In Fréjus, discovery of back-to-back coastal paths , and another that scans the horizon from up there
1- Two competing coastal paths
Port Santa Lucia in St-Raphaël, starting point of the coastal path to the east
Port of St-Aygulf, starting point of the customs trail towards the southwest
Gulf of Fréjus
The departures of these two trails are at opposite ends of the Gulf of Fréjus. One is heading southwest, the other is heading east.
To access the sea from the hill of Fréjus, or the hinterland, it is almost impossible to avoid this pretentious and arrogant very central marina that you can only bypass.
Not far away, an ancient and vast lagoon where the Argens ends has been converted into an amusement park, necessarily aquatic and a small ornithological park of pines and reeds.
Customs trail from St-Aygulf
On the coast towards the south-west, beyond the mouth from Fréjus, from the small port of St Aygulf here is the quiet " customs path ".
It runs along successive flat coves, beaches made of coarse gravel mixed with a little not very fine sand.
They are delimited by transverse rocky bars of gray granite, the strata of which sometimes stretch out to sea and extend into a narrow jetty.
TO swimmer's reach, short and small black reefs are the roost of sarcastic cormorants.
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to the west
Samantha
Harrison
Executive Marketing
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to the west
The path very practicable, however, is not to the point of coming in high heels like some.
It parades in front of beautiful padlocked villas brimming with rotunda verandas sometimes surmounted by neo turrets towards the sea.
Most often, they surround themselves with a dry garden of cork oaks and umbrella pines, proud and beautiful in the midst of oleanders. The shadow of the overflowing roof hides Art Deco sgraffito.
We will have modestly traveled only two or three kilometers (out of the possible 13 km), under the already fiery sun of this rocky path in places discreetly concreted, other times borrowing the sand when the small balcony terrace retreats. on the sea.
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to the east
The water temperature in mid-September seems perfect for some regulars; all at least of a 3rd age still quite mobile.
They can be recognized by the accumulated intensity of their melanoma tan, which is not the copper of peasants in the open air; most swim, others patiently fish elsewhere; a dog snorts on the sand after frolicking in the sea.
Off-season and pandemic, everyone finds more space and tranquility there than ever before.
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The sloping streets perpendicular to the coast offer glimpses of the horizon, like so many envy from elsewhere, and dream.
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Coastal path from St-Raphaël
At the other end of the city, this time from Port Santa Lucia de St-Raphaël to the east, another trail, much steeper.
It is called " the coastal path ".
This time, the rock is of an intense ocher ( the rhyolite ) and forms small promontories, sharp islets which dominate the sea, drawing short channels, oblique strata which straighten out elsewhere in columns.
On the first part of the route, the one to which we will limit ourselves, the crunching sand creeks are shorter and deeper than in the west.
Some settle on the rocks, where erosion has erased the roughness, alone in the world.
The water is perfectly clear, and deploys almost phosphorescent turquoise fringes.
Lion Island of Earth
The trail never ceases to unmask after each ridge or small cape, sublime and scintillating panoramas. Perfectly still, barely a blur of sea mist, the horizon is punctuated only by very rare sails.
Facing the island of the "Earth Lion", because further offshore, there is its counterpart, that of the "Sea Lion", geological experts recognize prismatic formations which would reveal here an ancient and direct "lava emission point" (see the genesis of the Estérel Massif) .
The rolling border of umbrella pines leans over the blue of the sea and creates superb harmonies with the wild ocher of the rocks.
Behind the dense thorny parasols, very beautiful villas hide and nestle, in the shadow of which grannies walk poodle; announcing the luxury of sites further east, towards Cannes and beyond.
Here is the emblematic image of the “Côte d'Azur” forged by the advertisements between the two wars, which still makes it a success, and whose appeal is undeniable.
The fairly well laid out course through the chaotic rocks, with sometimes masonry steps, short passages on loose sand, small wooden pontoons against a short cliff, is much more sporty than in the west.
Samantha
Harrison
Executive Marketing
I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy. Just click “Edit Text” or double click me.
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Access from the hill above is not direct; it follows a winding street which follows the accentuated relief.
From there come the same young old people, bath towels under their arms and parasols over their shoulders.
Even less than in the west, in the splendor of our good age, we will only have covered two kilometers of the more demanding path, over the almost 9 km possible towards the Dramont and Agay peninsula.
One regret, which is due only to our laziness, that of not having made the effort to contemplate these landscapes at sunrise and sunset ...
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A little later in Nice ...
Of course, further to the east, the Bay of Angels over there is bordered in majesty by a phosphorescent white roll, and makes its big coquette.
Here towards St-Raphaël, the shore is wilder, which must be earned and cannot be tamed.
The Côte d'Azur in its splendid diversity.
2- Another dry backcountry trail to Mont Vinaigre
Arrived by a beautiful serpentine road on a plateau a few kilometers north of the city, this time we are at the Col de Testanier.
From a barely congested parking lot, a poorly maintained asphalt road lined with a track on the neighboring height climbs slowly towards a wide ridge, a small pass whose name is "Malpey".
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The road then switches to the other side of the pass, which is only accessible to those who can lift a mobile barrier, or cyclists and motorcyclists who don't care and bypass it.
Next to it stands an old and proud ocher mansion with a porch and double staircase, obviously unmaintained, doors and windows open half-shattered, invasive vegetation.
A name which was to translate in the past an inhospitable character or meager resources, "the bad country". Just as we find elsewhere, for example in the north of the island of Lanzarote in the Canaries, with the “malpais” of volcanic lava (see page 9).
The neighboring buildings, set back, a sort of large barn with outbuildings, access to which is closed by a gate, accommodate a few cars (from the ONF).
The whole was a forest house.
A charming little house with a Provençal-tiled roof, a well-enclosed shed, stands opposite above the small crossroads.
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From there, either by taking a small asphalt road on an ascending ridge, or by following it above on the tracks of white gravel through a scattered scrub and very diverse species, cork oaks, broom, heather and even arbutus trees, we climb the slope towards the highest local mountain, called “Mont Vinaigre”.
From the top of its 641 meters displayed at the top, (while the IGN indicates 618 meters), the landscapes are splendid but the landmarks are distant.
It is also the highest point of the entire Estérel Massif.
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At one point, we leave the road to take a stony path that is narrower and steeper to the right.
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Perhaps it owes its name to the Mistral, the "sour wind" which still blows strongly on these heights on the eastern fringe of the great Rhône valley; but many other hypotheses are current on its etymology.
Then we climb a wide rocky path, which suddenly branches off and sharply escalates to finally reach the top, a circular rock platform roughly cemented, and totally panoramic, planted on one side of spectacular vertical rock bars.
Almost reached the top, the trail passes at the foot of a radio station, descends a little towards a helicopter landing strip.
A brigand with a big heart
In the 18th century, Mont Vinaigre was one of the haunts of Gaspard de Besse, whose real name was Gaspard Bouis (1757-1781), a highwayman revolted by the injustices of the moment, generous to the poor of the region who had made him a sort of Provencal Robin Hood.
His career and his fame are as brief and dazzling as his life: he died of the torture of the wheel in Aix-en-Provence at the age of 24.
He robbed wealthy travelers and tax officials.
The mountain was also the refuge of convicts from penal colony of Toulon that Gaspard had helped to escape.
strange eucalyptus
On the descent, arrived near the Malpey pass, we prefer to continue by the track in the maquis, nicer than the asphalt road.
In fact, it would be a particular variety, "eucalyptus tereticornis", whose bark comes off in regular shreds and releases this trunk, perfect like a marble column.
At one point, an astonishing eucalyptus grove stretches out and displays its very smooth and bare trunks, of pure white painted with broad blue bands in a slow spiral. All the bark seems to have been removed and is spread out at the foot of the trunks.
But Var Matin in December 2019 announces that 400 eucalyptus trees in the massif, victims of drought and "pest" insects, will have to be cut.
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However, we know the hardiness of eucalyptus trees, their ability to drain wet soils through deep roots and to store water even in very dry soil, but also depleting it at the same time.
This situation owes perhaps more to the pests than to record levels of drought, however severe.
We discover by chance at Malpey another very different variety, whose trunk is streaked with a very thick and coarse bark, which seems to braid on itself, which bursts into enormous splinters.
So thickly coated, its trunk seems the exact opposite of the other variety, with a trunk so smooth that it appears naked, exhibitionist.
In counterpoint, its delicate bluish lanceolate leaves, much better recall the fruits of the "pope's money".
It is "eucalyptus cinerea".