"Almost" a Year in Provence: Les Porquerolles en Hiver

Nick, Sarah and I took a day trip to the island of Les Porquerolles last week. It was February school vacation and our good friends, Darrin, Julie and McKenna Jones joined us. Les Porquerolles, the largest(7 km by 3 km) of three small islands that make up the Iles d'Hyeres, is located a short distance off the southern coast of France, near Toulon. It is a very popular vacation destination from May through October, but it is very crowded during this time. Warm, off season days are the best time to visit in order to avoid the crowds. We'd been waiting for just the right day to make this trip. Even though it is February, we have some wonderfully warm sunny days right now and that's just what the forecast was for our trip. It was clear, warm and sunny in Aix that morning, but by the time we'd driven the hour and a half to the coast the weather had turned cold and breezy!! We all felt underdressed and a bit apprehensive as we boarded the 10:30 ferry at La Tour Fondue, but there wasn't a thing we could do but grin and bear it and hope it warmed up. Sarah and McKenna happily huddled together (below deck!) for the 20 minute boat ride...

Last year, both Sarah and I went on separate trips to this little gem of an island but for the others this was a first time experience. I wrote about it in our blog last May, so for some of you this blog entry may be a bit of a repeat but it was an entirely new experience. Upon our arrival, we strolled into the very small town and Sarah and I played tour directors, pointing out places we'd been and stayed on our first trips. Most of the village was still boarded up for the winter-unfortunately this included her favorite ice cream shop but we were too cold to think about ice cream anyhow! There are no cars on the island, except for delivery and the few residents so everyone gets around on foot or bicycle.

There is an active fleet of fisherman on the island and this guy was hard at work on his nets...

After the brief tour, we rented six mountain bikes and started off on our day's adventure. The skies had cleared up and it was getting warmer by the minute, so we were all smiles as we headed off onto the bike trails that cover much of this island...

However, not all trails are flat and wide. The terrain is quite steep in parts and bravery and good brakes are a must!

Here comes Pastor Darrin, squeaky brakes and all!

We rode for about 4km, on rugged dirt paths, passing through all kinds of terrrain and enjoying beautiful vistas. Here is one of several vineyards on the island.

After all our hard morning ride, it felt really good to get off our bikes and stop for a picinic lunch ....

even the bikes looked exhausted!

After our restful lunch, we rode back in the direcction of town just passing through and then over to the eastern end of the island. Things look even more tropical on this side. We even spotted a brave swimmer in the water!

By late afternoon, Sarah and McKenna were fading fast and as we returned to the village they declared they couldn't ride another inch! Julie and I volunteered to walk all our bikes back to the rental shop....

Meanwhile, the girls recuperated with chocolate milkshakes served in coconuts on the sunny porch of a village restaurant overlooking the harbor. That brought smiles back to their faces in a big hurry!

We joined them on the deck and basked in the afternoon sun, looking at the boats, dreaming of summer.... it was the perfect end to a great and memorable day!!