We left St. Savin, Isère, in unsettled weather: cold, drizzly and threatening. Luckily our recent hosts, Annick and Thierry, arranged for us to spend the first night with some old friends of theirs in Vienne on the Rhône River. From there we would take the ViaRhona cycling route south down to central Ardèche...
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| Heading off from St. Savin. |
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| Comtois horses! We've been seeing alot of these beautiful draft horses, especially since Jura, where they've been bred since the 6th century... |
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| Bo takes a time out to play in St. Georges d'Espéranche. |
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| This was good riding in rolling hills. |
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| The striking "Domaine de Grand Maison" near Oytier-St. Oblas. |
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| We arrived in Jardin (near Vienne) and were hosted by Fadi and Anne-Laure, friends of our most recent hosts. Pictured here are Fadi and Bo, who got along famously. Fadi prepared us a fabulous meal of fried fish and chips, served with a huge bowl of hummus and an endless bag of pitas! Needless to say, not standard fare in France and thus very well-received. |
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| The flag of Palestine. Fadi, who was born in Lebanon to Palestinian refugee parents, wasted no time in teaching us all about the tragedy of Palestine: from the staggering amount of military aid, weapons and training given to Israel every year by the American taxpayers, to the giving of the nuclear bomb to Israel by the US/UK/France, which has allowed Israel to defend itself from its neighbors and continue its course of aggression and land-occupation (Gaza, Lebanon, etc.). Fadi, now a French citizen, was born with Palestinian Refugee status, which in effect means he was part of a marginalized community in Lebanon, and as such, he has no right to visit Palestine due to fears of Israel that gathering Palestinians would destabilize the region or pose a threat to Israeli occupations. Technically he can visit as a French citizen (to Israel), but he considers it demeaning to receive such permission from the Israelis, since technically it is his people's homeland. |
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| Kids books in Arabic. |
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| Anne-Laure and Bodhi visiting the family's goats. |
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| A beautiful morning in Vienne. Here we join the Rhône to continue south. |
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| This section of the Rhône is famous for its wines (Val du Rhône) and its chateaux... |
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| Rhône cormorant. |
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| Luckily for us we joined the ViaRhona cycle path at Vienne. One of France's flagship cycle routes, when finished it will link Lake Geneva with the Mediterranean, over 700km. As of 2014 it is only about 40% complete. Regardless, it offers traffic-free flat river-side cycling for long stretches. Ideal for riding with children (see www.viarhona.com). |
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| This map shows the course of the ViaRhona (red trace) and its corollary routes (in orange), as it starts in Switzerland on Lakd Geneva and finishes down at the mouth of the Rhône. |
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| Southwards towards Valence... In fact, we have a no-pity headwind for most of this riding, which cancels out the flat factor and tires us out. |
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| Rhône-side vineyards. |
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| Riverside village with the backdrop of the Vivarais mountains of Ardèche. |
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| One of the planet's luckiest children. |
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| The ViaRhona is delightful in stretches... |
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| Andance, a compelling sight along the Rhône. |
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| We've been excited about coming to Ardèche for quite awhile, stories of chestnut harvest and fall colors and rich alternative culture lingering in our minds after many conversations on the subject. |
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| Bo clearly hasn't got the order of the packing all clear yet. |
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| In downtown Valence. |
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| From Valence Bo got his first good looks at the striking Vercors Mountains in Drôme... |
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| We turned off the ViaRhona and up the Eyrieux River near La Voulte-sur-Rhône. Here is our campsite near St. Laurent-du-Pape. |
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| We followed a fantastic cycling track (converted train line) called La Dolce Via along the Eyrieux for some 20-25km... |
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| Gentle gradient through the forest. |
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| The Eyrieux is wild and scenic in many places, a trademark of Ardèche. |
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| A viaduct crossing along the path. The train ran from 1886-1968, carrying passengers and fresh produce (chestnuts, apples, pears, etc) to market. |
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| Winding up through the river canyon. |
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| At St. Sauveur we left the Dolce Via. |
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| An original wagon, seen in St. Sauveur. |
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| From St. Sauvuer we followed a secondary route up the Gluyere river gorge. |
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| Astounding scenery and the sounds of wild rushing rivers everywhere. |
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| Lunchbreak in a wood. |
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| Nearing our next WWOOF stay location, we started spying Ardèche's most famous crop: chestnuts! |
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| Some locals watch us pass by. |
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| Ardèche is filled with beautiful old isolated farmhouses surrounded by deep forest. |
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| Local scarecrow. |
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| Arrived in the village of Curins (in the heart of Ardèche), population between 10-15!..., elevation 850 meters, which means we've climbed over 600 meters on this day! And yes, we are completely exhausted at this point! Our next WWOOF stop will be in the house pictured down on the left. |
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