This is a short review article I wrote on returning from a most memorable holiday in the Mercantour National Park in the South of France. I am posting it after finding my picture still in the weblink for it!!! It is such a wonderful place and the photos make you excited for summer - exactly what we need on a cold and wet January night..
Despite the bumpy and stony shoreline, the beach in Nice
looked inviting. I had just landed that morning on the (too) early flight from a wet and windy Dublin, where summer seems
to have decided to take a year out! I grabbed ‘une grande bouteille d’eau’ and hit the beach to catch up on some
much needed sleep.
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| Mercantour Marvel |
Where was I going? Well, let me take you back to a
dark and dreary day in the office in January. I was just clearing my desk when
a curious e-mail arrived from Amelia at ResponsibleTravel to say I had won a walking holiday in the Mercantour National Park. The park nestles on the French Alps, just
an hour from Nice. Not only that, I was to have three days guided walking with
Mel of Space Between, a travel company
run by Mel Jones and Liz Lord. Disregarding the e-mail as a hoax, I ignored it.
A couple of days later another e-mail arrived wondering if I was actually going
to claim my free holiday – yes, it
was true, yes it was free, and I humbly accepted and arranged my voyage for the
last week in June.
June arrived and there was Liz e-mailing me to find
out when I was arriving. The holiday couldn’t have come at a better time for me:
usual stuff - work stress, and lack of sunlight. From the moment I was picked
up by Liz that Saturday evening, which was bathed in a wonderful warm summer
sunshine, until the following Saturday morning, I felt that I had arrived at a
home from home. The ground-floor of Mel and Liz’s traditional style house has
been converted into a self-catering gîte (Mel and Liz live upstairs and they
also have a B&B attached on the upper floor) and this was to be my place
for the week. The view from my own private terrace every morning was southward
and the sun warmed my toes as I breakfasted gazing down the Vesubie valley.
I spent three days with Mel and Liz walking, but there
are also clearly marked walking routes within easy access of the gîte. I spent
two days strolling through the local pine forested valleys, exploring hidden
streams and old homesteads that seem to have been absorbed and naturalised by
the pines and sweet chestnuts. It was a good way to wind down and get into the
pace of life in the French rural countryside.
On Monday, Mel led the way and we walked through La Madone de la Fenestre. This valley formed
the major salt route that existed between the French coast and the Italian
towns on the far side of the Alps. The Templar monastery at our starting point
screamed of a rich heritage and endless stories of perilous journeys through
the snow covered alpine passes with salt-laden donkeys. Enough of the past: the
present day valley is spectacular. We steadily climbed up through the valley,
encountering a rich array of wildlife - gentians, wonderful orchids, delicate
saxifrages and an overwhelming array of pink azalea abounded, set against a
rich, verdant landscape with larches creeping up to their limit on the steep
alpine slopes. We passed through a picturesque hanging valley, where I had my
first marmotte and chamois (antelope-like creatures) sightings, along with
alpine chough, alpine accentor, wheatear and definitely the biggest frogs I’ve
ever seen swimming in the ice cold glacial lakes. We ate lunch
overlooking La Gordolasque valley, at
a height of 2400m. That day finished with a gentle saunter back down through another
valley, following the path of an idyllic cold water stream.
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| Crossing from France to Italy - lunch first! |
Next day, Mel, Liz and I headed out for a more
challenging walk. We walked for about 12 hours, moving from 1600m to 3000m, up
through pine forest, up though alpine meadows and even further up (‘where are we going Mel?’ ‘Up, Up Up!’ –
probably best not to ask!); onto the rocky mountain tops and ridges that mark
the border with Italy. And so I ate half of my camembert sandwich in Italy and
half in France. The views were spectacular, but the summit was only a
taster for what lay around the corner in the Cougourde valley. We began the
descent marvelling at the high views, and then into the valleys where wonderful
orchids lined the grassy slopes alongside wild chives and gentians. The
Cougourde Refuge was a vision in a lush green valley, embedded with jewel like
flowers and sprinkled by crystal clear streams and waterfalls.
Next day I was exhausted, and chose a gentle walk
between Belvedere and Berthemont des Bains to give my weary legs a chance to
recover. I took my time, stopping now and then to perch on a rock between the
shady pines and soak in the green valley vistas, or just to wonder at how
naturally-slow time seemed to pass in this peaceful world.
On Thursday we headed south and starting from the
pretty village of Utelle, climbed to the hilltop of La Madone d’Utelle. Here the hillsides are lined with evergreen
oak, wild strawberries, lavender, and an array of wonderful Mediterranean
flowers – very different from the Alpine species that we had encountered just
an hour north of us in the Boreon. The church on the summit has a wonderful
atmosphere and we bought honey from the local nuns (straight from the bee’s
bum!) and a beer in the next town of Lantosque.
I spent my last day in the Boreon – morning time at
the wolf sanctuary and afternoon climbing a small mountain (big by Irish
standards at 2500m!). The Alpha wolf sanctuary is an initiative to mend the
rift between local farmers and those concerned with conservation and
re-introduction of the native wolf, largely through education and a captive
wolf breeding programme. As I looked into the eyes of the wolves, I could feel
a certain primeval excitement at being so close to such wonderful and beautiful
creatures. After a rustic lunch of local cheese and bread by the river, I
headed up again and my last afternoon in the Alps was rewarded with more
spectacular views and more heady alpine scented meadows. I was reluctant to
make the descent as I knew it would be my last view of this wonderland.
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| Sleeping wolf - counting sheep perhaps? |
Liz and Mel cooked that night and we shared our meal
with a German couple, who had spent the previous 8 days walking across the Alps.
Did I forget to mention that Liz is an amazing cook? Well, we feasted on
wonderful beef stew with subtle wine and orange flavours, local salads,
courgette and spuds, raspberries and redcurrants, cheese and more cheese, topped
off with bottles of red wine and a taste of the local liqueur, Genepy. Despite language and cultural
diversity, we spent a wonderful evening laughing and sharing our Mercantour
experiences.
Next morning I bid a fond farewell to Mel and Liz, the
cats and my new refuge on the edge of the Mercantour Park. The buzz of Nice was
a shock to the system: a direct contrast to the music of the alpine countryside
– the bee-loud glades and heavy cow-bells with heady lavender scents by day,
owls and cricket chirping at night.
Highlights: wine and philosophy on the terrace (‘c’est la providence!’); the owls hooting
from the forest; the warm scent of pines; the alpine meadow psychedelic floral
displays; the alpine air; the endless skies; the views from the top; the winter
snow clinging on at edge of slowly warming corrie lakes; the circling alpine
choughs; the magic of the Cougourde valley; the iconic blue of the gentians;
and the warm hospitality and friendship of Mel and Liz; definitely a Space Between experience, brushed with
alpine magic.
June 2007
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| Breath-taking beauty - worth 10 hours walking!! |
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