Mimosas on the Massif d'Esterel

 

One of the "things not to be missed" we missed last year was seeing the Massif d’Esterel with the mimosas (scientific explanation of the word: pretty yellow flower) in bloom.

So we figured this glorious, sunny Sunday was as good a day as any for it. So off we set from Theoule-sur-Mer to explore the heights of the Esterel. We ended up doing quite a marathon walk actually. The first leg of our walk took us past a group of energetic pensioners to the Rocher des Monges, at a height of 300 meters. The view over the Cote d’Azur was well worth the climb…


After enjoying the views for a while, we trekked past Col du Trayas to Col de Theoule, where we had a brief picnic lunch (home-prepared sandwiches followed by apples and mandarins - yummie). Our journey then continued to a curious monument called Notre-Dame de l’Afrique (it commemorates French soldiers who died whilst fighting in Algeria).


The original plan was to then head back to Theoule, but since the sky was still blue and the sun was shining, we decided to press on to Pointe de l’Esquillion, south of Theoule. The walk took us past some "Cote d'Azurey" style over the top villa, at the end of which we were once more rewarded by a stunning panorama over the coast-line.

We then finished what turned out to be a 5-hour hike by trekking back along the coastline to Theoule-sur-Mer. What a nice trek it was! And yes – we saw plenty of mimosas in bloom as well!