Tag Archives: Les Calanques

Aug14

A solo, lonely but happy, walk through Les Calanques

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Sunday, 14-July-2024


I was sad and lonely after dropping my Mom and Steve off at the airport. So I went for a walk.

We’d had a great week together – Exploring Aix en Provence, appreciating the quiet of Cassis, eating an absolute ton of amazing food… and just relaxing and enjoying a vacation (in contrast to the Adventure that I’d been on). Finding myself alone again was interesting, melancholy, and a little bit challenging… so I did what I try to always do when I’m feeling blue, and I went out into nature.


One of the nice parts of Cassis is just how close to the Calanques it is. I didn’t have to drive, I didn’t have to get a bike or a scooter (not that Cassis has either of them), all I had to do was walk.

In contrast to the first day I was in Cassis, I prepared a bit better for this excursion: I picked up a sandwich, of course, but I also tossed in a cold drink, some water, and slathered on a metric ton of sunscreen before venturing out into the slightly oppressive heat of the day.

Part of the lessons that I’d learned was when I departed, alongside what I brought. I didn’t try going out into the heat immediately after getting home – first, I relaxed, napped, and had a bit of espresso to power myself up… and to let the heat of the day dissipate a bit. Siestas aren’t only for Spaniards, don’t’cha’know.

With that done, I headed in.



The hike didn’t eliminate all of my feelings of melancholy, of course. But between the sun, the drink, the Sandwich, my book, and the laughter of all the people cliff-diving and swimming…

Well, life isn’t all the bad.

Aug11

A boat tour of Les Calanques

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Thursday, 11-July-2024



Cassis is, in no uncertain terms, a tourist town. It is also, however, a seaside town… in equally firm terms.

With that in mind, we took a sea-tour of Les Calanques, the French version of Fjords.


It started out early on a Thursday – as a general rule, I’ve avoided getting up early on this adventure… but the opportunity to do the big tour (all nine Calanques over nearly 3hrs) was far too awesome to pass up. Adding to the challenge, though, was the fact that we hadn’t been able to get tickets the previous day, and so the morning found us having a light snack and then quickly heading into town to queue up in line to pick up the tickets.

We weren’t alone in line, but thankfully it went quickly. A quick conversation in broken French and confused English, then a short walk to the boat, and then… we were casting off the lines, and setting off into the Park!



Sort of like hiking, there’s not too much for me to describe here… I mean, we ooohh’d and aahh’d, the captain made announcements in French, and we looked at our English translations. We saw gorgeous sea cliffs, amazing harbors and beaches, passed and were passed by countless other cool looking boats.

It was a glorious few hours, no doubt, made thankfully quite enjoyable by the anti-nausea medications that I’d taken earlier. We had some small snacks and drinks that we’d brought along, but for the most part just focused on the scenery. It was simply lovely, and I 100% recommend it for anyone who finds themselves in Cassis or Marseille.



Of kind of interesting note, there were a few cool posters up about and around the boat we were on… including two old photos of Cassis Harbor, and one very interesting one discussing an underwater cave that was discovered to house 27,000 year old paintings!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosquer_Cave

Aug5

A walk out to Port Mieu

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Sunday, 07-July-2024


I had some time before my Mom and Steve arrived in France, but I frankly wasn’t feeling super energetic… so instead of trying for a big hike like I had the day before with Mount Pugot I went easy and just took a stroll into Les Calanques, the national park right up against Cassis.

It was a walk that I’d taken quite a few times in 2014, taking the trail up to the rock climbing areas that my friends and I explored and scaled, and it was interesting walking those same paths again ten years later. They felt vaguely familiar, though I could definitely tell that I’m a different person now than I was back when I first set foot on them.

I’ll admit, the lack of 50lbs of rock climbing gear definitely helped my mood too.

I’ll also admit, the bajillion degree day didn’t help my mood all that much, though… It wasn’t bad, per say, but it was definitely a challenge that kept me sticking to the shadows as I ascended and descended the various hills.



A really cool part about Les Calancques near Cassis, and Cassis itself in fact, is just how worn the marble is. (I am learning now that it may not actually be marble… but a form of limestone that wears down super smooth?) Basically, it’s like walking on an ice rink in many places… which is kind of fun in town, but on the steeper sections of the hiking trails it definitely adds an interesting challenge aspect to the descents.

As I walked, I enjoyed the memories coming back to me. I appreciated the quiet, and I embraced the calm surrounding me… in the sea of tourists and chaotic people heading to and from the various beaches that the trail lead to.

It was lovely. Absolutely lovely, and a perfect start into my (our!) adventures in Cassis.