Today we begin the day by visiting the Parc du Mugel in La Ciotat. There is a huge collection of flowers, cactus, trees and bamboo. Here there is an impressive view point of the sea. You can also see the the big cargo boats near the harbour as well as the yatch building area.
Today is Sunday and market day in La Ciotat. Food and clothes stands hug the harbour and gives the place a nice atmosphere. After purchasing some delicious clemantines from a talkative vendor we search for a place to have lunch. Hearing all the old stories about the harbour we imagine what it must have been like when the town lived off building boats.
We arrive in a village on the other side of La Ciotat from where we will do a coastal hike. Today the Mistral is blowing. This wind from the Mediterranean can be quite strong and cold. It is also known to drive people crazy, because of its gusts…You can see understand better what the mistral can do over time to the pine trees on my first entry of the Calanques…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mistral_%28wind%29
We hike along the coast until we reach a turning point. Up here we feel the power of the Mistral that must be blowing at least with 130 km/hr! We have to literally hold onto the sign on top before continuing down the path on the calmer side. There are other hikers too and a little dog (which they better hold on to!). No one seems very worried though, I guess that they are used to this wind and this must not be very exceptional. There are big waves crashing onto the rocks below us. Impressive! The sun it out and on this side there is less wind. We pass through an area of vineyards and bent bushed making a natural tunnel. The hike gives us view of big private houses behind fences and lawns being watered by sprinklers. Must be quite pleasant to live out here with a constant view of the sea… I really love the deep blue color of the water. The hike lasts for about 3 hours until we reach our destination.
The past 2 days have been physically tough and after our hike today we have enough. We actually have about one hour to go back along the road to the town where our car is parked. Olivia and I pounce on two divers nearby as ask if they would not mind dropping us off in the next town so we can get our car. We are amazed to see divers so early in the year. They tell us that the water is now only 12 Degrees Celcius! They are both wearing full wet suits and look very pleased with what they’ve seen. One of the 2 divers agrees to take us and drops us off at the car.
In 3 days we have done very different hikes and seen lovely landscaped of cliffs and sea views. Every place is different and unique. The only thing I think I would have a hard time to get used to would be the Mistral wind…
