22.2 km today.
3.7 km/h average today.
5 hours 55 mins walking time.
131.4 km this trip.
3011 km from start.
14 metres minimum height.
144 metres maximum height.
265 metres ascent.
187 metres descent.
Track Log: Logged.
Travel: Train, Train.
19.60 Euros.
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2011-04-15-000-Toulon-to-Cuers.kml
2011-04-15-000-Toulon-to-Cuers.gpx
10km of gradually decreasing urbanisation. Then nice country lanes.
It was nice to begin the walk without clock watching to be sure to catch the train. The first leg of the walk was over 10km, all through the city and suburbs without any green areas apart from fenced off gardens. It might have been possible to reach the mountain ridge, north of the route, but without a way marked or clear Google Earth track it was too risky. There were few if any access points.
Slowly the roads narrowed and the traffic reduced. Finally after crossing under the autoroute and over the river "Le Gapeau", it became pleasant. There were still houses but there were fields and orchards too.
All day the weather had been deteriorating. Shorts plus tee shirt became shorts plus fleece. Then the zip off legs got put back on. Finally the cagoule was deployed. The umbrella was on stand-by but not needed. During the two hour wait for the train, the wooly hat and gloves came out. It was really cold for a Mediterranean April. It rained quite hard for a while but I was under the shelter at Cuers station. It was so cold that I chose an earlier train in the wrong direction. This would get me home an hour earlier but the dallying would be in a warm dry train instead of on a draughty platform.
At Toulon the Saturday and Sunday arrangements were sorted out. The train times between Toulon and Les Arcs are really odd. The stopping trains mostly run towards Toulon, so to get anywhere, you have to get a fast train beyond your destination and a stopping train back. This is expensive too. Add the weekend oddities and it was all a bit overwhelming. This was not helped by one ticket seller saying the journey was impossible and use the bus (which departs mid morning and is therefore useless for long distance walking). I re-researched the times and queued again with the details written down. This time, with a different seller, I got the Saturday tickets.
On the Sunday, I need to use the Teoz Lunea sleeper train to Les Arcs and get the stopping train back to Gonfaron. These tickets were available on the first attempt.
Both the weekend journeys back to Toulon look straightforward. Beyond Les Arcs, there are more stopping trains and between Les Arcs and Toulon there are fast trains so the arrangements will be simpler.
At the Nice base, there should be no problems. There are stopping trains all day, including weekends and feast days. What happens at the Italian border is another matter. Spanish French relations were strained and cross border travel was not made easy.
After sorting out the travel arrangements, it was time for food shopping. I should now last until Monday. Yesterday's random cheese turned out to be stinking and wonderful. The only way to get rid of the smell is to eat some. Today I bought more!
Another smoothie with no bad effects and the cold has more or less gone. Now if only my feet and legs keep going, all should be well. A tendon in my right shin is running hot and making the foot stiff and feel heavy. These sorts of problems seem to repair very fast. This probably evolved because of our Hunter/Hunted/Gatherer history.
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