Hiking and Kayaking in Cassis

Sunset on the Med at the Port of Cassis

Port Miou

Our perception of the environment we travel through has much to do with our chosen mode of transportation. When leaving the Dordogne Valley we traveled by bus (since the rail station was unexpectedly closed we traveled more specifically by school bus) on a road that wound its way along the same stretch of river we had been paddling. From this view higher up the valley wall, the river appeared surrounded by houses and very much domestic and boring, but the river we knew from the kayak was just the opposite. We rarely saw houses from the river and when we did they were large, chateau’s built upon hilltops and ridgelines. The river we experienced was wild and appeared much the same as it has for eons, a clear waterway teaming with fish and very few people outside the villages. The two different perspectives are both correct, the river is at once remote and pristine and surrounded by farms, only the viewers perspective changed. I prefer the river we knew intimately, full of fish that alternated pebbled bottoms and limestone cliffs above and below the water line. All too often we rush from one place to the next and forget that the journey in between really grounds our perspective. My misfortune of getting pick pocketed in the Paris Metro threw our travels plans into chaos and caused us to miss the “highlights” of our journey, but we experienced many more different and equally important moments as a result.

Hiking the Calanques

 From the Perigord Region we traveled south to the Corte de Azure (blue coast) to get my passport
replaced at the Marseille consulate or suffer Paris again. We had originally planned on skipping the bustle of Marseille but now we had to spend a day in the town and far from expectations, it was quite enjoyable. We took in the fish markets on the docks, the citadel overlooking the harbor and even managed to convince my wife to buy some clothes. Truth be told, our closet is 75% mine and getting her to buy clothes is an accomplishment. Marseille is a large port city that has a reputation for being rough (and is deserved). After we left the consulate with my temporary passport, several hundred demonstrators were gathering down the street at a government building, which was being defended by riot police in batman like armor. Whatever was going to happen hadn’t begun but was heating up and the police brought in another 15 vehicles including armored personal carriers. We didn’t let curiosity get the better of us and headed out of town and back the sleepy village of Cassis. In the train station, police and military personnel with rifles were stationed everywhere and detaining young men. Several people exited trains to be only be detained by police soldiers, some were interrogated on the spot and others subdued and taken away. Heads down, cameras stowed, we found our commuter train and got out of Dodge while the getting was good.

Main beach in Cassis

Arriving back in Cassis felt like coming home, the crescent shaped village spread out below the train
station begins at the water line and crawls up the slopes where vineyards replace houses. Cassis is a
small port that has existed for millenia because of the limestone rich cliffs and Calanques (small fjiord) that make natural harbors. Limestone could be quarried and loaded directly to the ships in the protected waters cutting out the laborious overland transportation. Shipwrecks from before Christ litter the bottom of the Calanques with goods from all points of the Mediterranean trade routes, the local museum houses many of these treasures and maritime artifacts and is worth a visit. These white cliffs draw the tourist hordes in Cassis at 10am and they head strait for the waiting boats to take them on a calanque tour which is shorter than a French lunch date and they can check that off their list of places visited. We approached it with our usual zest for activity in warm weather, slow, human powered locomotion.

Our fist venture out was to hike the first two calanques, and get a bird’s eye view of Cassis. The first
calanque is Port Miou which has served as a natural harbor for at least 2000 years and is still home to
many small craft. Port Pin is next and does not have any permanent anchorages but many boats lie to in designated spaces for transient craft. These calanque walls range from 100 to about 300 feet tall and are the Mediterranean as I always envision it. White cliffs dotted with ancient pines twisted by the constant winds that combine the scent of pine and ocean to produce a scent that causes one to instantly become content and unhurried. We did our best to honor this region’s lethargy with lunch picnics and regional red and white wines to accompany our outings.

Launching the Super Lynx at Port Miou

Our swimming hole and favorite picnic spot.

Side street bakery in Cassis

Dinner in Cassis

 To gain further appreciation we put our kayak together and ventured out from Port Miou to explore
the region by sea. The Aire Super lynx was lightly loaded and performed like a champ even in heavy
wake from the cursed floating cattle cars full of tourists. Our perspective of the calanques was of quiet beauty, with clear waters containing clouds of sardines and limestone cliffs that disappeared into azure waters. Caves dot the waterline and coves provided our kayak with perfect spots for resting our arms and straining our necks. The only difficulty was trying not to get vertigo looking straight up from the kayak to the top of the cliffs more than 500 feet above us. We lunched on the beach at En Vau followed by a swim and resting before heading back to Cassis at a leisurely pace in the sun. We landed on the main beach near the port to rinse the salt water off everything and enjoy a cold beer while drying everything out in the sun.

Our days in Cassis followed much the same pattern, early morning breakfast at an open air café, picnic lunch on the beach or cliffs then afternoon naps on the beach. Can you explore Cassis in a day….yes, if you have too. But, to rush a sleepy village that has rebuilt itself time and again through the ages is to commit heresy. What would your perspective be: tour bus, packed boat, visit a shop or two along the water front and finally hustle out of town. Yes, we live in a busy world where you can take around the world tours on private jets and “see” the worlds wonders in a week, but what does that add to your life other than to say “I’ve been there”. That is it, you’ve been there, check it off the list. Travel should be about the experience and being apart of a place, not just a check list.

Typical French Breakfast

Cassis streets leading down to the Port