Paris Light

Just a picture of the Canal St. Martin in Paris. I walked along it the other day, going to the Gare du Nord to meet my fiancee. It's not touristy, it isn't famous but in many ways I prefer those bits of Paris (the 'real' bits) to the touristy parts.

Last Day of Summer Time

Even when I'm going for a long hike, I struggle to get out the door early - I like having a relaxed breakfast before heading out. So my hikes generally get a bit shorter in winter hours. Today was the last day of summer time, so I took fall advantage of the 'extra hour' and had a long hike along the Montagne de Chalufy (a ridge at around 2400m). Far below, I could see there were still sheep at one of the mountain cabanes, and I guess they must be going home in the next couple of days. 

Some pics.

Discretion versus Valour

At the col, looking East to the Lacs de Lignin

La Baisse du Detroit is a narrow, high (2500m) col on a hiking trail that can be crossed on a mountain bike. It's about 5 hours walk from any road. Today the temperature was just above freezing and the wind was very strong - I'd guess gusting to 100 km/h when I crossed the col. The route down is tricky and goes over huge boulders - if you fall, the only thing you'll hit will be rocks. I was by myself (though I had a SPOT locator and mobile phone) and fully aware the situation was as serious as soloing a climbing route in the Alps. 

If you fall from your bike and can't get up, you can't be rescued by helicopter (the wind is too strong). You'll have to wait at least 5 hours for assistance, and possibly overnight. If you're too injured to put on every layer of clothing, overnight survival is far from certain. Hmm...

Getting back on my bike after the tricky bit

Not a difficult choice. I walked my bike down the tricky part of the descent before resuming my ride.

Corradour Mountain Bike Ride

I'm slowly gaining competence on my mountain bike and going further into (and higher up) the local mountains. Sometimes this involves following an established mountain bike route, sometimes it means using existing paths and forest roads to make your own route. Sometimes it all works smoothly, sometimes you find yourself pushing the bike a lot. Today things went pretty smoothly - I was able to use a forest road to climb up to 2000m, then follow a relatively flat hiking trail to join the Transverdon (a long distance mountain bike route) for a ride through the mountains and a tricky descent back to valley level. 

Some pics

Fete de la Figue

The fig is a very sensual fruit and it is celebrated in a few fetes in the south of France. We fancied visiting one and chose the fete at Vezenobres, a hill-top village in the Gard around 3 hours drive away. The village faces due south and bakes in the sun, so all sorts of unusual fruits can be seen growing in locals' gardens. There was a market for all sorts of food (including figs and fig based dishes) and in the evening we attended an Andulucian meal with dancers.

Some pics.

Moustiers Sainte-Marie

One of the nice things about living in the south of France is that there are lots of really cute villages around. It's a joy visiting them and it needs almost no planning - just jump in the car, go there, explore, have lunch, explore some more and come home. Today, we visited Moustiers; it's in the lower Verdon gorge, and built just below a cliff and is famous for pottery. We caught the market, had lunch and hiked up to a church in the cliffs above the village.

Some pics.

The Three Churches at Vergons

Notre Dame de l' Assomption

Vergons is a small village at the foot of the Pic de Chamatte. According to Wikipedia, its population is around 125 today and had a high of 500 in the middle of the 19th century and a low of 72 in 1975. Its only commerce is a rather nice restaurant but it has all of three churches, two of which date from the 12th century. Today was Sunday and my fiancee and I had lunch in the resto before visiting the churches - all of which are wonderfully maintained. 

Pics here.