Les Gorges du Verdon

From the small town of Barcelonette in Provence, Susan and I descend southwards into the famous Canyon of Verdon (French: Les Gorges du Verdon). This natural canyon offers hiking, biking, canoeing, canyoning and whatever else outdoor enthusiasts can imagine. There are two routes along the canyon: north and south (or left and right as they are called locally). We opt for the southern route with its high climb up to 1200m and thus its harsh, steep, gasping nearly vertical walls of more than 700m straight down (picture on the right). The weather is hot and we arrive tired and sweaty at a big deep blue lake at the bottom outlet of the canyon where we set up camp.
The next day we head to Arles, a very beautiful town in Carmargue with narrow alleys, amphitheater and other roman feats. From Arles it is just a dayride to Montpellier, another fascinating place with historic old quarters an cozy atmosphere. We spend three days there to fuel up on city life and good food before we head south for the French/Spanish border.