Wow - time flies! It's been a month to the day since I left Sydney. I'm not sure whether if feels like it has been shorter or longer though...
The last two weeks, since getting back from l'Ardeche, have been spent in Marseille predominately doing a mix of climbing, organising, and cooking. Even though it's been 4 months since I've worked, it still feels like I've been working pretty hard at times! Two weeks ago, Nik and I moved from the shared apartment he was renting to a work colleagues place, who has gone away for a month. It's been a good opportunity to relax and prepare.
The following Saturday Nik and I headed out to climb La Grande Candelle, one of the landmarks of Les Calanques and something that Nik had wanted to climb for awhile. It was a great route, a narrow, winding arete, dropping away on each side, with of course the Mediterranean and the beautiful, stark Calanques area spereading out behind you.
A couple of days later I climbed Le Bec de Sormiou with Giulia. It is also one of the iconic climbing spots here - an 180m high wall, located right out on a point, where the climbing starts at sea level. It gives an amazing sense of exposure with the sea hundreds of metres below your feet. Just to add to the enjoyment of the day, the climb was in the shade the whole day and Le Mistral was blowing the whole way up - it was good to finish it for more than one reason.
I've also spent a few days 'cragging' but other than that most of the time has been spent in Marseille. It's been a good excuse to do some cooking, something which I find I enjoy the more I do it, now that I actually have time. The highlight so far has been a beef bourguignon, which thankfully lasted for several meals. I also made zucchini pickle the other day which will be great to have on the road with us. Nik also made some tomato relish.
Everything else has really been preparation for the trip, and helping 'wrap up' Marseille with Nik - who has had a fair bit to sort through after working here for a year. We've been sorting gear, pondering maps and climbing guides and trying to come up with some semblance of a plan for what to do in the next 7 weeks. There's also been the obligatory farewells, which occurred at tapas bars (I'm making the most of French culture before going to Barcelona this weekend) the last 2 weekends, and a bbq yesterday with Nik's work colleagues.
I've had some good bbq's in Australia, but the French know how to eat (and drink)! I won't even list what we ate as this is getting long as it is. Suffice it to say that an immeasurable number of courses continued for about 5 hours straight, and by the end of it I was so full I was almost in pain. Nik's work mates were a great bunch of people - I'm thankful that I got to go along and be welcomed in as I was.
We now have a rough plan for our road trip. Wednesday we leave Marseille and head to the Pyranees, then on Thursday we'll enter Barcelona. We'll be spending the weekend there with Gareth and Bec, who are flying over from the UK to join us. From Barcelona we head west to Montserrat, a climbing area spotted with conglomerate towers up to 300m high, where we'll spend a few days before heading north and back to Marseille to pick up gear, and climb a few more routes in Les Calanques that are on the 'tick list'.
From there we'll be spending the next 5 weeks going from major climbing area to major climbing area - the more we go through what we want to do the more we realise the time is too short! Essentially the trip will go - Verdon Gorge ; The Dolomites ; Switzerland (it's small enough that it's a destination in itself right?) and then to finish off, the French Alps (Chamonix).
So now the biggest issue is - will all our gear fit in the car???
The last two weeks, since getting back from l'Ardeche, have been spent in Marseille predominately doing a mix of climbing, organising, and cooking. Even though it's been 4 months since I've worked, it still feels like I've been working pretty hard at times! Two weeks ago, Nik and I moved from the shared apartment he was renting to a work colleagues place, who has gone away for a month. It's been a good opportunity to relax and prepare.
The following Saturday Nik and I headed out to climb La Grande Candelle, one of the landmarks of Les Calanques and something that Nik had wanted to climb for awhile. It was a great route, a narrow, winding arete, dropping away on each side, with of course the Mediterranean and the beautiful, stark Calanques area spereading out behind you.
A couple of days later I climbed Le Bec de Sormiou with Giulia. It is also one of the iconic climbing spots here - an 180m high wall, located right out on a point, where the climbing starts at sea level. It gives an amazing sense of exposure with the sea hundreds of metres below your feet. Just to add to the enjoyment of the day, the climb was in the shade the whole day and Le Mistral was blowing the whole way up - it was good to finish it for more than one reason.
I've also spent a few days 'cragging' but other than that most of the time has been spent in Marseille. It's been a good excuse to do some cooking, something which I find I enjoy the more I do it, now that I actually have time. The highlight so far has been a beef bourguignon, which thankfully lasted for several meals. I also made zucchini pickle the other day which will be great to have on the road with us. Nik also made some tomato relish.
Everything else has really been preparation for the trip, and helping 'wrap up' Marseille with Nik - who has had a fair bit to sort through after working here for a year. We've been sorting gear, pondering maps and climbing guides and trying to come up with some semblance of a plan for what to do in the next 7 weeks. There's also been the obligatory farewells, which occurred at tapas bars (I'm making the most of French culture before going to Barcelona this weekend) the last 2 weekends, and a bbq yesterday with Nik's work colleagues.
I've had some good bbq's in Australia, but the French know how to eat (and drink)! I won't even list what we ate as this is getting long as it is. Suffice it to say that an immeasurable number of courses continued for about 5 hours straight, and by the end of it I was so full I was almost in pain. Nik's work mates were a great bunch of people - I'm thankful that I got to go along and be welcomed in as I was.
We now have a rough plan for our road trip. Wednesday we leave Marseille and head to the Pyranees, then on Thursday we'll enter Barcelona. We'll be spending the weekend there with Gareth and Bec, who are flying over from the UK to join us. From Barcelona we head west to Montserrat, a climbing area spotted with conglomerate towers up to 300m high, where we'll spend a few days before heading north and back to Marseille to pick up gear, and climb a few more routes in Les Calanques that are on the 'tick list'.
From there we'll be spending the next 5 weeks going from major climbing area to major climbing area - the more we go through what we want to do the more we realise the time is too short! Essentially the trip will go - Verdon Gorge ; The Dolomites ; Switzerland (it's small enough that it's a destination in itself right?) and then to finish off, the French Alps (Chamonix).
So now the biggest issue is - will all our gear fit in the car???
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