The Penitents of Les Mees

 Tuesday 17/03/26

The Penitents as viewed from our house
Unfortunately you can't see the village built along the base of the cliffs

Les Mees, a town in the valley below us, has huge rock cliffs towering above it called the Penitents as it resembles monks in sackcloth.  There is a trail from the town, up and around the huge rock formation which we've been meaning to hike  ever since we saw the town.  

Today, in spite of being a little stiff from romping in the snow yesterday, we decided to hike the trail before doing some shopping. The total trail, even though only 5km in length takes 2 hours to hike due to the very steep ascent (200m) and then descent again!  

The higgledy piggledy houses of Les Mees

It was quite steep and challenging in parts but absolutely spectacular.  We commented on how rough-and-ready some of the trails are in France.  In the UK they would installed guardrails along the entire route and in South Africa they would have built a zip-line from the top. 😀

I think we might take the day off tomorrow!

Snow-time on the Lure

Monday 16/03/26

 Although the weather has started becoming more spring-like, we've been subjected to a late winter storm.  We even had a little snow in Mallefougasse followed by icy cold conditions and a very strong Mistral wind.  This usually has the effect of clearing all the weather away so when we woke up this morning to a beautiful blue shy, we decided to head up to the top of the Lure to enjoy the snow.  

The snow was melting and the drops would re-freeze but the strong wind 
caused all the icicles to grow at an angle

Stunning views out to the North with the Alps in the distance

Even though the old ski station is only 5km from the house as the crow flies, it is a 25km drive.  Still, it's hard to believe that we have this winter-wonderland on our doorstep.  Although the air temperature was around 0°C when we arrived, the sunshine (and exercise) warmed us up enough to really enjoy the outing.  

We had a wonderful walk and still get quite giddy at the beauty of the snow covered trees and mountainside.  It really is so different to where we grew up.  We are just grateful to have the right type of clothing for this weather as well!

Bonus video:-  This should give you an idea of the wind