You Can`t Judge A Road By It`s Color

I have chosen my route[s] randomly. I knew I was to start in Gilbraltar and end in Istanbul, I wanted to see Granada, Venice and a Ntl. Park in Croatia but besides that, avoid big cities and busy roads. From road atlases and maps I picked lines going in a primary W to E direction. Little black lines usually mean train trax or very obscure roads and the little white ones are very small back roads. These have proven to be true. Next up are the yellow roads and sometimes they have been as vacant as a white road, sometimes busier than I expected. Many times they are very light with vehicles. Red roads are next and these are more primary routes. But I have been on some very quiet red roads and some much busier ones. I never know. Then there are the motorways which are blue or orange and I avoid them altogether. Lastly, the green roads are scenic byways and I try to pick as many of those as possible. The green roads have been fantastic and there have been many roads not designated as green but should be. Such incredible scenic beauty. Overall, I have picked very well with minimal disappointment.

In France I have traversed some sheer spectacles already beyond the Pyrenees, mostly in other mountains. Drop dead gorgeous landscapes and devastating vistas. Enough to fill you with so much bliss the eyes well up with tears. The forests on this side of the Pyrenees are so much different too, denser, greener, darker. There is birch, oak, sycamore, firs even some redwoods. I have seen some weeping willows in the villages. And of course spring is in the air and there are purple trees, tulips, roses, plus the intoxicating scents of lilac and honeysuckle. I have not had such intoxicating aromas since my first days in Spain going past the orange orchards with their blossoming flowers.

When I left Carcassonne I slipped out early morning on a trail that curved around the canal, quiet as a mouse. From there I hit a stretch that was kind of Napa-esque with lots of wineries [ Sseth, if you had been doing this you would of stalled here and visited them all]. Eventually, I reached a road that zigzagged and squiggled up high into the mountains, through charming hamlets like Citou and a favorite, L Espinassiere with it`s dominant 13th century "chateau feudal" commanding the small cluster of stone homes beneath it. In the middle of the mountains, this amazing little place in the world. I am still stunned and have to pinch myself. Heavy fog one morning and then a hawk and rainbows.

I was lucky to receive a tip about a converted rail line ( like our rails to trails program) and walked from Courniou to Bedarieux in solitude. Only bikes and other walkers and not much of any. I stopped in Olargues for water and heard music so I went to investigate. The town was having its once a year province fete with live musicians in costume and the townsfolk dancing in the square. The instruments were interesting and it was all pretty jovial but also kind of Wicker Man-ish [and not the Nicolas Cage Wicker Man....do not see, but the Christopher Lee Wicker Man....SEE SEE SEE].

Lunas reminded me of some Hollywood set for a quaint European village. But this is the real thing, the inspiration. I also camped atop a mountain and got up early to walk with the stars. I love walking early morning when I can catch the first hints of dawn and watch the day slowly unfold.

I skirted backroads around Lodeve to Soubes and then got on a couple roads that were some of my favorites yet. I walked through St Etienne De G, and St Pierre de… something or other and then hit my longest stretch of straight road and it was gloroius and quite pretty too. In St. Maurice  I ate lunch under trees at a snack cafe. A French woman there told me she took seven months to travel with a donkey to Spain from Nimes in France to do that famous spiritual walk.

From St Maurice I descended steeply into this fabulous canyon. Donkey lady had told me rains would be coming the next day so I sniffed at the canyon floor for a suitable dry spot going past lovely little villages on the bottom, especially Madieras. Through the trees I spotted a camper that looked uncared for so I checked it out and lo and behold it was available. It was a bit messy but I just moved the kids toys, swept away the dirt and flicked the dead bugs off the bed and voila, home sweet home........for two nights. The rains did come and I was camper bound during the deluge but at least I was dry and next to the river which sounded nice to sleep with at night.

Finally I left the narrow canyon and got to Ganges [looks like the River Ganges in India but is pronounced more like a French Rastafarian saying "ganja"]. I bought a ton of food at the market and then carried on. Sauve was a darling town with, you guessed it, a medieval town center going back to the 12th and 13th centuries. I explored a little but it started to rain again  and since the town had no reasonable place to bunk I went searching for a place for the night about 4 miles away. Well, I found this abandoned work trailer with a window that could open so i hopped inside only to find the floor covered in, I swear, about 5 to 10,000 dead flies. Flies or rain? I swept me a clean spot for the night  (totally gross, i know, like gag me with a fly swatter).

France has mostly litter free roads, they have been mostly clean. But today I have found my first euro coin [about a dollar 25 in US money] and was pleasantly surprised. The only coin I have found here so far has been one very dirty American quarter which is all I thought the French would leave me. Then I found a pair of legs. Those of you that followed me when I walked across the US know I collected debris along the way. I decided against that in Europe which is fine because the Europeans have not left much fun stuff on the road worth collecting. But I could not resist a pair of plastic legs from a doll. They are petite with purple shoes. And legs on a long walk are always a good omen to find.

It has been a lot of medieval villages today. But with the fog this morning it was very medi-eeeeeeeval. Places like Logrian, etc. I am in Uzes now and it is very lovely here, I like the place a lot.

And that is it for now. Off to Pouzilhac and then Caderousse and then Orange and Nyon. And by next weekend I should be in the Alps.