How Blue? Royal Blue, Blue Green and Sky Blue

Ever since arriving in Provence (over three weeks ago), I was eager to get out on the water or on a boat, to visit an island off the coast and to have some detachment from the mainland. The cluster of Hyères islands visible from our place only intensified this feeling. But as our local friends advised, waiting till August wrapped up was prudent. It meant far less vacationers and tourists (added bonus, cheaper out of season boat rental rates), and the weather was still right. The expert advice proved worthy as did our friend Loïc’s boat captain’s license which granted us the liberty of renting a vessel without a skipper. He was the captain now.

It took about 20 minutes from La Londe’s port to reach the Island of Porquerolles’ “no wake” zone on its rocky northeastern coast. The water was noticeably blue, not just any blue but a hue that commanded more and more admiration. We circled around the island and made our way to Plage D’Argent (one of the island’s main beaches), where we dropped anchor and enjoyed swimming in the clear blue green water. Porquerolles is one of the more commercial of the Islands of Hyères (comprising Île De Porquerolles, Île De Port-Cros and Île Du Levant), and sees daily ferries chartering visitors to its beautiful beaches and scenic hikes. Bikes can also be rented which is a great way of covering more of the interior of the island as cars are not permitted.

After our dip, we dashed over to the next island due East, Île de Port-Cros, situated within a national park whose stricter rules are set to protect the flora and fauna that call the island home. No anchor drop here (just hooked to the line), the same line that actually marked the zone of the underwater trail (or the sentier sous-marin), which made for great snorkeling. From Port-Cros we headed towards Fort Brégançon and the nearby Plage du Grand Jardin. Fort Brégançon is well known as being an official presidential summer residence (since the 1960s). The Grand Jardin’s location near Fort Brégançon framed a picture perfect view (blue and green water, a 13th century castle and a marine horizon). To top it all off, the ice cream boat made for a sweet treat to end our day (for the kids and the adults alike).

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Small Village, Big History

An impulse visit to the village of Pierrefue du Var offered an interesting history lesson about the quiet little place. In the old town there’s a monument dedicated to Dixmude, an early 20th century blimp that took off from Pierrefeu in 1923 and ended its voyage tragically when a storm and lightning brought it down in Sicily (no survivors, making it the deadliest airship accident in history at the time). Originally built for the German Navy during WWI, the zeppelin’s main mission was to bomb New York City, but its construction was never completed by the time the war ended (fortunately). From the monument we walked Pierrefeu’s inclined narrow streets to the Chapelle Sainte Croix where the explosive views of the countryside were true pay off in exchange for the tightness in our legs. Much of the panorama was stretched in all directions by Côtés de Provence vineyards on a day that mixed sky blues with randomly imposed clouds.