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squiz Member Member#: 6644 Location: Registered: 27-05-2007 Diary Entries: 2899 |
13th April 2012 Hiking - Walking: Castillane-Verdon Wind Direction: Wind Stength: Surf / Sea State: Air Temperature: Sea Temperature: Weather: Max Speed: Distance Covered: Three days of short walks combined into one entry: Friday 13th April 2012 – walking **** raining :( It rained all night but cleared out for a while for Mag to have a bit of a walk to the bridge before breakfast, while I finished my book and we had a good view of the mountains. One definitely had snow on when it didn’t last night. We drove down to Castellane which is only a few miles away and did some shopping at the Casino then drove into the town and went for a wander round, found the tourist information and discovered you could get Wi-Fi there so asked if we could come back this afternoon and the lady said that was fine :) We started to climb upwards through the narrow streets and found ourselves on the path to the chapel on the rock above the town. This is a big feature of the town and has the story of the crucifixion at various shrines all the way to the top. It was quite a hard steep walk on cobbles which were slippery with the drizzle. The chapel at the top was really quite lovely and we lit a candle (most unusual for us) for our Mums, Mags Dad and Pam – we have been thinking of them a lot on this holiday. We walked down and had our lunch then spent the afternoon on the internet in the tourist information. Their free access finished after an hour but we found another connection and got another hour :) It is exhausting but has to be done, we got more books, checked the bank, updated our security protection which had run out and then downloaded all the photos and blogs etc... We are hoping to go and investigate the gorges just outside town but the weather is quite miserable and I looked at the weather forecast on the internet and it looks quite miserable for a few days :( Still you never know it might be ok. We actually parked in an Aire tonight!!!! 6 Euros but after the internet session it was 5 o clock and we couldn’t be bothered to drive off and find somewhere so as we had got free Wi-Fi it seemed like a good trade :) Got a message from Dan this afternoon to say that he had had a meeting with the new Manager at Solar and they want him to do Manager training :) He is having training for the next couple of weeks and then he will be Evening Manager :) What a guy – so proud of him and glad they have realised his talents at last! http://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=a.3129837677540.2137243.101266056 2&type=1 http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3245995981425.2139602.1012660562&t ype=3&l=1bf5305e7c Saturday 14th April 2012 – Riding around sightseeing in the rain :( little walking **** It poured with rain all night but had cleared up a bit this morning. We didn’t wake up until nearly 8.30 and had a lazy start. We watched some gold and green finches for ages, we washed our hair and by the time we walked to town it was after 11! We had a quick look round the market and got some bread then returned to the van intending to pack up and move on but it started raining again so we had a drink and a read, then lunch and didn’t actually move until gone 3p.m. In the book we got from the tourist information it said that the little medieval village of Le Garde was really nice so we thought we would have a look at that. It was a disappointment really, just one very narrow street off the main road to Grasse and the south of France! We decided to do the driving circuit listed in the book and the scenery was stunning but it’s not the same in the gloomy rainy weather :( We did a detour up to the ski resort of Vauplane(4 button lifts) where the rain had turned to snow because we had reached the magic height again. It was deserted apart from another small vw camper van but after we had had a quick walk to the empty cash office and restaurant buildings 3 cars arrived and several locals got out to have a quick game of snowballs! It was very bleak so we carried on our trip and were chuffed to see a deer right by the side of the road on the way down. WE decided to see if the windy road which looked like it returned to Castellane via the Lac du Chaudanne actually did and were really pleasantly surprised that the Lac was truly spectacular and was actually full of water – the most amazing blue/green colour too. We had a look at the dam and could see the church on the rock we climbed to in the distance so we are very close to Castellane. Found the perfect place to park for the night overlooking the lake with a tree full of blossom too. We did our good deed and cleared the parking place of rubbish before settling down for a read and cuppa. When it stopped raining we went for a long walk along the length of the lake saw some fish (the first in these lakes) and in a spooky coincidence saw the same couple on their bikes as we saw on our walk in Castellane last night! They recognised us too and looked equally surprised :) We walked back and I made a mean carbonara for tea :) http://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=a.3129837677540.2137243.101266056 2&type=1 http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3245995981425.2139602.1012660562&t ype=3&l=1bf5305e7c Sunday 15th April 2012 – walking **** sunny periods then rain again :( Had breakfast overlooking the lovely lake then drove back through Castellane and into the Gorges du Verdon. We want to do a 14km walk through the gorge which involves tunnels and step ladders etc., but are unsure where the start and finish are and as you only walk one way, how to get back to the van at the start? So today was a recce really. We knew the end was at the Point Sublime so were looking for that, took a turning too early and inadvertently found the end of the walk. Walked down into the Gorge and to the first tunnel. Went back to the van and carried on to the Point Sublime which wasn’t that far up the road. On the way we saw the biggest birds we have ever seen fly over and stopped to have a closer look through the binoculars. They are Griffon Vultures! We had seen them in the leaflet we got from the Tourist information but didn’t expect to see them so easily and such huge numbers! They became a real feature of the day. Had a walk to the viewing point at the Point Sublime and unfortunately I lost the metal piece which joins his camera to his tripod so we had a look around for that but with no joy:( Went back down the hill and walked down through the gorge to the Pont de Tusset for our lunch. It was a good path, quite steep and rocky in places. The bridge is really old, probably Roman by the shape of it. Hardly anybody about again but the weather is still not brilliant. Cloudy most of the day and raining again later :( We drove up to the village of Rougon which is set on the hillside above the Gorges and is famous for the Vultures. It is a very quaint village with a huge rock to climb behind it. Firstly we went to the vulture viewing point and saw a huge number soaring the cliffs and sitting on a metal fence. We scrambled up the rock and two enormous vultures soared past us at eye level. They were beautiful in a mean looking way! Quite a memorable sight :) We waited at the top to see if any more ventured our way but they didn’t so we came back down and had our tea. We are staying here tonight. We were a bit worried because there are No camping signs everywhere but there is nobody here to worry and there are even a couple sleeping in their Landover in the same car park! http://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=a.3129837677540.2137243.101266056 2&type=1 http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3245995981425.2139602.1012660562&t ype=3&l=1bf5305e7c |
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