Le Beaufortain, details du soir

 
 
 
 

Le Beaufortain, details du jour

 
 
 
 

Le Beaufortain, the big picture

 
 
 
 

Le Beaufortain

Ah, the crisp air, the pristine nature, the stunning landscapes of the Alps! My brother and I went for a 4 day trek in le Beaufortain in complete autonomy and were fortunate to have gorgeous weather all the way. I do not regret carrying the weight of my camera: every view was breathtaking.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Sete Harbor II

Same location as last post, in square formats.

 
 

 
 
 
 
 

Sete Harbor I

Unless you experience it, you can only understand the power of an ocean storm with what man makes to protect a harbor. My brother, some friends and I went underwater hunting behind the dam of Sete's harbor, on the Mediterranean shore not far for Spain. Cubes of concrete form a massive modern art functional installation, backed up by huge wall. Very industrial and human at the same time, with many locals enjoying their sunday at the "beach".

Riding a glider

Fayence is a renowned place for gliders, open 365 days a year. The hilly surroundings provide upward air currents that lift the plane after it's dropped. Some go from there up to the Mont Blanc, the highest point of the Alps. We did a 25 min ride above the villages around.

The plane: so light it feels like your sitting on air.

The gauges are very simple too: how high, how fast, and how much altitude you gaining or loosing - no gas gauge.

You do have to wear a parachute and remember to pull this if needed.

My pilot and the plane pulling us.

Once the cable is dropped, total freedom.

The roofs from higher

My last post was about the roofs typical of the villages perches. I took my camera in a glider for aerial photos of these villages and their surroundings. The first one is Tourrettes and the second, Callian. The next post will be on the plane ride itself.

 
 
 
 

The roofs of Fayence

The roofs of Fayence are a trademark of the "perched villages" of the south of France. These villages are built high on the hills to be easy to defend. All the houses rely on each other forming all kind of paterns.