Vive le pain au chocolat!

Cap d’Antibes - Antibes - St. Tropez - Île de Porquerolles

We have been spending the time since we left Imperia two weeks ago on the Côte d’Azur. The summer holidays are still ongoing in France until September 1st and many people ride water skis, fast boats, or other fun companions. Luckily we have always found a reasonably quiet corner to anchor somewhere.

The cape at Antibes is very worthwhile with a pretty path along the barren rocks, we spent two nights at anchor there. We surfed to the beach with our new SUP and the girls splashed around like crazy. Unfortunately, at the Cap d’Antibes there was a lot of jellyfish. Alas, these are very common in the Mediterranean due to over-fishing and very warm water temperatures in recent years. On the beach, they are collected by hand or kept away from the bathing area with nets. Unfortunately, one caught Silvio while diving and now there is a burn mark across his back.

Then we are off Antibes for another two nights, where we explore the port, the pretty old town, the playgrounds, and the Picasso museum.

Our next destination is Fréjus. But when we arrived, the bay then scared us off with even more water skis and power boats whizzing around our ears. So we sailed straight to St. Tropez and anchored off Maleribes in the Gulf of St. Tropez for three nights. With the dinghy, we were drawn to the tranquil port of Port Grimaud on a discovery tour. Originally we wanted to go to the ‘Bonbon du Pirate’, which we discovered on Google Maps. It is a (very touristy) port á la Venice in a river delta, where a ship is moored in front of every house. Mirabella was moored there until 2014 when André bought her.

One evening later we are drawn to this port again, to moor directly to the wall of a Neapolitan pizzeria to feast on the finest pizza at a table right by the water. 🍕

After a short trip to St. Tropez, including the obligatory pain au chocolat, we headed towards Ile d’Hyères. After a great day of sailing, we dropped the anchor on the sandy bottom in front of the beach ‘Notre Dame’ in the north of Île de Porquerolles, exhausted but happy. The beautiful beach in the national park is only a few strokes of rowing from Mirabella. Since this is a nature reserve, using the engine to the beach is not allowed. Well frequented during the day thanks to ferries, in the evening the beach is almost ours alone. The ice cream ’truck’ swims by here and we’re happy to call it! 🍦

The next day we set off on foot from a small beach to explore the ruins of an old artillery fort ‘Batterie des Mèdes’ and the beautiful rocky cape in the northeast of the island.

Four weeks after our departure, we can say that we have arrived at our new home. Checking the weather, putting on life jackets, keeping an eye out for exciting things and places, doing handicrafts, playing, painting and cooking, the days always end far too quickly. Let’s see what else this island has to offer until we find a favorable weather window for our first long passage to Menorca.