LA FRANCE – Friend or Foe? Un petit problème en Provence

Sandra and me, near the village of Gordes, Provence

Walking along the banks of the Seine on our first evening in Paris, watching people dancing, seeing many people having piqueniques on pretty tablecloths, and enjoying a vin rosé at a corner cafe, Sandra Brooks (my French travelling companion) and I little knew the challenge that was soon going to be thrown at us in Provence. We passed Notre Dame cathedral on the Île de la Cité, and were intrigued by the intricate manoeuvring of five young rollerbladers, daring and inventive.

Our third day was a tour to the lavender fields near Avignon, taking many photos in the beautiful sights and perfumes of the purple meadows. Going on to the village of Sault we were initially held up by the traffic involved with the weekly market, and then by the throngs of shoppers and touristes, which proved to be the harbinger of our stay in Provence. All the world was there. It was August. Don't go then if you don't have to. It proved to be difficult to see the market stalls, so we made our way to a shop selling lavender icecreams. I can't remember what mine tasted like, as completely surrounded by people I missed a step and went heavily over on my ankle. Quelle horreur!! Now 2.5 weeks later it is mending quite well, albeit far too slowly for my liking, but it surely took some of the shine off Provence for us. Sandra had to do all the driving, and lots of waiting for me; a terminal snail pace was about my top speed. Crutches, and a brace, meant that getting around stone paths and flights of stairs was possible, but difficult, tiring and inhibited doing many things. Sometimes Sandra went off on her own and explored. We stayed in the villages of Sault and Gordes, driving over towering Mt Ventoux and wending our way through the flocks of cyclists putting a tick on their bike Cvs, through the impressive Gorges des Nesques, and enjoying much French cuisine and vin rosés. The final part of Provence was the seaside town of La Ciotat, where we thoroughly enjoyed the swimming pool, plus a voyage along the coast admiring the impressive calanques (cliffs).

After a night in Marseilles we travelled to Mont St Michel, being stunned by its incredible beauty and the size and amplitude of the crowds – thousands and thousands of people. Nose to tail; like the traffic before getting there. Unreal. Don't go in August! We absolutely loved the Abbeye, taking in as much as we could in one early morning sunrise photo shoot, and two visits inside; morning and evening. Walking up and down all those steep stone steps would leave a gym visit for dead, especially with a dud ankle. Not only astonishingly beautiful, it's an engineering masterpiece, and is a World Heritage site.

Back in Paris, we revelled in a grande finale with a Citroen 2CV tour around the main part of the city. Sandra returned to a 4ºC arrival in Auckland. Mark arrived this morning, and he and I grabbed hire bikes this afternoon and took ourselves around the Latin Quarter, before riding back to the Hotel Terminus Lyon. Yep, the ankle's improving! We've bought the necessities for a piquenique by the Seine, and will ride back soon to sit and people watch, and take in the music and dancing.

Off to Turkey on Monday, with Jenny Fraser.

à la prochaine - Jillian

WHERE A DREAM CAME TRUE

Paddling at midnight with Kerrie Pain

Oh what excitement! I could never in my wildest dreams have thought that the Svalbard voyage would be so amazing. My constant hankering to see a polar bear, a dream that I'd nurtured since 2008, to see one in the wild (instead of stuffed or in a zoo) had precipitated me into booking this 10 day trip with Aurora Expeditions, on board the Polar Pioneer. We certainly saw bears, 14 of them! The second sighting was a Mumma Polar Bear with two youngsters, from a distance of about 10 metres. We were cruising around a lowish island near the Monacobreen (Monaco Glacier) when the bear was sighted well above us on the ridge top. Stopping to gaze from a distance, and take photos if we could, we were amazed to see it come walking down a slope towards us, with two youngsters in tow, and then amble along right in front of us. Even the staff were flabbergasted by our luck. We saw bears on ice floes, bears on other islands, and on one of the last days the walkers on shore, high up under some bird cliffs, had a bear appear between them and their zodiacs. After it tried to get a bite at one of the boats a warning flare was shot and the explosion frightened it away, into the water, where it took off swimming not too far from where we were paddling. It got to the stage that we were almost hoping there wouldn't be a bear on land, because it meant we couldn't go ashore!

Not too far from where we were paddling? Yes – my tennis elbow had recovered sufficiently for me to do about 2/3 of the kayaking, and actually improved over the 9 days we paddled. I'm amazed! Thanks Dr John Lyftogt for your amazing prolotherapy!!! You're a star. Now I can look forward to paddling in Turkey.

As if that wasn't enough we also saw many walruses, either swimming or sleeping. One afternoon saw us visiting walruses at Torellneset, this time a pulsing and heaving mound of about 40 huge mammals, in various states of rest and irritation, wriggling and scratching, heaving and sighing, and settling back down to sleep again. It was like a huge undulating collective sleepover. Some five more wakeful walruses were in the water, obviously an easier environment for their huge bodies. We watched entranced as they wallowed and scratched, and then abruptly sat up to investigate the row of expeditioners sitting on the beach, waiting for the next walrus exploit.

Beluga whales provided the final coup de grace. Aurora say they're happy if they get one sighting a season; we had four. To my absolute amazement two of them swam right under my kayak – my excitement was right off the scale. They're called white whales, but seen next to an ice floe they're more creamy in colour, long and sleek, and very fast through the water. Their heads swivel, and they pop their head up as they speed past. We also saw two pods of fin whales – they're huge, and blow huge sprays of water when they come up for breath. Gorgeous numerous so photogenic puffins, kittiwakes fulmars, guillemots, little auks, pharalopes – hundreds and thousands of birds, many nesting way up on the cliffs, and waiting for their babies to pop out; the foxes down below wait too, for their next meal. Not so many seals; I was surprised not to see more.

For the technically minded amongst you, we reached a latitude of 80º50 N, which was about where we saw the 2 polar bears on the North Pole pack ice – we were about 600kms from the pole. We completely circumnavigated Spitsbergen, as well as two other smaller islands of Svalbard. We were fortunate to be able to get the whole way around as the pack ice in the Hinlopen Strait had forced the previous voyage to retreat. I can't remember the total distance covered, and can't check – info left in luggage back in Paris, and I'm on a TGV train going to Avignon.

For those of you who enquired – yes the tooth got dealt to in Longyearbyen. The problem was around the edge of a temporary crown that I'd completely forgotten I'd had done. That's what earthquakes do to your memory; that's my excuse anyway! I met up with Sandra Brooks last night, and we celebrated with champagne and a long walk on a beautiful balmy Parisian evening, ambling along the Seine and around Ile de la Cite and Notre Dame. We're on our way to go and find what's left of this season's blooming lavender fields.

Bye for now, Jillian