Morys Musing

Genoa, Italy and Saint-Paul-de-Vence

It was July 13, 2015 and we had just completed our wonderful Corsican adventure. It was now time to head back to Bormes. However, we were not done! Instead of sailing back to Toulon France, Glenn had us sail from Bastia to Genoa, Italy to spend one night savouring Italy’s charms.

The ferry ride was relatively smooth but I also determined that I had no language skills in Italian. The crew on this ferry spoke Italian with very little English. Yet another language to learn! We approached Genoa and were impressed by the size of the port. It seemed to go on forever. We even caught a glance of the Costa Concordia not looking its best!

Glenn and Maysan had some shopping to do at “Eataly”- a wonderful Italian store selling fresh goods and kitchen goods. How I wish we had one of these in Calgary! They also had a very nice restaurant where we enjoyed a fine evening meal with fish which likely came off the boat fresh just that day. We stayed at a very nice hotel close to the port.

The next morning we had a few hours to tour the old town section of Genoa where some of the local university faculties are located. It was very pleasant.

We then proceeded to a outlet shopping district located between Genoa and Milan to do what else…. some shopping!  The shopping district was huge and offered premium products at quite large discounts. Anna and Anita would have loved it. I picked up a few dress shirts and got a great deal on top of it all.

We then proceeded to visit Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France on the way back home for an evening meal and visit. Saint-Paul or Saint-Paul-de-Vence (in Occitan: Sant Pau) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. One of the oldest medieval towns on the French Riviera, it is well known for its modern and contemporary art museums and galleries such as Fondation Maeght which is located nearby.

Saint-Paul de Vence has long been a haven of the famous. During the 1960s, it was frequented by French actors Yves Montand, Simone Signoret and Lino Ventura, and poet Jacques Prévert.

Saint-Paul is also well known for the artists who have lived there, such as Jacques Raverat, Gwen Raverat and Marc Chagall and more recently the couple Bernard-Henri Lévy and Arielle Dombasle. Former Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman has a home there. American writer James Baldwin died there in 1987. British actor Donald Pleasence died there in 1995.

We had a most enjoyable evening [me in my new dress shirt from Italy, so smart], unfortunately, our meal was relatively disappointing which was very unusual for France. Maysan certainly gave the manager a lot to “chew on”. We then arrived home quite late in Bormes and fell into a well-deserved sleep. We only had one day before we would have to leave for Le Puy. No rest for the wicked!

RLS Day Hike 6: Le Pont de Montvert to Florac

Le Pont de Montvert to Florac: Sixth day of the hike. This is going to be the big day! A 28 km hike with an injured right foot. Will I make it? The previous night my French friends came up with a plan to shorten the hike to approximately 12 or 13 km. They apparently had a car close by and one of the hikers was going to transport the vehicle to the exit location. They wanted to do this because of the very long distance and the expected high temperature of 37°C in Florac. They invited me to join them starting at 6:30 AM. I really did think hard and long about joining them. However, despite my injured foot, I was committed to completing the Stevenson trail completely and on my own steam.

In order to accomplish this I would have to start hiking by 6 AM. It was pretty much straight up from Le Pont de Montvert until you reached a nice high plateau and had a pleasant walk amongst “rocks and brooms”. The sun had not yet risen and the temperature was relatively cool at 22°C. Even though there was some pain in my right foot I pushed on. I was rewarded with a nice descent through some lovely foliage but then there was another much more sustained ascent to get up to Signal du Bouges. There were panoramic views all around. There was also an interesting set of cairns which apparently was a favourite meeting place for the Camisards, called Les Trois Fayards, from where they marched on Pont de Montevert in 1702 to ignite the Camisard War. The Signal du Bouges is the highest point of the Massif Bouges which runs parallel to Mont Lozere. Last century, the intensive exploitation of the area by local families led to the immense deforestation and the dwindling of native wild animals. Rural exodus rebalanced things and led, at the end of the 19th century, to a natural and artificial reforestation. Thus, the northern slopes of the massif are practically covered with forest nowadays.

I enjoyed walking this stretch because it was a ridge [I love ridge walks] with panoramic views. From this point, it was going to be a downhill descent of 880 m. The trail was quite similar to our alpine trails and was quite rocky and I had to be quite careful with my injured right foot to not fall or twist it.

For your information, Stevenson did not walk the same route as I did today. He headed out west from Le Pont de Montvert, along a path that is long since tarmaced as the D998, and camped out on a ledge above the Tarn. He slept badly and was later accosted by a beggar woman whom he paid off as if it were for his night’s lodgings. He then meant an old Protestant man from La Florac and opined, “ if the Garden of Eden be anywhere, it is here in the Valley of the Tarn as it goes down to Florac”.

At about the 19 km mark you arrive at a junction where you have three options to get down to Florac. Because I am a sucker for punishment, I took the longest route [which is the new GR 70] which apparently is not the route that Stevenson took [which is now the GR 68]. There was a long and steady descent that challenged the knees through the Cevennes National Park. I eventually exited the park through Bedoues and then had a shaded path to climb and then finally descend into Florac. Yeah!!! I did it. Even my right foot felt okay.

Florac is a town with a population of approximately 2000 people. It is located at the junction of three natural regions: Mount Lozere, the Cevennes and the Les Grands Causses. It is the home to the headquarters of the Cevennes National Park since 1970: it also gave birth to Le Club Cevenol, an organization of eminent locals dedicated to preserving the local heritage and environment. It was that organizations interest in Stevenson’s trek, around the centenary of his trip, that led to the finding of his “Cevennes Journal” in the United States and the launch of the GR 70 as it is known today. What a fitting way to end this part of my blog of the Robert Louis Stevenson trek. It has been most satisfying from an exertion point of view, it allowed me to experience the wonderful French countryside and the hospitality and generosity of the local French people. I feel privileged to walk along the same trails as them as well as Robert Louis Stevenson previously. I plan to take it easy in Florac today except for a nice walk around town. Tomorrow, I have to make my way back to Bormes. I have no reserved bus ticket or train tickets but will hope for the best utilizing my broken and inadequate French. There is always an adventure waiting to be experienced.

A look back at Le Pont de Montvert as I leave 6 AM

Interesting cairns, Signal du Bouges

Signal du Bouges viewpoint

Yet another beautiful church, Bedoues

Yes! I did it. Here is the entrance to Florac.

Panorama, Le Pont de Montvert to Florac

Local hillside view from the village park, Florac

Stone castle, Florac

Le Vibron river running through Florac

Beautiful church exterior, Florac

RLS Day Hike 5: Le Bleymard to Le Pont de Monvert

Le Bleymard to Le Pont de Monvert. Fifth day of the hike. Today was going to be an up and down experience. By that, I mean the initial part of the hike would require 630 m ascent followed by a 770 m descent. I had a leisurely breakfast and had just exited from the hotel I was staying at when I ran into six of the French hikers I had visited with at the hotel in Chasserades. What a pleasant surprise! I was expecting another day of solo hiking but they insisted that I join their group which I gratefully accepted. They stated that their pace would be relatively slow but that was fine with me and it gave us more time to converse in both my broken French and their broken English.

We started the slow and steady ascent and eventually at about 4 km we reached the Mont Lozere Station de Ski. Certainly, this was much smaller than our Canadian ski areas in the Rockies. One glitch that we had at this point occurred when I was walking in deep conversation with one of the other French hikers and we started up the wrong path on the GR 7. We were happily conversing when he received a cell phone call advising him that we were probably not on the right path from the group who were about 200 m behind us. How embarrassing! We eventually found the correct pathway for the GR 70 but were amazed by the number of hikers on the path that day. On the path we saw and passed many “montjoies”. Some of these bear the Maltese Cross, marking the limits of the property owned by the Knights of Malta of the order of Saint Jean of Jerusalem, disbanded after the Revolution. Think of them as very large cairns. Clearly, this is a very popular day hike as well. You do get up to the highest point on Mont Lozere at 1699 m. There was a very refreshing wind up top which was required to cool us down from the climb.

After we spent some time admiring the views, we descended about 400 m to our lunch spot. we then started to descend a steep and very rocky path. On one of my steps down with my right foot I heard a crack and then developed some sudden pain on the outer aspect of the right ankle. Oh oh! I decided to just continue down even though it was quite painful and I figured I likely tore a small tendon or even sustained a small stress fracture. Such are the adventures of hiking long distances. I was able to keep up a good pace and we eventually ended up at the lovely hamlet of Finiels where the group insisted that we stop for refreshments. These French really know how to hike!

The rest of the way was a continued steep and rocky descent until we reached our destination of Pont de Montvert. It was an absolutely lovely village nestled amongst steep hillsides. I had to leave my French hiking mates as they were staying at a local Gite whereas I was staying at the small hotel on the opposite side of the river. However we made plans to meet up for an aperitif in the centre of town. Again, very civilized.

For your information, Stevenson climbed more or less the same route that we just completed. He apparently met carloads of pine trees en route, cut for the winter hearth. He woke during the night to enjoy half a cup of very cold water and a cigarette. He felt very refreshed and described the early morning as “a perfect hour of life”. This was apparently in contrast to his “night of horror” spent at Chasserades. He apparently left a few coins in the undergrowth in payment for his nights stay.

All in all, this was a very pleasant day despite the injury to the right foot. Ice and Naproxen will be in order tonight! Hopefully, it will be in good shape as tomorrow’s hike is the longest of the trek at 28 km and, as mentioned previously, the high temperature is supposed to be 37°C. Hopefully there will be no more glitches!

Beautiful views, Le Bleymard to Le Pont de Monvert

Montjoies and hikers, the ascent to Mont Lozere

Montjoies and hikers, the ascent to Mont Lozere

The summit of Mont Lozere, 1699 m

Beautiful views, Le Bleymard to Le Pont de Monvert

The descent to Le Pont de Monvert

Le Pont de Monvert

Panorama, Le Bleymard to Le Pont de Monvert

Panorama, Le Bleymard to Le Pont de Monvert