92 - Calanque me, Valerie - Parc National Calanques & Saint Raphaël

Thursday, June 27

Today's plan is to venture into one of France's national parks for a hike.  Based on what I read, it would be best to show up earlier than later, so I pressed myself to get out the door and was on the road with a sandwich for lunch by 10 and arrived at a parking lot near the hike start at 10:30.  The crowds were already starting to form and the parking lots were filling up, so I made it just in time.

I'm glad I got a spot in the parking lot, the road here was long, hilly, and quite twisty.  I'm also glad I didn't have to do too many stops on the upward slopes 😅 

The parking lot belonged to the restaurant but clearly a lot of people just use it to access the park.  There's even minor trail descending from the lot to end of the cove turned marina.

The hike wasn't particularly difficult, but it's gotten quite warm here so I was really sweating up a storm.  I might need to reevaluate the efficacity of my 50cL water bottle, even when doubled up with a repurposed Orangina bottle.  What struck me the most about this hike was the context I was missing while reading the trail reviews to decide on this particular trail: the trail was listed as popular (you're likely to see other hikers) and reviewers kept mentioning to bring good shoes because of how slick the rocks were.  I broke out my hiking boots since they're my shoes with the best traction and I was thinking the trail would be trekking over wet or algae covered rocks.  Nope: the very stone of the Calanques has been polished under the legion of rubber soles and tracked dirt to yield a marble finish in areas.  I thought the trail wasn't too crowded but the main attraction for this park are the rocky beaches that had many bodies lounging near the water.  

 

Per All trails, this was a popular cliff jumping spot.  I can certainly see the appeal, though sun bathing on a slab of stone doesn't sound too comfy afterwards.

Not chocolate ice cream but polished stone on the trail.  Slippery even when not wet.

It's amazing just how blue the water looked; and how appealing it looked as I started to sweat.

 

Plenty of boat tours of the Calanques kept zipping by, many paddle boarders and kayakers too.

Supposedly cannons and fortifications were once out at the tip of this calanque.  The angle does seem conducive to guarding the harbor.

As a few of the stone fingers that formed these coves extended really far out, I got to enjoy a strong (& much needed) sea breeze at the tips.

The hike features three calanques and this 2nd one had a small contingent of beach enjoyers.  If one opted to simplify the route, they could feasibly hike here for bathing in about 20 minutes from the start of the park; though as mentioned before, parking would be a bit of an issue so be sure your cooler has wheels.

From the 2nd Calanque (Port Pin), the trail began to ascend.  I'll have to climb and enjoy panoramic views before I can get to the 3rd cove, Calanque d'en Vau.

Calanque d'en Vau, a narrow sliver of blue cutting through some tall cliffs.

Turns out the massif that the calanques were carved from is pretty massive.  I can see why this karstic region was declared a national park.

What goes up, must come down if it wants to take a swim in Calanque d'en Vau.

More evidence of just how traversed this park is, though this would be polishing from hands using the stone to balance while climbing up or down the stair.

Not to mention the nice wood polish this tree has gotten.  Who needs linseed oil  when you can opt for the million hand finish?

 

Looks  like I've hit bedrock, now to just follow the limstone cliffs till I hit the water.

Et voila!  Calanque d'en Vau.  It's a rocky beach but the rocks were smooth and surprisingly comfortable to lay back on.  Walking to the water barefoot is a different story

 

While swimming, I saw more fish than I expected.  I wouldn't be able to name them but there were at least 6 different kinds, plus a couple sea urchins, a few vibrant worm things, a starfish, and plenty of a plant on the bottom who's "leaves" resembled pencil shavings.  The pencil shavings also seemed to be popping up near banana-sized logs on the bottom that looked suspiciously like #2s, and not the pencil kind.

Dip complete and highly recommended to all who make the trip.  The water was super clear and a welcome reprieve from the warm, dry weather.  There's a line of floats that section off how far in the cove boats can come so that bathers have a huge area to splash about in.  Despite signs requesting people not to climb, there were still a few people pretty far out that were testing their grip strength on the limestone vs wet fingers.

Having rested up, I took a minute to admire just how tall and jagged some of these limestone formations were.

 

As I was putting my shirt on to resume the hike, I noticed that it felt weird, almost scratchy.  Closer inspection revealed the salt crystals that had baked onto my body hairs such that my shirt was causing all sorts of weird sensations.

After climbing my way back up and then back down (🤷‍♂️), I found myself back at Calanque de Port Pin.  It's still a nice beach but I'm glad I took my swim at d'en Vau.  Though at this point, I was warm enough to seriously consider another dip. Tied to the side of my pack, my speedo had sufficiently dried during the trek.

One last panoramic view as I return from Calanque de Port Pin to Calanque de Port Miou

Calanque de Port Miou featured many boats but also more people on the other side than I'd seen earlier in the day.  

I managed to spot one the many cicadas I'd been hearing over the course of the day!

Once finished with the hike, I made a stop by the restaurant who's parking lot I'd paid to park at and rehydrated with a syrup (a glass of ice water with a syrup of my choice) and a carafe d'eau.  In minutes, I'd downed the 1L carafe, so I think I was just a little thirsty.  

A group of yutes was jumping from the cliff here.  It looked like a nice set up except that the walk back to the cliff starts from the right of the frame and involves going all the way around the restaurant to get back out there.  

 

I made the longest drive this far on the trip: 1.5 hours from Cassis to Saint Raphael.  On the way, I made a couple stops to refuel myself and the car at a couple rest stops.  I arrived in town around 7:30 PM via the neighboring town of Fréjus which also features Roman ruins of a theater and amphitheater; I guess it makes sense for each Roman metropolitan area to have their own but I don't feel compelled to visit these ones.  I think I might be almost Roman ruined for this trip. 

 

Apparently there's no shortage of massive limestone formations in Provence.

 

I had already refueled and rehydrated at a prior rest stop, but I pulled over for this one because I remember watching Jean de Florette and its sequel, Manon des Sources, in French class back in the day.

 

After check in at the hotel in Saint Raphael, I hit the beach to take advantage of the lingering sunlight.  The turbidity of the water at the beach gave me a renewed appreciation for the clarity I'd seen at the Calanques.  There wasn't much to see in the sandy shallows of Saint Raphael, surprisingly there were actually a couple fish hanging out in the barren desert but none that I hadn't seen at the Calanques.  That being said, it did feel good to bathe and bask on the beach.  Even if the water wasn't as calm as d'en Vau, the sea was basically a piscine compared to my race back in Biarritz last weekend 😆 

Saint Raphael struck me as a bit more visited than La Ciotat but still had a small-medium sized town vibe to it.  Buoys on the beach indicated swimming areas versus corridors for sport craft and I think the town struck a good balance. 

I suppose the presence of sand here probably contributed to the water not being as clear as the rocky calanque beach, but the sand was soft as a pillow compared to the firm mattress of smoothed limestone.

 

Today wasn't the most demanding hike or swim I've done but at the end of the day it sure felt good to lay out on the beach and just give a satisfied "ahh" 😌

Dinner was at a bistrot nearby the beach that had live music going on.  I particularly liked when the guitarist added the Inspector Gadget theme into his solo break during a rendition of Gnarls Barkley's Crazy.  An aged woman at the table next to me struck up a conversation by saying I had an "Asiatique" style of applause 😂 meaning that it was enthusiastic. 

 

Je profite de la musique avec mes noix de saint-jacques, un peu de rissotto, et un petit pôt de piperade.

 

 

I worked my way inland from the beach on the walk back, there wasn't a whole lot going on in the area but the streets and buildings were well lit up.