.: le canyon grand :.

Even before departing our campsite in the suburbs of Cannes, we were already sad to be leaving the sun and warmth of the Côte d'Azur, a denouement and embarking on our return journey.

Heading north towards the Maritime Alps, however, we enjoyed quite a breathtaking approach to the Gorges of the Verdun, the French Grand Canyon but I think comparisons fail in such situations.

At the head of the valley and at the beginning of the river that helped time to carve out the spectacular scenery, we came to the jewel of a village called Castellane, dominated by a Marian statue, Notre Dame, on a rocky-outcropping. After exploring a bit of the old town's attractions, we decided to encamp in a lot open to such „roughing-it“ after getting a taste of what the Verdun had to offer, with its turquoise, aqua-marine river and deep cliffs that one could image having erupted from the bottom of the ocean aeons ago.

The next morning, we crossed the length of the valley that widened with the grand spectacle of Lake Sainte Croix.

H pin-pointed a real pro-tip of a camping spot, just outside of the village of Rougon called le Point Sublime, perched at a bend in the valley that afforded some amazing views, despite the fog and clouds.

Taking the twisted roads higher through the Alps, we rejoined the Autobahn at the town of Sisteron and stopped for a few hours to gaze at the weirdly alien rock formation that was mirrored by the high fortification of the Vauban influenced (the actual look-out post of the river Durance dating itself back to the 12th century) citadel.

We went on pass Grenoble and the Chartreuse Massif before finding a place to pass the evening.