Verdon is Gorges

Okay, so that's a cheesy post title, but you get the idea. This FAIF entry will catch you up on the trip Nathan made to Verdon last week. (That's right, I just assigned us an acronym. Annoying? Perhaps. But as a Purchase faculty member I feel fully entitled--some might even say obligated--to use acronyms as often as possible. The Purchase readers will know what I mean.)

So while the kids and I did what you see above last Saturday, Nathan went along with the students and a few other groups studying at ELFCA--the school where we're teaching here--on a tour of Verdon. As the link explains, this region is a mixture of dramatic cliffs and gorges, mineral-rich milky green lakes, and charming mountain villages. Here's a view of the area on Google maps, for the topographically curious.

He took photos of the trip, beginning with the moment he stepped out our front door. Here's our street at dawn:

The downtown streets of Hyeres are a blend of old and new commerce. Here you get a view of the new through a closed shop window.

And here, the old.

As the tour bus was leaving from ELFCA, the school, Nathan followed the route we take at least twice a week, through downtown Hyeres and out into a more residential section of town.

Here's Ross, arriving via bike.

The bus made a sometimes heart-stopping journey up the hills (the roads have little to no shoulder, and the hair-pin turns of these mountain roads are tight enough to curl your toes) to Lac du Sainte-Croix. Everyone got out and had an opportunity to do a little swimming. Nathan noted that both the limestone cliffs of the area reminded him a little bit of the Four Corners region of the U.S. in that they are sharp and sheer, and rutted with tucked away caves and in-cut divots everywhere. The photos he took put me in mind of parts of the Cascades, though, and the emerald lake water looks strikingly similar to the water in Icicle Canyon, WA.

Here are some of our students at a view point overlooking a river.

The bus stopped and let everyone cross this bridge on foot. Part way across there were several bungee jumpers stationed and prepping a jump. Yikes!

After seeing the cliffs, Nathan and some of the others headed up to the village of Moustiers Sainte-Marie. The town is built nearly into the cliff side, and more of the beautiful green creeks cut through the village.

Nathan had been looking forward to this trip for months, and he came home raving about the beauty of the Verdon.