The Swiss on the Golden Islands

Prosenectute: a group of retired Swiss walkers, French-speaking, spending the week with me walking the Iles d'Or: the "Golden Islands". We were based in the seaside town of Le Lavandou and every day we walked through the region, whether on the coastline or on the islands.

The group members were easily recognizable by their orange hats, which each of them sported when I met them at the Marseille train station:









Taking the train from Marseille to Toulon:

Our first walk began from the hotel in Le Lavandou, and up to the town of Bormes les Mimosas, famous for its flowered gardens and streets. Leading the group in the photo below is Candide, over 80 years old and still walking strong...

Our second walk was on the island of Porquerolles, a 45 minute ferry ride from Le Lavandou.

Being the end of August the island was packed with cyclists and beach-goers, but we still found some seldom-used paths to get away from the crowds. In the photo below, up at the fort, Rosemary overlooks the bay:

"Couscous de poisson" at a restaurant on the island. I was the only one who
managed to finish the plate (there were 19 of us...)

Alice, almost 80 years old, still climbing trees...

The island of Porquerolles harbours a botanical conservation zone, including an olive grove with dozens of varieties of olive trees. In the interior of Provence you won't find any olive trees this big, as almost all of them perished in the frost of 1956.

Back at the Petite Bohème hotel, a gecko on the wall while we were eating at the restaurant...

But the gecko was hungry too, and managed to swipe a cricket as we watched the scene. The ladies in my group let out some bursts of laughter, and the gecko, now frightened, dropped the cricket and hid behind the menu board (to the right of the photo). Displeased with the outcome, Alice (from the olive tree) got up from her seat, picked up the cricket, and standing up on a chair put it back on the wall...

Our third walk together was along the coastline of the mainland and probably, at least as far as my experience goes, the most spectacular walking in the region. From the Pellegrin beach to Cabasson beach the coast is unbuilt, with a path carved into the jagged rocks and along hidden beaches. In the photo below Marie-Claire is heading towards the Brégançon fort, seen to the very left of the photo. The fort is now used as the President's vacation residence (though Carla Bruni has better real estate 10km to the east)

Children playing on a kayak in the water:

My last evening at the Petite Bohème hotel/restaurant, complete with a jazz band in the magnificent courtyard.

Bruno, the hotel manager (formerly a chef), serving our table. You'll notice the headscarves on the ladies in my group: knowing that the band would play some gypsy-style music, my Swiss group decided to play the part...

Our last walk on the Island of Port Cros, the national park:

Leaving the port and heading towards the lush forests of cork oak and tree heather:

Candide sitting on a trunk of tree heather:

Hedwige looking over the sheer cliffs to the south of the island:

Along one of the many paths of the island. This is what a Mediterranean forest should look like if untouched and protected, not the brush vegetation so often associated with Provence:

On the ferry back to Le Lavandou after a week's walking vacation:

The whole group with the village of Bormes les Mimosas as a backdrop. Many thanks to a wonderful bunch of ladies (and Roger and Candide, the two men), showing that even in your 70s and 80s there's still lots of adventure left in your legs...