Views and vultures on the Route des Crêtes

Another brilliant day… up there in my top 3 for this holiday so far. As well as seeing stunning views of the Verdon Gorge on our bike ride, we saw huge vultures… lots of them… with wingspans of up to 3 metres!

More on that later… First yesterday. I didn’t write a blog because I didn’t take any photos and we didn’t do anything noteworthy. We tidied the van, did some washing and spent some time planning the next week of our trip… staying at Roquebrune, Port Grimaud and Hyères.

There was, however, the small matter of a rugby match yesterday evening 😜 What a win! We watched it in a bar in town, with an Aussie who we’d met the day before. He was very gracious in defeat and took our photo. We’re enjoying Palud-sur-Verdon. It’s a friendly place, with lots of climbers tackling the huge cliffs of the gorge, as well as hikers, cyclists, motorcyclists and other tourists enjoying the amazing scenery. At this time of year, it’s very peaceful with a laid back vibe.

After hiking the Blanc-Martel path through the Verdon Gorge on Saturday, we wanted to see it from above. The Route des Crêtes is a 24 kilometre cycle route along the ridges of the gorge, with 14 ‘belvederes’ offering unforgettable views. It’s on roads, so we purposely left it until today so we weren’t doing it at the weekend. That seemed to be a good call because there were fewer cars, motorbikes and motorhomes on the road.

There was a 600 metre climb in the first half of the route and I was grateful for my engine. Ruby Ribble did me proud as we reached a height of almost 1300 metres. Stopping at the viewpoints also helped prevent me overheating as the sun rose higher in the sky. It was wonderful seeing right down into the gorge with the Verdon River sparkling a minty green at the bottom. The cliffs felt higher and even more dramatic from the top than they did from the bottom.

At one of the viewpoints on the ascent, there we a lot of people standing around with binoculars and cameras. We’d seen vultures high above the gorge on Saturday and John asked if they were watching for them. They were and we chatted to a couple from Luxembourg. All of a sudden a vulture with a wingspan wider than I am tall cruised past, level with our heads and just 3 metres away. It was astonishing and absolutely amazing.

We stayed for a while at this and the next viewpoint and kept seeing more and more vultures, soaring above our heads, and gliding on the thermals in the valley below. The vultures were reintroduced in the 1990s and there are now over 300, including Griffin and Black Vultures. They are majestic birds and, as the lady from Luxembourg said, it felt as though they were performing a display especially for us.

We finally managed to tear ourselves away and set off back down hill, coasting around the hairpin bends. No need for my motor now! The road clung to the cliff, going through it in places. It really was a lovely ride.

It was interesting to see where we’d walked from above, as we spotted various landmarks from the hike, which winds up and down along the river and between the cliffs. It seemed a long way! It was far faster on the bike, even allowing for all the stops to take photos and marvel at the views and the vultures.

Finally, we approached Palud, which looked pretty in the distance, with its chateau and church. Then, having done Route des Crêtes, John suggested it would be rude not to do Route des Crêpes. I rarely refuse food, so we stopped at the small and welcoming crêperie in the town for galettes and crêpes before heading back to the campsite.

We’re planning to get the packrafts out and go paddling on a nearby lake tomorrow, and we may also drive up to see the vultures again late afternoon. So… for family who worry when they don’t hear from me, don’t worry if there’s no blog tomorrow x