Verdon, we will return

I am not sure how long I have known about Verdon. A gorge I have wanted us to walk for a long time, but it remains elusive.

If you don’t know Verdon, it is the deepest gorge in Europe. It is in the deepest part of France, Provence, in the south. It was in a walking book Susana got me just after we first met. It also appeared on a Top Gear, where Jeremy races a climber, Leo Holding, to the top, Jeremy driving, Leo climbing. I wanted to see where this was and to walk the gorge with Susana.

The description sounds just up our street; demanding and rugged, it is 21km long and over 700m deep, it requires torches and involves ladders and tunnels.

What more could you want from a walk, we like walks with ladders.

We had it all planned.

We left Arre after a good nights sleep. The beautiful Millau was behind us, but the landscape just got better and better.

Every turn revealed a stunning vista.

It would take us the best part of the day to get to Verdon.

It wasn’t such a distance, it was just the terrain we were crossing.

You might think this was not suitable for Dora, a big fat, old lumbering motorhome. She copes well, as long as the incline is not too steep and you don’t want to go too fast.

It wasn’t and we didn’t.

A body of water came into view.

A large body of water.

Lac de ste Crois is big, so big we never did see the dam. It is artificial and magnificent.

It is also far below us.

We didn’t want to travel fast, who would with these views.

We edged towards La Palud sur Verdon, our stopping point for the night.

It was getting late.

As the gorge began to narrow, a thin snake of blue green a long way below appeared, feeding the lake.

I am not sure why you get this vivid colour, we have seen it before in a river in Monfrague in Spain.

 

No one else was about, just us. No one hurrying us, no one wanting to overtake. It didn’t matter, we kept pulling over anyway, not to let anyone pass, just to admire the scenery.

This promised to be a superb few days of walking, amongst this exceptional playground.

As the sun began to set behind us.

We began dropping. Dropping into La Palud sur Verdon. There was no one around. There were a few buildings, many were closed for the season.

Here is the drive to La Palud sur Verdon- Spectacular;

Believe us, Dora does not travel this fast!

 

The bar was open.

We sorted Dora out and went there for a drink. The barman was a bit grumpy. He had Wi-Fi. We ordered two glasses of vin rouge.

We checked the weather, and the state of the bus.

It wasn’t working at this time of year.

Maybe a taxi. The barman reluctantly ordered us one for the morning. 9.00 am, we needed an early start. It was going to be a long and exhilarating walk.

 

Our plan was to leave Dora here at La Palud sur Verdonand get a taxi to Castellane. We would then walk to Pont Sublime, spend the night before walking back to Dora.

It was a good plan.

Well we thought it was.

It was a peaceful night. There was no one else in town.

The next morning we awoke early and got ready for the taxi.

I am not sure why but something at the back of our minds said we should check that the refuge at Pont Sublime was open. We went back to the bar.

This morning, a different barman, a bit more cheerful. We ordered coffee.

 

Not only was Pont Sublime not open but the walk was closed. Landslips had made the path impassable and were being repaired.

The walk wouldn’t be open until the spring.

We were devastated, but at least we had found out before getting in the taxi, before spending €30!

The taxi driver was finishing his coffee at the bar. We expected there might be a problem cancelling, but he was very understanding.

 

We were left to think about what to do now.

We went for a walk around the village. Maybe the information office could suggest another route.

The village was cute, but we were not in the mood.

The tourist information office would be closed until late March.

This was OK by us, we didn’t want a half arsed, compromise walk, we wanted one that had recently cleared landslips, tunnels and ladders.

Whatever, we would come back and do it when the route, the route we had dreamed of, was open again. Maybe at the end of the trip.

Our last outing before returning to work, returning to normality.

 

We sorted out Dora and left.

The views were still spectacular.

These memories, these photos, we will revisit over the coming months. A walk on the horizon to revisit.

We dropped out of the gorge, and headed south.

Headed to the coast, but before that to Grasse.

GDR