A quick stop at the bustling bakery in town, where Rodney got the last of the present batch of croissants, and we were soon enjoying our pastry breakfast in the park. The road out of town towards Saint-Martin-de-Brômes is also the main route to the Verdon gorge, so there was a fair amount of traffic. The road was windy and a little uphill, with great views as we were following the valley. At Allemagne-en-Provence we stopped in the square and bought some stone fruit from a market stall, admiring the chateau from afar as we ate.
River
Leaving town, we turned off onto a much quieter road, and enjoyed some shade as we rode up a gentle slope in forested area. The little town of Montagnac was lovely as we rode through, with locals relaxing at the inviting cafes on its shady square. We were nearing Lac de Saint-Croix though, so didn’t stop. Shortly we got onto the busier road - the lake is clearly a popular summer destination. The surrounding terrain is quite high, and there aren’t so many points where you can access the water easily. We rode down the hill into the town of Sainte-Croix-du-Verdon, which has spectacular views across the lake, then took the steeply descending access road to the lake shore (all the while I’m wondering how I will ride back up again).
Lac de Saint-Croix
We changed and had a little swim which was wonderfully refreshing, but didn’t enjoy the muddy bottom or rocky shore so much. Everyone else we could see were properly equipped with swimming booties and mats to spread on the beach. We didn’t stay long but changed again and started the climb back away from the lake - surprisingly it didn’t seem as difficult as it had appeared on the way down.
Lac de Saint-Croix
We stocked up on groceries and ate our lunch at a lookout just out of town. It was another scorcher of a day so we relished some cold Orangina (I’m not one for soft drink, but there is nothing better than cold Orangina during a hot day on the bike). We took the Route de Moustiers, which follows the lake along a ridge. It was mostly flat but so so hot and we felt like we were riding in slow motion. Thankfully, the plain we were riding through was surrounded by mountains (and we could still see Mont Ventoux in the distance). We were riding through recently harvested lavender fields, and the fragrance lingered in the air. We stopped at a farm shop where Rodney bought some lavender honey and we also got a little vial of lavender oil (which we would go on to dab on ourselves when the flies, or my own personal stench, were bothersome).
Lavender fields above lake
After what seemed like forever, but was actually probably not much more than 12km, we had a sharp descent to the town of Moustiers-Sainte-Marie. It wasn’t a very long distance for the day, but we had the challenging cycle through the Verdon gorge itself ahead of us the next day. We set up our stuff at the camping on the road into town, washed out all our cycling clothes and then set out on foot into town. There was a steep walking road with some stairs - like the others in the area the town was up on the hill. Clearly popular with the tourists, the old town was filled with restaurants, ice cream shops and souvenir shops (and one odd little shop that sold nothing but white polo shirts).
Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, from the stairs to Notre-Dame-De-Beauvoir
The chapel of Notre-Dame-De-Beauvoir is set on the cliff above the town, so we walked up the many steps along with loads of other tourists. It’s also on a randonneur route, so we saw a few hikers emerging from paths in the cliffs behind. A big star hung suspended from a cable between mountains above the chapel and the town, and you had a great view of the lake and town from the top.