Les Angles (Gard)

On the third day we wanted to avoid driving (and more sitting), so we searched for hikes in the neighborhood, and found an extensive network of trails starting just behind the house. After 200 meters we came up to an interesting cave system ‘Carrere du Trou de la Lune’, which was unfortunately tainted by a lot of graffiti. We continued on trails, some quite steep, in the landscape dominated by pine trees and cacti.

In the afternoon we walked to the ancient village center, which we didn’t know existed until we saw it on the map. The church Notre Dame de l’Assomption was first built in the 7th century, but the current one dates back to the 12th century.  At that point the wind had grown really strong, dangerously so, but we found some shelter beside the wall to enjoy our lunch sandwiches.

This is the entrance from the garden to the apartment in which we stayed in Les Angles, taken in the late afternoon light.

Villeneuve lès Avignon

The next day we still wanted to minimize the time spent driving and sitting, so we chose a hike starting from the neighboring village of Villeneuve lès Avignon some five kilometers away. The first half of the hike followed the river Rhône, thus being practically flat, and the second one climbed to Chemin de Safrus after visiting the small village of Four. We had lunch at the gate of an abandoned farm.

(to be continued in Part III)