Postcards from Provence and beyond

It would be fair to say that the last few weeks have been very soggy indeed. In fact, I don’t think that I can ever remember it being this wet, and this has been our 10th winter here now and even our late January trip to Antibes was a washout, with the town recording its highest ever rainfall in a day!

The Calavon River is flowing, the waterfall at the bottom of the road is running, and the submersible car park has been cleared a number of times, due to the increased flood risk. To put it in a nutshell – it’s been foul.

On the occasional bright days, we have woken to heavy mist flowing through the valley, settling between the hills, making it appear as if we are living on the banks of a silvery sea, like a scene from the tales of Camelot, or a fairy story.

In short, it’s not exactly been perfect cycling weather, and the older I get, the more I feel the damp cold in my joints, so the bikes have (in the main) stayed in the garage, and we have pulled on our walking shoes instead.

The trails around us are well-marked and really superb. It’s lovely to head out for a long walk, following some of our favourite routes, spotting the tiny details that reinforce the fact that spring is on its way, even if the weather suggests otherwise.

There is something rather lovely about spotting those early, first signs of spring, poking their way through the fallen leaves and tufts of grass in the verges. From the fragile flowers of field pansies and rich purple violets…

To the sturdy spikes of ‘Robert’ orchids, with their pretty pink and lilac, flowers…

It’s just a joy to see nature bringing colour to the landscape that seems to have been simply shades of grey and sepia, for the last few months.

We’ve really enjoyed exploring the tracks and trails here and as with cycling, enjoy the process of getting somewhere, rather more than actually being there. And it has sparked our appetite to do something a little more adventurous, on 2 feet, rather than 2 wheels.

We have been looking at the various options, of A to B walks that we could do, a little bit further afield than in France. We looked at doing a section of the Camino de Santiago, but then stumbled across the Rota Vicentina in Portugal, which set our minds racing. We’ve never visited Portugal, so perhaps this would be the best way to see it: away from the crowds and immersed in nature, with the sound of the sea providing the soundtrack to our days.

It’s a route that takes walkers along the coast of Portugal, from just below Lisbon, to Luz, just outside Lagos, and it looks spectacular. It wingles its way through beautiful countryside, along the edge of the cliffs and across beaches too, and seems to be split into easily manageable chunks, between picturesque villages.

So, we’ve decided to spend early October, carrying our backpacks and walking, rather than cycling. If everything goes as planned, we will have already done 3 cycle trips, so will probably appreciate the change of pace. read more about our previous cycling adventures here

Since deciding to do the walk, our winter hikes have taken on a different emphasis, as we have treated walks as good practice for what is to come, and have started to carry the rucksacks too, although at the moment they only contain much-needed coffee and snacks, rather than the kit we will need for our planned adventure in the autumn.

The good thing is that we have discovered some new walking routes here, that we haven’t done before, finally doing the long walk that took us up onto the Falaise de la Madeleine, above Lioux, with the most incredible views along the valley. watch a video from the walk here

We explored the tracks and trails between Murs and Gordes, which took us past the abandoned mills in the Gorges de Veroncle, opening our eyes to the industrial past of the area. You can see a video from that walk here

And revisited some old favourites too.

Walking through the Ochres to Rustrel enjoy the colours and croissants here

And Roussillon Truly, one of my favourite walks

As well as pottering along the edge of the ridge between Caseneuve and Saint Martin de Castillon.and many others too.

There really are enough walks here to fill our days, and strengthen our legs before we head to Portugal, later this year. It is just a very pleasant way to pass a day, and doesn’t feel as if we are ‘getting into training’ for what is to come.

Finally though, after weeks of talking about it, today, we’ve started to book the adventure. Timing it, (as far as we can), to minimise the number of rugby matches that we’ll miss, whilst we’re away. Ridiculous, I know.

But, we’re well and truly down the rabbit hole of planning for our autumn adventure, and are excited about the prospect of stripping our life back, to not only the very basics of life, but the very basics of life that can be carried in a small rucksack.

I think that’s something that I have really enjoyed about our long-distance cycle rides – the realisation that actually we don’t need that much to be comfortable and enjoy our days. It is quite amazing just how much can be left behind, when you know that you have to carry it with you, with no additional help. Although I do laugh, when I find myself weighing T-shirts and sandals, just to check which is the lightest possible option.

I have a feeling that knowing I’ll be carrying everything in a rucksack, will mean that I am even more pernickity with what I pack. But, we’ll see.

So watch this space. We have a fascinating and busy year of little adventures ahead, and hope you’ll enjoy travelling alongside us, wherever life takes us.