Mercantour

Our hike into the Mercantour took us to a very old monastery that has sheltered travelers for centuries. We walked deep into the Vallee de Merveilles where we got a close look at neolithic rock paintings, then as we traveled along the French Italian border, we passed old guns and fortresses left to rust at the end of World War I and II, and on our last day we were rewarded with the turquoise blue sparkle of the Mediterranean Sea. We literally hiked down off the mountains right onto the beach where we ended the day jumping into the crystal clear warm water. Ahhhh. See the map at the bottom of the page.

We met in Sospel and drove up the twisty, steep road to the Col de Turini where we began the hike. The hike started up high in the meadows and dropped down into the thick forest.

Our first night was in a small gites d'etap near Bellevedere. As is most often the case in places like this in France, an incredible meal on the upper terrace was served. After dinner, we walked up to the village where a celebration was going on. They had a stage set up and we were entertained by a capella singers.

High up in the mountains the trail passed by this farm where they were making tomme, the mountain cheese. We bought a couple of big pieces for our lunches along the trail. It was interesting to see how the cheese was being made, boiling first in the big black pot, then strained through the burlap sacking.

The scenery in the Mercantour is gorgeous. We came down through this valley and saw huge herds of Chamois, the small deer-like animals native to this area.

We were getting close to the end of the day and the refuge where we would stay the night. It was perched right on a rock on the edge of this lake.

This is one of the carvings in the Vallee des Merveilles. Some say it looks like Christ, but the carving actually pre-dates Jesus.

This was a big bundle of barbed wire leftover from previous world wars. They were bagging it up to fly it out by helicopter. There was a huge herd of sheep with their faithful mountain dog close by to protect them from the wolves (and hikers?). These guys had wild looking red eyes and we gave them a very wide berth.

Being very far south in France, this trail gets hot. Fortunately, there are springs along the way to fill water bottles. We always drink from these and have never had a problem with illness from the water. I think it is quite clean or else we have just been lucky.

The trail runs right under this rock in the Vallee des Merveilles.

We are right on the French Italian border at the last high point. The trail drops down from here through ancient olive groves to Menton and the beach.

Ahhh, a fine way to end a long distance hike.

The distances between refuges are not accurate on this map.


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