Île de Porquerolles (or as friends call it, isle de pork-roll)

I’ll never forget the first time I had heard about île de Porquerolles from our friends Laetitia and Loïc. It was in 2011 while Brigitte and I were on a tour around the world and spent a few weeks in the south of France. Looking for cool ideas of places to see, L & L suggested a day trip to the Island of Porquerolles. Apparently it was a must do while visiting the Toulon or Hyères area. Heeding their advice, our first encounter with the “Golden Island” (or île d’Or), came in June that summer.

Looking back at that timeframe we never fathomed we would one day live with Île de Porquerolles on our horizon, literally. One of the amazing benefits of spending a year on Plage de L’Argentiere (in La Londe les Maures), was the proximity and the beautiful vista of the Mediterranean Sea and the Îles d’Or, chief among them Porquerolles. The island was a permanent fixture with every glance we threw at the sea, and on numerous occasions we lost ourselves in the view, and dreamt of being a ship perhaps, or a creature of the sea. All the while the landmass protruding through the water’s surface appeared to stare back, beckoning us for a new visit.

Over the past few months we’ve had the pleasure of sharing our experience and our house with friends and family from back home. This also meant exploring different things to do and figuring out if a day trip to Île de Porquerolles would be of interest. The island is part of three Îles d’Hyères (or the Îles d’Or), and is the largest and most developed. It runs about 4.3 miles long and 1.9 miles wide with cliffs contouring its south side while beautiful beaches and a port prime its north side. (It is accessible by ferry from several port towns such Hyères, La Londe les Maures, Bormes les Mimosas, Bandol and a few others). A village was established on the island in 1820 and today it’s home to some of the 200-300 permanent residents. In 1971, the French government bought the island in effort to preserve it from development and thus it became part of Port-Cros National Park, an area dedicated to conservation. Naturally, the island caters to various activities and interests including hiking, biking, wine tasting, dining, swimming, snorkeling, boating and beach going to name a few. For us and our friends all of the aforementioned factored into the itineraries we shared on the island, in three total visits.

April was the first, during a visit from our dear friends from Maryland who sought to immerse themselves into the local experiences and enjoy the natural beauty of our area. April is a great month in the south of France in general, as temperatures begin to warm up more consistently into the low 70-degree Fahrenheit range. In the sun it can feel quite warm and in the shade it’s very comfortable due to the dryness of the climate. This mix presented the perfect opportunity to spend a day on Île de Porquerolles and explore the island. With 5 kids collectively in tow between our two families, we rented a variety of bikes (some stand-alone and others with an extra companion extension, and another with a trailer). Our friends were avid bikers and so they were up for the adventure which included navigating up and down several hills. One of Porquerolles’ defining features are countless hills which at times challenged our stamina but everyone persevered one way or another, and we ended up covering much of the island’s 37-miles of track. From the south side’s Phare de Porquerolles (or the Porquerolles Light House — one of the most powerful on the Mediterranean with a 33-mile range), to the Gorge du Loup (a beautiful creek), where our friend Matt and the kids ventured down to the water’s edge. And how could they not? The crisp color of the water alone was enough to compel someone to get up close and personal, not to mention climbing the rugged limestone rocks which was sheer fun for the adventurous kids. The amazing azure sea didn’t stop there though.. we encountered it time and time again on the north side while checking out some of Porquerolles’ notable beaches (i.e. Plage d’Argent and Plage Notre Dame). Beautiful yes, tempting yes, cold yes, very cold, for me yes. Although we didn’t go in the water, we did notice some brave souls put their skins to the 57-degree Fahrenheit test (brr!). April did bring more sun, but it was still too early to take advantage of water activities, prompting us to explore the island more so by land. The big positive however was the lower number of people visiting and avoiding high-season crowds.

Throughout the month of June we continued hosting friends and the idea of going to Porquerolles resurfaced. The day trip seemed like a popular choice with our friends from New York City as well as friends from Massachusetts, which saw us on the island back to back weeks. By then the sea temperature had reached the 77-degree Fahrenheit mark rendering it perfect for swimming. On our first June trip the water was clear and beautifully blue showing its spectacular hues. But with beauty also came the droves of mauve stinger jellyfish, washing up closer to shore. These bright pink and purple jellies are known to possess stingers not only on their tentacles but also on their bells (or mushroom heads), which is unusual apparently. And even dead mauve stingers can actually sting, making for another interesting and important little fact. Unfortunately our friend Shannon got stung by one, but aside from some swelling and localized pain, she was totally fine. The rest of us stayed vigilant and even removed several jellies by placing them within a makeshift pool onshore, quarantining them until we were ready to leave the beach (and then released them back into the sea). Our laid back and rosé laden lunch also helped ease the pain for Shannon who now has a fiery story to tell about her day on Île de Porquerolles.

Our second June trip to Porquerolles was devoid of jellyfish and saw us back riding bikes throughout the island. This allowed us to cover more ground and explore different beaches, one of the several forts, along with other attractions including the Domaine de l’Île winery. The day was as hot and sunny as the previous week but the water this time around was murkier (close to shore), as a storm had passed through the day before. The contrast was remarkable particularly as visibility was significantly diminished and the snorkeling efforts by the kids were a bit dampened. But as kids often tend to do, they find ways to have fun regardless of circumstances and so they discovered new adventures to keep them occupied. To balance things out for the big kids (or us adults), we too found ways to have fun and also beat the heat, more importantly. The wine tasting at Domaine de l’Île helped us achieve this goal and also reminded us that wherever one may be in Provence, on the mainland or on an island, great wines are omnipresent.

Île de Porquerolles was a great memory from 11 years ago and more recently became part of our everyday life in La Londe les Maures. The mere 9 miles that separated the island from our house will serve as a mental imprint to last us a lifetime. Salut et merci Porquerolles!