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Lavender

We passed the 45th parallel the other day. It didn’t mean much to me. Hardly momentous like crossing the Tropics. I don’t even have a pic as there was no warning. One moment we were in the 45s and suddenly we found ourselves in the 44s. I wonder why the decision was made to erect a roadside sign?

The trip history is provided by our vehicle tracker; it’s not a planner but it does record every twist and turn as well as speed and periods of start/stop.



We do know our latitudes and longitudes because they are what we enter to OsmAnd maps when we have a specific place to mark, particularly campsite location coordinates,  Lat and Long are easier as they are unique and there’s no search results to sift through.

OsmAnd maps are a great hit on this trip, now we have a proper gps fix on the iPad. The detail they provide is great, everything is shown, including contours and terrain colouring / shading. The fact that they are downloaded once and then the system runs offline is even better. All that’s missing is traffic but that would take them online anyway.

GPX tracks can be imported and exported and that can help with route planning. This is a track imported from a motorcycle touring site. We are on that route at the moment and probably going to follow it north up the eastern flank.



Here’s another of the many map types that are available on OsmAnd maps. The start of the route from Villard-Raymond to Bourg is shown as a dash black line.





Unfortunately for the Dutch athletes and their preparation for 5/6, it is raining more and more in Savoie and even further south. This is a map of recent lightening strikes; the newest are white.

We are making a  dash for Provence and manage to get to the high plateau east of Aix where the lavender is approaching the flowering stage.

Here we spend two nights and have the ‘laziest’ of days, sitting in the sun and shade and swimming in the small but pleasant campsite pool.





We do some machine washing (rather than hand washing) of most clothes that have been worn in the last two weeks. It’s a big washer that swallows it all and we could have done some for the Germans but we didn’t let on  €6 and 40* wash and just 40 minutes later it’s done and I’m wondering how to get it back to the pitch. A 35 litre Really Useful Box does the trick.

I then spend quality time trying and succeeding to get it all pegged out but just as  I finish, some nice Germans from Paderborn ask if I want to borrow their airer. Such bad timing.

Camping Les Lavandes in Valensole has just upped the rates because June is peak visitor season. It’s a bit of bad timing for us as the fields are showing only a hint of purple this week.




We strike up a chat with Germans next door who are driving a VW Caravelle with a lifting roof that is old and sounds air cooled but isn’t. So I’m at a loss to know much about it. They are from near Frankfurt and only away for two weeks with similar plans to ours, keep away from rain. They are a little more drastic and are on the move tomorrow to Italy.

It’s just as well that we have seen lavender in full purpleness before as we would have been disappointed to miss it. As it is, we get constant reminders of its smell, as when walking around the little town you come across it everywhere. Lavender based items are clearly the main product on the shelves.

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