D64

Mazaugues

The Massif de Ste Baume lies between St. Maximin and the coast. We had plotted a minor-road route that followed several small streams and it lived up to our expectations. Descending from St. Maximin through woodlands to a luxuriant valley before climbing to the mountain village of Mazaugues. We were greeted by a police guard of honour and we found the town square and its bar filled with well-dressed people on this Saturday morning. This was probably the most attractive road on this trip.

We took a cup of coffee in the café and as we were mounting the tandem to leave were approached with a question about the bike by an affable local who finally enlightened us: it was 11 November - Rememberance Day - and the tradition to honour fallen soldiers and resistance fighters was strong here, as it is in most parts of France. Our acquaintance went on the tell us that he was an anarcho-pacifist who had been a conscientious objector during the Algerian war, but that he honoured the fallen equally. We parted with handshakes after a brief but friendly discussion of anarchism.

We were disappointed that la Musée de la glace was closed, as it remided Jean of the book 'Bastide Blanche' that she had read in 2005. It was about a glacier on Ste Baume.

While in Mazuagues we noted several footpaths signposted from the square and thought it might make a good centre for an enjoyable week's walking in the Ste. Baume hills with their temperate climate, natural woodland and panormas.

D64

La Roquebrussanne

Now we were really on the last lap of our journey. We descended rapidly to a plain before joining a stream of weekend-tripping cars down the steep-sided valley of a small rivière, emerging at Sollies Pont onto the plain that forms the hinterland of Hyères.

D554

Sollies Pont

Cycling this last section was easy but route-finding away from the major roads was difficult - as it so often is in popular coastal spots. Eventually we found our way through several kilometres of groves dominated by fig trees.

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HYERES Port

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The full name of the town is Hyères-les-Palmiers and its tree-lined avenues live up to its tag. But we were focussed on finding suitable accommodation to pass the next six days that remained of our holiday. We hoped to find an appartment where we could relax in a location that enabled us to occupy the days with some interesting local trips. We headed for the seafront at Hyères Port. The Port is a few kilometres from the inland town centre and is a largely modern development with a large yacht basin and nearby beaches. Not our usual favourite holiday spot, but it did offer easy access to cycle tracks along the coast and ferries to the nearby Porquerolles islands. The Port is fully-equipped with shops, restaurants and hotels and many of them were still open in mid-November. We were finally convinced to stay when we were directed by a friendly lady in the yacht harbour office to the Maeva apartements, where we learned we could rent a fully-equipped and very comfortable studio appartment for a weekly rate that amounted to less than 30 Euros per night.