area which you needed to book. So we moved on to Les Saintes Maries de la mer, which was more welcoming. The drive was through the famous flat wetlands where we saw plenty of flamingos, white horses and black bulls.

The wind was still buffeting us and we decided to head to Arles. A typical pleasant, faded, French town. Rather lovely we thought with its large Roman amphitheatre, theatre and walled town. We parked on the edge of the Rhone and battered down the hatches for another windy night. It was quite amusing as there were six motorhomes huddled together trying to protect themselves from the howling wind. Before it got dark we both set off into town to the tourist information and quickly saw the sights and the old town.

Friday 15th March. Arles.

Despite the wind we slept well and Jacqui braved an early morning walk. After breakfast I serviced the van, topped up the antifreeze and headed for "the Bridge of Arles" made famous by the Van Gogh painting. VG spent some time in Arles, some of which was in the hospital, and the time he not only painted the bridge but his famous sun flowers and it was also the time he cut off a piece of his ear. The hospital is no longer there but the town promotes his stay and  mountains of VG memorabilia.

 We found the spot and the "bridge" only to be told by an English guy who had lived in the area for 20 years that the original bridge had gone and this replacement, although exactly the same, was not in the right place.He then invited into his home which was a old furniture removal van kitted out for travelling. He had even got a wood burner inside to keep him warm and cook off. We then headed back to the Carmargue nature reserve, especially to Etang du Vaccares. There is a desolate beauty about this place which we loved and was highlighted by seeing a beaver swimming in one of the canals. We then headed out to Digue a la Mer where there is a flamingo breading ground. Sadly we were unable to cross the last dyke with the van and it was too windy for bikes. So we set our sights on Salin - de - Girand a large salt pond area where we had lunch, with a bit of salt. We then continued on our way back to Arles. But tonight our designation was to be Aviginon. The wind had started to die down. The Mistral wind is supposed to last either 3,7 or 9 days and this was day three. Lets hope!! It was cold when we arrived at Avignon and the wind was calmer but it was sunny. We parked by a ‘park and ride’ so feeling a little lazy, we took the bus into town. We were a bit disappointed by the famous bridge, access was closed due to the high winds, but we were very impressed by the Palace de Papes, which was the home of the Pope in the 15th century, the 4.5k of perfectly kept city walls, it's gardens and the atmosphere of the old city streets. Brilliant!

The fantastic Salvador Dali

Saturday 9^th March A Dali Day

There was more rain during the night but it was fine and sunny when I got up for a brisk walk through the nature park before breakfast.  Mike and I then headed off for Figueres and the Salvador Dali museum.  We knew we were in for a treat when we came round the corner and saw this building with its roof adorned by giant sized eggs.  The museum/theatre turned out to be a most fascinating place where we spent three hours and could have spent longer.  I am not sure that I understand Surrealism and have never been a great fan but the work in this museum was so unbelievable good that you could not help but be fascinated and overawed by what Dali could achieve.  For example there is the famous Cadillac, which for an additional euro, allows water to spray from the roof of the car watering the plants and snails (real) and model passengers inside. There was a painting, which my camera saw as Abraham Lincoln and I saw as a naked woman until I screwed up my eyes and saw what the camera was seeing. 
More stereoscopic pictures, more paintings, sculptures etc as well as some works by other artists.  It was a fantastic experience.  We walked back to the van reflecting on it all, passing through the market which was now packing up but I was still able to get 5 kilos of oranges for 2 euros.

Gala - his inspiration

We headed back to our parking place near Roses. It had been a beautiful morning but now the sun and mountains were obliterated by heavy cloud, soon it was raining and we had two beautiful rainbows.  The rain passed fairly quickly and we went off for a late afternoon cycle ride to Empuriabrava an area that is a marina resort.  It was a lovely cycle through this national park   and Mike was rewarded by the sight of many fine motor launches in the resort.  When we got back we found that another van had joined us with a GB plate.  We chatted with them and found that they had taken a very similar route out since leaving England but had left 3 months before us – I knew we were moving fast!
The following day we were woken by a mad Spanish man shouting across the bay again at no one or thing (he was doing it last night too!) Today would be our last in Spain and it was a lovely day.  We spent the morning walking round the beach at Roses sourcing a wifi provider as we had booked a skype call with Millie that morning.  Eventually we found a nice cafe by the beach and whilst we awaited our appointment time we basked in the sun (now 25C) and drank coffee.  Little were we to know that temperatures would plummit soon. We dragged ourselves away as we wanted to go to Cadaques and the neighbouring village of Port LLigat where Dali lived for many years. The drive was once again fantastic going over the mountains. When we reached Cadaques we parked in the only place that seemed suitable for motorhomes at 0.44875 euros a minute. Not being sure how close Port LLigat was we took the bikes off and decided to cycle there.  It turned out to be a strenouous uphill cycle but fortunately for only 2.5K and the views were well worth it.  Port LLigat is a real picture postcard place - a tiny fishing cove, azure clear seas with a stunning coastline.  Mike thought it was one of the best views he had seen.  However due to poor planning we did not realise that you had to book in advance to see Dali's house so we continued to soak in the views and then headed into Cadaques and cycled  along the sea front there - another lovely place.
It was now late afternoon as we headed into France along the coast road.  Often the roads were narrow and twisty and Mike knew he had completed a lot of driving by the time we arrived in Le Boulon where once again we took the last camping spot. We were then treated to a fantastic thunderstorm.