Saturday 18th June: Blue skies and cool, 16°C to 22°
Menton to Castellar: 13k walk: 6hrs between 9.30am and 3.30pm
Rolling to La Poste Menton
Through Menton to start of GR5
This guy must think we're nuts
Gotta touch the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean wave swamp shoes
Millions of $$ of boats in Menton
GR5 at Gare SNCF Menton Garavan
Looking back at Menton
Jenny's thirsty, gotta get her water
Coffee with a jetboil
And a stunning view to Monaco
Lunch with a view
A stunning day hiking up a very steep track from Menton on the Mediterranean Sea to Plan de Lion at 730m, the start of the Maritime Alps. Then down to Castellar at 350m, a village perched on a ledge, with absolutely stunning coastal views from Menton to Montecalo and across the Mediterranean Sea.
The day starts with breakfast (our own concoctions) in our room of Muesli and yoghurt bought the day before, with a cup of tea from our Jetboil set up on our mini balcony with views of the next door building. We've already packed our big suitcase to the brim with our excess stuff and by the time Graham and Jenny add there leftovers from their Japan cycling trip and Bali hash run, the bag is chockas and we estimate it weighs 23kg.
By 8.30am, we're rolling our suitcase down the road to La Poste. It's a stunning day with blue skies and the cool air is only 16°C but the wind from yesterday has dropped. The same lady who advised us yesterday on what to do is at the La Poste counter. We add labels, lock the bag and shrink wrap it with a large roll of glad wrap bought from a supermarket in Alba. The bag weighs in at 22.6kg, and by the time we've added Recommandé (sign for at delivery), the total cost is just 29 euro - very cheap - IF the bag arrives in Paris. We had previously booked an AirBnB in Paris for the nights of July 16,17 and 18 and our host Michel agreed that we could send our excess gear in a parcel to him for keeping until we arrive in 4 weeks time. It started out as one small parcel, then when Graham and Jenny wanted stuff sent, I emailed him indicating it would be two small parcels, and then when we looked at our combined excess stuff, we decided to send the whole suitcase! Hmm! I hope he'll be able to trundle it one k from his own place to the AirBnB he owns without a wheel falling off.
Next stop is the Carrefours supermarket where we bought dinner last night. We need enough for both lunch and dinner today, lunch tomorrow and Breakfast and lunch the next day. More bread, more cheese, more tomatoes, two packets of salmon and we set off along the harbour's edge to Menton-Garavan Railway station where the GR52 officially begins.
It's necessary, so the GR5 Guide book says, to touch the water of the Mediterranean Sea at the beginning or end of the GR5 Walk, depending on which direction you start. So it's down to the water's edge to get a photo. Some guy is very inquisitive as to why we would want to waddle our hands in the water and volunteers to take a photo. But in the process, a wave comes sliding in. I manage to lift my legs just in time, but Jenny and Ian are too busy posing for a photo and their boots get swamped.
It's 10.30am when our climb begins up hundreds of steps at the back of the Gare Menton Garavan Railway station. Jenny's looking for water already. The temperature is only 20°C but it's hard work climbing up. But the further we climb, the more spectacular is the coastline view back to Menton.
By 12pm, it's time for a coffee in a shady spot and now the views extend along the coast as far as the high rise buildings of Monaco. The Mediterranean Sea is azure blue, disappearing into a distant haze, with luxury boats leaving white trails as they zoom in and out of the marinas along the coast.
Another one and a half hours of up and up, and we come to the high point at 729 metres with a sign off to Mont Carpano, another 50 metres higher. The views couldn't possibly be any better so we miss Carpano and continue on. The breeze has picked up and it's cool in the shade and hot in the sun, so lunch is under a shady tree out of the breeze with more views across to Monte Carlo. We can see the hill top village of Castellar down below and after our bread, cheese, tomato and ham lunch, it's a short walk along to Plan de Lion, then a steep walk down to the mediaeval city of Castellar. It's a car free village, with the streets around it lined with cars and when we walk through the very narrow streets, it's easy to see why. The three parallel streets are linked by small tunnels running through the old buildings, many of which date back to the 16th Century. There's one restaurant and one very small shop and the whole village is only 100 metres long.
At the end of the village there's a track leading down hill to our Chambre d'hote L'Aleandra, our home for the night. Our host greets us and shows us to our rooms in her private house, and gives us a guided tour of the balcony which we decide will make a perfect place for our picnic tonight.
Graham has a snooze and after a shower, Ian and I walk back to the village to the tinsy shop to buy a bottle of wine for our picnic. We decide a bottle of Rose Champagne is warranted to celebrate our first night on the GR5, and add a bottle of still Rose and President's Cheese because we can.
Our picnic is delightful, recapping the day and solving the world's problems, whilst eating smoked salmon, bread and salad. A cup of tea with an electric jug, some blogging time, some checking maps time, then bed.
Hill top village of Castellar
Narrow streets Mediaeval Castellar
Sleeping Beauty - not pretty
Drinking Beauty - not pretty
Dinner on balcony A'Leandra