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The
Sierra Club Treks Provence A Trip Report |
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| Sunday, and
we
have made it to the last full
day of the trip. Our
schedule today includes things both
religious and reptilian (talk about diversity of activities!!). After the usual tasty breakfast at the mas we set out on a drive of about 90 minutes to our first destination: |
CLICK HERE
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| It is located between the
towns of
Draguignan and Brignoles, just below the Argens river. It was
built by the Cistercian Order beginning about 1160. Falling into
serious disrepair, the government bought the property in the 1850's and began a slow restoration
process. The church is built of stone blocks, cut and assembled by hand, without the use of any mortar. My thanks to Rosie for
the
beautiful image above.
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| And, as we
prepare to leave the
abbey, a botany lesson. |
| Exiting the abbey we went only a short distance, across the road actually, for another picnic - ooops, sorry Vincent, Pique-Nique - at a very conveniently placed park. |
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| And now, for the reptilian part of
the day, we drove to the Tortoise
Village
located near the town of Gonfaron. Founded in 1988 as a non-profit organization, the primary goals are the study and protection of all turtles. Citizens can bring sick or injured turtles to the well equipped hospital and the staff will do their best to get them back to normal and reintroduce them in an appropriate area if called for. A major part of their public education program is the center itself, a popular destination for locals and tourists alike. We were taken on an entensive tour and saw many different varieties of tortoise. |
| The most prevalent turtle in this area is the Hermann's Tortoise |
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of which they had many. |
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Pictures of just a few of their other residents follow:
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| Hospital area
(a small part of it) |
Monica and
Truman speaking to our
guide |
| Refreshments followed (they had seemed never-ending on this trip!) and it was soon back to the mas for our final dinner. I believe the picture below was taken then. |
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| Tomorrow
we would all say goodbye
and head in our own separate
directions. Most of us were spending at least a few more days in
Europe, for myself Italy was the immediate destination. But first
there
was one piece of unfinished business:
There
was this hill
behind the mas. It wasn't a big hill, it was
just a noticeable hill with a prominent rocky cap and it looked like it
would make a nice little hike. We talked about going up there
several times but just never made it.Actually Cindy and Rosie made one attempt on their own. They couldn't find a real trail so they fought through various bushes and brambles and were making fine progress until they heard some strange snorting noises coming from nearby bushes. They retreated back to the mas, wisely so, and Monseiur Greco said they had probably bothered one of the wild boars which inhabit the area. So life and the busy trip go on and by the last evening that hill is still standing there, mocking us! Some of the more energetic members of the group decided to conquer it once and for all !! It is now after dinner, dusk is approaching if not already there, and they were equipped only with small, compact size flashlights. But still they went, back through those bushes and whatever, and they did achieve the summit! It is a shame they had not brought a U.S. flag to plant up there....... So, to (from left) Richard, Liz, Cindy, Monica and, behind the camera, Rosie, go the Medal of Valor and my compliments. Sorry I had a date with some suitcases and couldn't join you. Their official summit
photo:
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There is one more page to go, some photos in the "odds 'n ends" category.
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