Hiking the Côte d'Azur

This entry is WAY overdue...
While Tom had to return to Paris for class, I was fortunate enough to spend the second of my two week spring break hiking the southern coast of France with Beth!  (Yes, French primary schools not only get two weeks of spring break, they get two weeks of vacation for every six weeks of school.  AND, every Wednesday off.  I guess they're just trying to prepare for French adult life.)

We met in Nice (at a at a hostel which served 12 kinds of cereal for breakfast!), with no real plan other than to catch a train in Toulon- 120 miles away- 5 days later.  And we were going to walk.  And we were going to camp in whatever open beach or forest we found along the way.  It was an ambitious itinerary, as we soon realized.  But figuring it out is half the fun, right?   

Starting off in Nice, with our new street-bought sunglasses

Cannes

A view of the coast

Hiking in the Massif L'Esterel

Sun setting over the Mediterranean

Unable to find the right gas for our stove, meals consisted of canned veggies/meats, pudding and baguettes

Sunrise

We've come so far!

Coastal trail around the peninsula of St. Tropez

What are those girls doing in hiking boots on the beach?!

Coastal trail from Port Lucia to Saint-Raphaël

The trip turned out amazing: we hiked along two beautiful coastal trails, through the mountains and into small seaside villages.  We walked through vineyard valleys and successfully hitchhiked twice- once with a hippie Swiss couple and once with a local girl on her way to work.  The Cote d'Azur is definitely made more for stylish Parisian vacationers than budget backpackers, but one of the amazing features of the region was that every bus ride between towns cost only 1 Euro!  Never mind that they always ended up taking twice as long as scheduled because of some accident or traffic jam, to which the bus drivers and riders contentedly just stopped and got out for a smoke break on the side of the road.  It provided a convenient, legal way to hitch hike what we couldn't walk. :)  

We found some amazing beach side campsites, that felt especially like heaven after hours of tromping through sand and rocks.  Apparently the Germans love cheap camping too, because we were constantly surrounded by them.  "Campeole" was the name of the camping chain, and they even made pain au chocolates to order for breakfast if you'd like!  One night we tried camping in the forest (actually not allowed) and spent the entire night listening to hoof tromping and snorting-grunting sounds all around our tent.  Wild boars, horses, mountain lions?!...we will never know, except that we were sure we'd get eaten alive.  

We ended in Toulon on Good Friday, and made it just in time for a Stations of the Cross service at noon.  We joined a congregation of hundreds and walked through the streets of the city singing, kneeling and reading the story of Christ's death.  It was an experience we'll never forget- to be united with believers from all walks and stages of life, proclaiming the sorrow of that day.

The trip was a wonderful time of renewal, rest and adventure.  I am eternally grateful for friends who will share in these crazy adventures and remind me what it means to love unconditionally.