Day 11 Ile de Porquerolles, and island that is part of France
Today was an unexpectedly excellent day, as unfortunate as it actually was. I had no hopes for this stop and assumed it would be another relaxing, do nothing, boat day. Wifey felt the same way. After breakfast we decided to take the obligatory boat ride to the island so we can at least say we set foot on the land. As soon as our tender docked Wifey started feeling not so good. She wanted to head back almost immediately. She gave me the permission to stay longer if I wanted. One thing I noticed right away was that the bike rental shops had decent looking Trek and Specialized bikes with hydraulic disc breaks and front shocks. I checked the geocache machine and there were three on the island, at all the corners except the one we were dropped off at. With her permission I got her back to the tender, hired a bike for the day, and proceeded to commence my (unfortunate) solo geocache island adventure of the day. There was a reason the rental joints had decent bikes, the entire island is nothing but awesome biking and hiking trails! Everybody was either walking or biking with their family, picnic baskets, baguettes, towels, blankets, no bikini tops, and wine. Destination…all points of the island to relax on one of the many beaches. Inside of the outer road that circumferenced the island was a ton of legitimate biking trails. I could not believe it. I was legitimately riding decent bike trails in the middle of the French Riviera on some unheard of (by me) island. It was such an unexpected treat. It could have only gotten better if there was a hidden snow covered mountain with a lift that rides to the top. This island defines what I expected to see in the Riviera. Gorgeous views off the coast into the sea, people relaxing and enjoying life, and boats everywhere.
I ended up finding all three geocaches that are on this island. Once again thank you geocaching. I saw places I never would have been if it were not for this activity. At three different times today I was on the top of an ancient fortress. Each fortification was a stronghold for looking out into the sea from the edge of the island. Originally used for keeping a look out for pirates and other ne’er do wells. They were located on three of the four corners of this island. As sad as I am that Wifey was not 100%, I had an amazing time.
Tonight is the last night on the boat. Time to pack up, say our good byes and get ready to spend a couple nights in Monte Carlo. Hopefully they let me in and once there hopefully I find a way to rock it James bond style! I am so self-conscious around these hoytie toytie peeps that I bought a pair of five euro black shoes to wear to dinners. I never thought I would fall victim to such an act. I actually almost shaved too. The shoes are definitely getting left behind as an act of protest.
A select few photos here.
