Once more unto the valley of the Toulourenc, that sparkly little river that tumbles down behind Ventoux with gorges we sometimes walk up- only in summer! Yesterday we looked down on it but moved on higher up the valley. Today we concentrated on the wide bowl between Mollans and Veaux.
You can walk round pretty much the whole of this in a couple of hours, which is what we did. It was hot and we wished we hadn't been so feeble and worn shorts instead of jeans. But come on now, it IS the end of October... It wasn't exactly quiet either. Down at the bottom was a camper van belting out what I believe is known as Techno music. Actually not bad from a distance! Then the hunters started shooting across the valley, and a huge delta wing jet suddenly zoomed over the crest of the mountain at full throttle. But the colours and patterns of the olives and vines took your mind off all this. It really is an exceptional year.
We followed the river part of the way back. It was splashing happily on its way and sparkling like silver behind the trees. In summer you can't move for cars by the bridge because everyone takes their picnics up stream to sit on rocks in the gorges. Today, though, there was no one.
After a sandwich in Malaucène, basking in ridiculous temperatures, we mosied on home via the back of the Dentelles, making a detour at Suzette (which still has no crêperie!) up a track towards a summit that Adrian wants to walk to one day. On the way the road passd by houses with jaw dropping views, one of which had a garden full of yucca gloriosa - a profusion of exotic loveliness.
More pix on flickr.
