New Trips 2012
France Itinerary
A trip along the countryside of
Day 1 Sunday : Bienvenue.
We meet at Marseille airport and drive to a small village on the French Riviera.
We are at the Calanques of Niolon, the Calanques are limestone steep walled inlets that can be considered as Mediterranean fjords.
We have time in the afternoon for a hike or a swim in these clear waters with Marseille and the Canebière as a lookout.
Aperitif is served at the restaurant before we enjoy great sea food followed by a selection of very good white wines from
Overnight at the hotel in Niolon.
Day 2 Monday : Great wine…
We drive 110 kms in the morning from Marseille heading up North towards the heart of
We reach the small village of “Chateauneuf du Pape”, home of one of the 13 “Grands Crus” of the
The wine was developed in this area when the popes relocated the papacy to
The antic “Cité des Papes” is 20 km away from this quiet town surrounded by vineyards.
The first step here is to visit one of the domains and discover the history of the wine and the wine making in this area. The visit would not be complete without a test of some samples.
A perfect appetizer before we walk 50 meters to reach our table at the terrace of the same property and enjoy great gastronomy.
After lunch go on North for 80 kms until reaching an old “Mas Provençal” (farmhouse) that has been rebuilt by our host.
Before taking care of our guests Jean Pierre used to build houses around the world and then decided to settle up in this part of the Ardeche.
This is a friendly personage to chat with and as soon as we arrive we feel really welcomed. You might be on the mood for a dive in the pool, reading a book under the grapevine on the terrace or practicing your French around a glass of Rosé.
Dinner is a surprise (always unforgettable) from Jean Pierre and wife Michelle and is taken with other guests and our hosts.
Overnight at the B&B
Day 3 Tuesday : On the water.
In the morning we load our gear and drive 20 min towards Voguë a beautiful village hanging over the river from a Limestone cliff.
The place is really scenic and it would be hard to find a better place for our first strokes.
We have a complete safety briefing and detail our safety procedures for the trip and once we are warmed up in our boats we begin the trip passing through small class II rapids as we go along the French countryside.
A small gorge announces our arrival to Balazuc another impressive village hanging from the cliff.
Time for a walk along the narrow streets of the Castle and we go on following the beautiful landscape the river offers us.
We reach Ruoms in the afternoon and drop our canoes to drive back to our hosts’ house.
We enjoy a walk to the nearby 30 hectares Archeological site of Alba where we can find roman ruins from the Ist century before JC. This site was discovered in the early 20th century.
Then a walk through the
Overnight at the B&B.
Day 4 Wednesday : Paddling an infamous canyon.
After a hearty breakfast we pack our lunches in our dry bags and dry containers to reach the town of “Vallon pont d’Arc” a really famous destination for paddlers that is quiet at this period of the year.
After 30 minutes on the water we pass under the natural arch of the “Pont d’Arc”.
Beside here in 1994 3 persons discovered what is known as the oldest form of human art : 32.000 years old paintings. Werner Herzog realized an incredible movie in 2010 : Cave of forgotten dreams.
On the 32 kms of the section we enjoy good water levels along the Gorge. We will pass through class II rapids to move our boats along and will have amazing lookouts to the Gorge itself.
As we exit the gorge we are close to the take out and from there drive to our hosts’ for a disserved dinner and a calm night.
Dinner and Overnight at the B&B.
Day 5 Thursday : On the way to the mountains (160 kms)
Today we leave our new friends and drive towards the “
We have lunch on our way upstream of the Ardeche river at Thueyts and go on a dramatic drive to reach the plateau.
Our destination today is Lavoute Chilhac a 11th century priory. The
Dinner and Overnight in B&B.
Day 6 Friday : On the
The landscape is way different today, much greener and the riverbank offers some beautiful basaltic cliffs where fortified towns have been built on the tops. This is a way to learn the story about this valley and the many religious wars that happened here.
Today we put in on a quiet part of the river to begin to paddle the 22 kms of the day. After 1 km on river right it is time to stop and get to the shore to have a closer look at one of the nicest chapels along the valley, Ste Marie des Chazes.
The river goes on a beautiful green valley passing minuscule villages showing us that the river used to be a way to connect the inhabitants of this area (many mills and few bridges, all the villages are close to the river).
Lunch is on the river bank.
In the early afternoon we reach the bigger town of
7 more kilometers on this beautiful river and we are on the shoreline to head to the shower before discovering what awaits us around the table. This area is famous for its Charolais beef, Many strong Cheeses , Lentils cooked in many ways and has an interesting selection of red and white wines.
Dinner and Overnight in B&B.
Day 7 Saturday : More paddling on the
The section we paddle today is as nice as yesterday and we enjoy our day outside on the water surrounded by the old
We paddle the same distance than the day before and in the evening we will have 22 more kilometers of gentle waters under our blades.
To give option to everybody it is possible to spend this day hiking on the hills around, shorten the paddling as much as we want, spend time in town or a mix of everything.
Dinner is back at the hotel.
Day 8 Sunday : To the
Before heading towards the
On our drive we stop at Le Puy, the main city in the area, infamous for its Black Virgin and its medieval festival. We have lunch in town.
The driving is really scenic and almost desert as we are on the plateau of the
The Drôme is a river draining the waters from the glaciers in the
We find then the Val de Quint. A minuscule valley in the middle of nowhere where we will stay in a beautiful old sheepfold, the beautiful old farmhouse is a perfect blend of traditionalism and modernity as the reconstruction has been involving a completely eco efficient structure.
The place is as relaxing as it can be, we have rooms in the old building and dinner is cooked with homemade pancakes in the dining room of the farm house.
Day 9 Monday : paddling an Alpine river.
After an organic breakfast where we discover local jams and dairy products we load our lunch boxes and get ready to paddle the lower Drôme.
As the river is a bit faster than the Allier we prefer to begin on the quieter section that offers beautiful lookouts to the valley: lavender fields, grapes and wild flowers all around on these foothills of the
In the evening we are out of the water and go and visit an organic “Clairette” cave. The Clairette is a local sparkling wine known all around
Dinner is in a local restaurant.
Overnight at the farm house.
Day 10 Tuesday : The
Today we drive to the upper stretch of the river and will paddle some beautiful sections of the river.
Rapids are class II and can be a bit technical but after all the training we had paddling this will seem a breeze and we will enjoy our higher river skills.
Landscape is still so scenic in this valley and we really enjoy our last day on the water.
An appetizer in Die before dinner in town and overnight at the B&B.
Day 11 Wednesday : Hiking around.
We begin our day with a visit to Die market where you can find a glimpse of the Alpine and
Once we toured the market and bought what we needed for the lunch box, it is time to go and hit the trail to enjoy great lookouts to the Vercors and the Massif du Glandasse around.
In the evening we are back at the farmhouse for our farewell dinner and last night.
Day 12 Thursday : Transfer to the Airport.
An early drive to Marseille’s airport.
End of our services.
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.JPG "Kayaking in Patagonia")
