A beautiful sunny day, for a fabulous walk through the Estérel Mountains, a rugged range of red mountains stretching inland from the Mediterranean between Saint-Raphaël and La Napoule.
I left Frejus walking along its Roman wall, passing an historical tower – Lanterne d’Auguste – a lighthouse dating back to the 2nd century, before walking out to the coast. There were a number of people enjoying the good weather, walking, running, cycling, enjoying a break at a cafe; but nobody actually swimming in the Mediterranean. At the port of Saint-Raphael the path took my back inland, through the centre, passing the station and then along one of the main approach roads into the centre, which thankfully had a pavement.
I walked along the edge of the Estérel mountain range, through a park with lots of school kids out in nature with their teachers, before walking along the wide D100 that cuts through the mountain range for a couple of kilometers. I was surprised that the road was so wide, as it doesn’t go anywhere and ends in a dead end. There was a large quarry half way along, with what looks like a massive pizza oven in front of it, which may be the reason that the road is so wide. A couple of lorries carrying red stone passed me.
After 11 or so not so interesting kilometers, it was now small paths through the Estérel. Initially down hill, it was nice to see how the past days good weather had resulted in more flowers beginning to bloom. I crossed the Agay River and found a baker in the middle of nowhere, and bought some bread and a quiche for lunch later.
I continued along the Grenouillet River and Lake before starting to climb on a small path, with beautiful views of the different peaks, and towards the river and waterfalls in the valley below. I met a couple of walkers, including an Austrian walking from Menton to Saint-Tropez.
I walked up towards the television transmitter at Pic de l’Ours, and walked along the ridge towards Col Notre Dame. I passed a bee keeper looking after his hives. The views were spectacular.
I was ca. 300m above sea level, when I stopped for lunch with fabulous views along the coast towards Cannes and the snow capped Alps.
I continued along relatively wide, well signed and well kept paths, but at one point must have followed signs to Théoule-sur-Mer instead of the red and white markers I was following, as I arrived in the centre of Théoule-sur-Mer, instead of on the coast about 1 km before the town centre, and therefore missed a pleasant walk along the coast (which I instead did a couple of days later with friends).
I continued along the coast to La Napoule. There were many people enjoying the beautiful weather at different bars and on the beach. The path was a mixture of the coastal road and small paths closer to the beaches and the sea.
I met my wife in La Napoule, where we enjoyed a refreshing lemon drink before driving to friends, where we would be staying for a few days.
As so often on the Via Aurelia, the day was split into two very different parts. Today, a not very interesting 11km road walk to start the day, followed by an absolutely fabulous walk in the Estérel mountains, spectacular 360 degree views, and great paths. 32kilometers and almost 800m elevation.