Day 24 - Gorge du Verdon in an eboat and on to Ansouis

 

Wednesday 30 September 

We woke this morning to overcast skies today we and had a little sprinkling of rain overnight, but there was no evidence of it on our morning walk.

It can't have been much as it had dried up completely.

So we headed off to the eboat hire place.

It was great fun and a great experience, we also saw much more of the gorge than if we'd used the kayak.

It was also much less effort than all that paddling 🤣

When the sun catches the water it turn turquoise

Louis was unimpressed and slept through most of the experience

It was also pretty quiet on the gorge, I've seen photos of it rammed with every type of kayak, paddle board and eboat so it's almost impossible to move, I'm so glad it wasn't one of those days.

After lunch we set off for a little village called Ansouis, another one of the BVoF Les Beaux villages. 

We walked up this afternoon and it was worth the effort with lots of history, pretty honey coloured stone cottages and fantastic views over the surrounding Provence countryside.

Although it's been mostly overcast, just a few glimpses of sun, it's still warm around 25c so very pleasant for walking today.

I'm going to stay in the village tonight as there's a nice carpark I can use.

There's some rain forecast for tomorrow, but we'll see, the forecast is often Wrong here as well !

Day 23 - Moustier Saint Marie to Quinson Gorge du Verdon

 

Tuesday 29 September 

Not too much happened today after all the excitement of Moustiers yesterday and the excess of photographs, I could only include a fraction of them as the internet was very slow.

The peak of excitement today was getting held up by a flock of sheep and goats being herded along the road.

We drove to a little village called Sillans la Cascade where I’d hoped to visit some waterfalls but the main carpark was barriered off, out of action and couldn't find anywhere else to park so I had to give up on that one.

I did a quick supermarket shop in Aups and topped up the diesel then headed to Quinson in the Gorge du Verdon region.

I'd planned to spend a couple of nights on a campsite here as I thought they had direct access to the gorge, so I could get my kayak out for a paddle through the gorge.

But they don't have any access, there website is very misleading, I’m glad I didn't book it online yesterday. The only nearby direct access is from a kayak hire company and they won't let me use their beach to launch even for a fee - very annoying.

Anyway we walked around and came across an electric boat hire company, what's more, opposite them is a free motorhome aire.

So I could save the campsite fees, hire an electric boat instead and cruise the gorge in effortless eboat style 😀

That sounds like a great plan !

This is where I'm heading tomorrow

So I'm on the free aire tonight and will hire the eboat tomorrow.

The aire is only a gravel carpark without any views or services but it'll do me nicely for tonight.

I've spent the afternoon planning a route for the next few days, there so much to see in the Provence and Luberon areas it's difficult to know which direction to head in, but I think I have a plan now . . . until I spot something else to see 🤣

I walked up to the little village of Quinson after tea and it's quite an attractive place.

Archaeological investigations have revealed the area has settlements going back to the Bronze age. There's a museum and a park with a recreated Bronze age village.

The recreated Bronze age village

Quinson Village laundry, no water in it at the moment