France

Monday July 6 was another day of disappointment. I visited Bagnols-sur-Cèze, here. After finding a parking lot not without difficulty, I went to the tourist office at 9:00 am closed although the times displayed indicate from 9:00 to 19:00. I was walking around at 9:30 am still closed. I was going to see if the Albert André modern art museum was open, of course closed on Mondays. Tourism professionals complain that the Covid-19 pandemic is causing them to lose revenue. They make no effort to attract tourists after two months of forced holidays, let alone city officials. This is whining & assisted France! The streets were adorned with reproductions of paintings by Albert André. For the sake of peace and quiet I went to Sabran, here, a village on a rocky peak overlooking the plain with at its summit the ruin of a castle with a Virgin in majesty and a 360° panorama. When I got there I noticed a wide roadside where I parked my truck; I asked a person cleaning the border of the parking permit, the answer was yes because he is the owner of this plot. Finally, a warm person. I was chatting for a long time with his.

click on the pic for opening the gallery

click on the pic for opening the gallery

Tuesday July 07 I left the village of Sabran from daybreak to see the sunrise over the Cascades du Sautadet, here. Alas, the devil appeared by putting the portico of La Roque-sur-Cèze car park at 2.10 meters. Obviously no camper van parked only a few low-profile vehicles. I returned to look for a parking lot along the road, 2 km further away. I walked on the left side of the road to Camping "Les Cascades". A track runs along the campsite to the Cascades. Bingo, no tourist despite in the morning. The Charles Martel Bridge of recent restoration has a width of 2.10 meters; so this is the gauge for hunting motorhomes. Still no tourists, a consequence of the narrowness of local officials who will demonstrate, of course, for the state to come to their rescue! Consequently I returned to Bagnols-sur-Cèze to reach my goal of St-Laurent-de-Carnols to bivouac in the cemetery parking lot.

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On Wednesday July 8 on the way I visited Goudargues, here, what is called with southern emphasis: "Little Guardian Venice" the Green Guide. Indeed some mossy canals fed by the Cèze river crisscross the village. It was market day, I bought chestnut honey and Cévennes honey as well as local donuts. Then I searched in vain for the Salamander cave while wandering on the Méjannes plateau to discover that the Dutch had established a colony, a veritable linguistic and civilization enclosure attested by premium German cars. It’s high-end communitarianism, between one-self. The Dutch belong to the so-called frugal countries refusing to share their well-being with the less well-off European countries. Yet they forgot the message of their Protestant Calvinist religion. It is true that currently only 20% are Protestant and 42% without religion; mass is said money has no religion. Non-ideological atheism but of rejection of human values ​​is a formidable competitor for political ecology. Coming back to the Salamander cave, the road starts in Méjannes, basta I stopped in a deserted parking lot reserved for motorhomes.

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Thursday July 9 I was walking in the mountains with a slightly steep climb but on a narrow road with a pavement with recent surfacing and of very good quality. The Guidon-du-Bouquet, here, at the foot of the telecommunications antennas offers a superb view of the plain and the surrounding mountains. It is also and above all the paragliding playground. Then I was going to see Les Concluses-de-Lussan, here, which are pots, water holes, dug by the swirling waters in the gorge. My goal was to hike to the oxtail comb that I did not reach due to the difficulty, for me, of crossing a very rocky section. The landscape is magnificent, especially at the Portal seen from the snow-white wooden bridge. Angry at my inability to reach my goal, the wise man knows his limits, I returned to my vehicle. The tourists were few, the heat reached 37 ° C. I decided to bivouac on site waiting for the cool of the night, 16 ° C in the early morning. In the Concluses-de-Lussan there is no GSM network and therefore no Internet, the digital desert of France.

click on the pic for opening the gallery

click on the pic for opening the gallery

Friday July 10, the visit of Alès, here, was brief due to the heat, to the cathedral closed for restoration etc. I found a parking lot in the parking lot of the Pierre-André Benoit Museum, here, according to the Green Guide book the visiting hours are from 14.00 to 18.00, false it is also open in the morning in season. Pierre-André Benoit (1921-1993) had a very varied activity, editor, printer, writer, designer and painter! He met the elite of the arts and letters. His donation is very strange gathering his collection of works from his meetings. The parking lot near a playground was occupied in the middle of the afternoon by noisy young people and a back and forth of vehicles with bellowing sound. I was looking for a peaceful parking lot near Chassagnes along the D901 road.

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Cathédrale d'Alès

Saturday July 11, in the cool morning, I stopped in the Lestong parking to cross the trail of the Corniche of Gorges du Chassezac, here. Of course at the beginning the track is easy but became rocky cluttered with boulders making progress painful despite my walking sticks. The gorges are magnificent, but the lighting would be better at the end of the afternoon. I went to the last lookout back to the parking lot by the same path. The tourists arrived. Then I went to Barjac in the sublime landscape of the Cevennes to shop for food. I turned back to find a bivouac at the edge of the D 202 near Les Laurents. I was spending a peaceful weekend there.

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Gorges du Chassezac