Cyclo Cruising in Southern France
10 November 2018
We returned to Port Napoleon after 3 months away and found Deva in great condition. She was promptly launched and once in the water preparations were started to remove her mast for basic maintenance and thorough check as we want her ship shape for making the Atlantic crossing next year. Upon completion and re-stepping the mast we quickly buttoned her up and went on a self guided cycling tour along the Rhone River. This included transforming our road bikes into touring cycles equipped with saddle bags to carry everything we needed for the next 4 days
We had very strong head winds on our first day out which made the first leg of the trip to Arles rather daunting. The bike path along the river was beautiful with few other cyclists about. The first point of interest was Pont du Van Gogh the famous bridge just outside of Arles which Vincent Van Gogh did many different paintings of in the late 19th century. Van Gogh spent several of his most productive years years in Arles including his time in the local hospital after lopping off his ear. Little know facts about the world-reknown painter are that his entire art career in art lasted only 8 years, and only one of his paintings sold during his lifetime
Next up was the Roman Amphitheater and historical city walk. It was fun for us to walk the streets and think about Van Gogh and Gaugain who had cruised the streets centuries before us.
Day 2 carried us 37 miles further up along the Rhone and into the picturesque town of Avignon. We stayed in a lovely boutique hotel inside the walled city. We explored the cathedral where the Pope once lived, walked through the busy streets and back out to the famous half built bridge of Avignon. Many do not know that the Catholic headquarters was in Avignon from 1309 to 1376 where seven different Popes presided over the church. At that time Avignon was part of the Kingdom of Arles, in the Holy Roman Empire.
Our only mishap on the biking portion was after our first 32 mile day, a saddle sore appeared on Mikes left butt cheek. We had an interestingly funny time at the local pharmacy trying to explain to a non English speaking French lady that we needed powder or cream for Mike's derriere (now both cheeks due to favoring the opposite side in the saddle the following day). Debby pantomimed riding a bike then rubbed her hand together indicating friction and then pointed to her bum. Ahhh Wee, she said, and went right to the shelf and pulled out the proper ointment. Mike thought it was fun to watch the other people in the pharmacy watching Debby.
Funny thing about that word "derriere". In our country it has only one meaning: a person's backside. In France, however, it is used for many things. The back of the bus, for example, is called Le Derriere. This can be confusing for Americans when the bus driver might instruct them to seat near the rear of the bus, and they think he is saying "sit on your backside". Another word seen on signs in buses and airplanes is "Poussez", or Poussez Ici", not meaning a place for feline pets, but rather "push here" for debarking, etc. A feline pet is a "chat", silly. Another word that aroused our curiosity was told to us some time ago by a Parisian friend when we were in Raiatea. He told us that his favorite pastry is literally translated to English: "a Nuns Fart". When Debby went searching for this delicacy in a Patisserie, she asked for a "Puf de Nonne" to which the shop owner had a quizzical look on her face. After some gesturing, the shopkeeper chuckled and said "Ahhh, you mean Pet de Nonne" Alas, the French word for fart is "pet".
Our third day consisted of a return ride back to Arles. Mike was in serious pain by now and spent as much time as possible out of his saddle and coasting while standing on his pedals,
The Saturday market was a major attraction in Arles as it takes up the main street for an entire day and resembled the great bazaars we saw in Turkey. Our last morning in Arles we had fun walking along the various stands of produce, clothing, baked goods, meats, spices and olives, jams and jellies and massive amounts of lavender products. We left the market with saddle bags full and headed back through the Camargue National park to Port Napoleon. A highlight was spotting the semi feral white horses along the way. Our total distance by the time we arrived back to the boat was 127 miles over the four days..
We had 2 days to recuperate, pack up and head to the airport as we hurried back to the States for the birth of our first grandchild. Goldie Roux was born on October 12. We stayed 2 weeks to help with baby, mom and dad. A special time for all of us.
We arrived back at he harbor after two days of flying to find things somewhat calm. That night however, a southerly storm rolled through bringing winds of 40 knots through the night, with rain and hailstones. Fortunately we have gotten accustomed to the fickle Med weather and had extra lines rigged. All we had to do was hold on, keep the heater going, and stay snug in our cabin. The cabin always feels particularly cozy when we can hear the wind raging outside and the rain beating against the deck, knowing we are in a safe harbor...
The next day we walked into Port Saint Louis, about 2 miles each way, to shop for a few grocery items... all the way keeping ourselves covered head to toe to ward off the very aggressive tiger mosquitoes that always are worst after a rain. We got a few laughs at ourselves, swatting at the little monsters, and doing a little dance on the way. We have never been anywhere where the mosquitoes, or moustiques as they are called in France were so nasty, stinging through layers of clothing...
Finally we got underway and sailed all day out of the Rhone River delta area towards Port Camargue.
The marina managers there proudly told us that their marina is the largest one in Europe, with about 5000 slips. We soon learned that it was still in moustique territory, so we wandered around town in bright sunshine wearing our foul weather gear.... One of our tasks in Port Camargue was to take fuel at the automated fueling station. Debby got a few giggles out of Mike when he was pumping fuel, and tried to swat a mosquito with the hand that was holding the hose. Needless to say diesel fuel went flying everywhere. Deb said, "seriously Mike, all this mess because of a bug?"
Our stay in Port Camargue was brief, mainly because the Fall weather windows are short and we did not want to get stuck there longer than necessary. As we headed South to cross the Gulf of Lyon, we were greeted with a magnificent view of the snow clad Pyrenees in the distance. Some 70 miles away, they mark the border with Spain, where we are hoping to be in a few days.