EASTER 2004 CANYONS OF THE VERDON
As last year we are submitted to the initiative of the Regional Committee of the FMI following her philosophy that formulates winning doesn't change him!
This year the departure has been a victory to the lottery for the really prohibitive climatic conditions, but we have been repaid for the good reception and for the organization that has not left anything to the case, allowing us visit some really characteristic places and full of charm.
Crushing on the colored lines of the map you will find a small description of the single destinations.
Transfer in French : Bagnolo - Digne les Bains
245 km.
Departed in forenoon without hurry and after having called the Policemen for possession of the elucidations around the opening of the of the Maddalena Pass, we immediately find in a beautiful storm that I pour Saluzzo turns him into one beautiful snowstorms of snow!
Shortly it becomes again rain that accompanies us up to Busca: and then incredibly the sun with the asphalt that begins to to dry, to Caraglio we see the Stura valley with fast clouds that leave the place to a blue sky from postcard!
Taken the valley her, we quickly go up again and as many quickly her snow comes us meeting, until to reach Vinadio, from where the road is a ribbon of asphalt in a stupendous carpet of 20 cms of snow fresh up to the Maddalena (1996 m.s.m.)
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The French slope is more beautiful as always, shortly time we are to valley and we reach Barcellonette; here we find the wind that there preannounce a storm! Fast we continue thin to reach the alternative for the lake of Savine: we hold to the left there and we salt for Seyne that we reach after having passed the hill of St. Jean (1333 m.s.m.), the road returns to be wet and dirty it needs then to release the gas!
After Seyne we go up again the with the de Maure (1346 m.s.m.) we go down in a valley with a narrow and impervious road and we go up again the hill de Labourel (1240 m.s.m.) from where we finally reach the fund valley and the town of Digne les Bains.
This is a laughing town of around 16.000 inhabitants, it rises to 500 meters high on the river La Bléone, in a zone from mountain rich of rising thermal waters to 37° C exploited since the antiquity; it is the capital of the cultivation of the lavender, it rises along it famous Route Napoléon, has notable tourist and scientific interest, it entertains numerous museums of the Tall Provenza among which the Musée-Promenade the Reserves Naturelle Nazionale, Parc Saint Benot, that we have visited in the afternoon.
Finally before deserves supper a beautiful walk in the historical center of Digne.
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108 km. Departed with the other participants in a beautiful column, we cross one beautiful and wide road thin to Estoublon, from here the mantle it changes with one more narrow roadway and many patches up to Puimoisson, where instead the asphalt is of different conditions according to the line and unties him in the middle of great fields of lavender that unfortunately for the season they are not in flower. We finally arrive in the country of Moustiers Sainte Marie, really characteristic; famous for the churches set in the rock and for the as shops with the delicious ceramics of Faience from them produced. We visit the museum that explains us the workmanship of these pregievolis objects and then climb there to go to visit the church of Saint Maria, set in the rocks to the entry of a throat, on which she hangs by now from a millennium (it is revised) a star ex-vote of a soldier of the crusades, in the photos is not taken back but is really characteristic! I come down in country we visit the suburb and his thousand shops, later we reform the group and we return in the hotel for the lunch of Easter.
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159 km. After lunch we leave again to the time of the Verdon her, road is various up to Barreme following the fund valley, then it begins to climb up to the throat of Taullanne. Passed this obstruction we go down in the found valley through a lot of wider curves and we arrive in the country of Castellane, from where the river Verdon that goes out of the lake of Chaudonne, begins his work of erosion forming her famous gorges. Reached the alternative of Pont de Soleils we decide, for problems of time, to take for the Palud and therefore to avoid the tall panoramic road or the Corniche Sublime, following therefore the slope north of the gorges: however very beautiful, that alternate holds throats to ample clearings and endless panoramic points. The road is narrow and tortuous, amusing from to drive if it were for the absence of the curbstones and instead the omnipresence of auto, camper and pullman! Without problems we cross these stupendous 30 kms up to emerge with the sight on the lake of Saint Cross that quickly we reach; we are again to Moustier and crossing the road of the morning we return in the hotel. |
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Pasquetta and the reentry in house
348 km.
We have reached the last day: we load the baggages and after a beautiful breakfast we divide there in groups for the reentry; we decide of to lengthen anchors us a few toward Avignone, then we reach the fund valley de Durance in the country of Les Mées, characteristic for his calcareous rocks eroded by the bad weather, that her popular tradition says "drawn aside of monks sinners transformed in salt."
We now go down the valley up to the alternative of La Brillane, we leave the government road and we cross one small road in the middle of splendid fields of variegated tulips up to the country of Forcalquier, what we find literally clogged by the traffic for a fair, we surpass him and we arrive to Mane a small suburb that in hisr outskirts it entertains the sanctuary of our lady of Salagon.
This is a Gallic installation and then Roman that in the centuries he has become, after launchings passages, Christian and then absorbed by the order Benedictine; now completely restructured it is a beautiful rural center that contains to his I intern the excavations paleo-Christians, a museum and a botanical garden.
By now it is now: gone up again in motion we aim of new the fund valley and then above toward north, one it covers for the lunch to Sisteron and then surpassed the lake of Savine and Briançon, cross the Monginevro and we arrive home you get tired but satisfied!
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A small note: unlike the years last Police Anywhere eye to the limits, respect you them if don't want nuisances!
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