Hi, how are you?

Hello and greetings to all readers 😉

We are reporting here and now live from the land of crispy baguettes. Welcome to France!

Italy is already history. In exactly three weeks, we have traveled through the country from the southern boot at Lecce along the west coast to the southernmost border crossing to France at Ponte San Ludovico. Last week, we met our friends Katja and Sandra, also known as Frau and Frau Perler. Together, we spent three nights at the Aquadolce campsite in Levanto, a village just before the five villages of the famous Cinque Terre.

We had a super great and fun time with both of them. Sandra's organizational skills even managed to get our campers parked right next to each other. On the day of arrival, we had a splash in the beach. Finally, there were some bigger waves here, and Sarah and I had to giggle every time they crashed over us. In the evening, we had delicious grilled food that Katja and Sandra conjured up on their Lotus grill. On the second day, we hiked from Levanto to the first village of Cinque Terre - Monterosso al mare - in just over three hours. The hike mostly led along a narrow path that meandered around the hills above the coast and offered many beautiful views of the sea, the cliffs, and the surrounding villages. In Monterosso, we had a large plate of fried seafood and the return ticket for the train to Levanto. For dinner, we ordered pizza from the campsite's restaurant.

The third day was more relaxed. We taught the two of them the card game Exploding Kittens. Afterwards, shopping, toilet disposal, cleaning and similar tasks were on the agenda. In the evening, we had dinner at the restaurant on the campsite.

On the fourth and last day in Levanto, we had breakfast together, and then our paths separated again. The Perlers headed home, back to work, and we continued north. Our destination was a remote parking lot above Camogli, just an hour's drive away. Of course, we found the parking lot on our campsite app park4night.

It was indeed very remote, surrounded by nature, and the starting point for many hiking trails. When we arrived, it was drizzling lightly and a slight fog was rolling in. Perfect weather for some nice photos. I put on my rain jacket and set off into the forest with Filou, while Sarah stayed in the campervan and watched the last episodes of Elite on Netflix (super exciting series, by the way!).

Soon, the light drizzle turned into pouring rain. Not me, but Filou found a spot below the trees where the leaves and branches were so dense that one could stay relatively dry. We huddled there for about half an hour doing nothing but listening to the rain and watching the fog thicken. After a while, the rain subsided, and we headed back. No soul in sight, just me and Filou in the thickets of the forest. White mist hung between the trees and firs, and apart from the occasional chirping of birds and rustling of leaves in the undergrowth, there was absolute silence. No cars, no airplanes, no voices. A feeling of homesickness - or wanderlust - came over me. I'm not really sure. In any case, I was transported back to the time - seven years ago now - when I experienced the Appalachian Trail in the USA. 1,000 kilometers on foot through the wilderness of the Appalachians. Days without civilization. Just me, my colleague, and our backpacks with tent, sleeping bag, and stove. Ahead of us: a over 3,000 kilometer long hiking trail. With nostalgia, I reminisced about this adventure. And there was also a bit of anticipation, because Sarah has mentioned several times now that she would like to do something like that too. Therefore, we have been considering making a detour to the USA at the end of our camper trip in Europe and hike on either the Appalachian Trail on the east coast or the Pacific Crest Trail on the west coast for a while. But let's see what else our journey has in store for us.

In the evening, we were the only ones at the parking lot. Just before midnight, a car suddenly drove up, parked nearby, and nobody got out. Creepy. It should be noted that the last two kilometers lead through a narrow, winding forest road and there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING up here. Except for two women alone in a camper. And a few hundred meters away, an abandoned hotel. Unpleasant scenes from various horror films came to mind. We turned off the light in the camper and stared at the vehicle for minutes. Then we got our headlamp and baseball bat ready and stared at the car again. Nothing moved. Then we checked our campsite app again and read the comments about this place. Ah, clear. It said that the place is very well known for lovers and it seems to be not uncommon for a car to pass by in the middle of the night. Half an hour later, the car drove off and another one came. During the whole night, four or five cars came and went.

The next day. From our parking lot - very close to the abandoned Hotel Kulm Portofino - we took a three-hour circular hike. We had perfect autumn weather; it was pleasantly cool (I think we were above 1000 meters above sea level), but the exercise made us warm enough to hike with short sleeves without any problem. We had chosen a super beautiful trail - it led past beautiful viewpoints on the edge of the forest, from where you could see the sea and the nearby city of Genoa in the distance, but it also led into the thickets, where we felt like we were in the Forbidden Forest of Hogwarts. The trail passed by San Rocco, a small, old village overlooking Camogli further below. We had kebab there - in reality, it was more like fajitas. Either way - it was delicious.

The next day, we continued driving. We needed a shower again, so we headed to a motorway rest area from ChefExpress, where we had showered last time. Again, we could shower for free and even refill our water tanks for free. At a shopping center, we stocked up on food for three days. We continued, crossing the border into France, passing Monaco, Nice, and Cannes, and then making a detour inland to the Parc Naturel régional du Verdon. A winding road took us higher and higher. I was driving, Sarah was sitting in the passenger seat, clinging on nervously - just a few meters next to her, it went steeply and long downhill. Eventually, we reached our spot, which we had spotted on our campsite app. A natural parking lot, a kind of flat plateau. Surrounded by nature, mountains, and forests. There were still two or three cars there, but they gradually left - probably hikers or mushroom pickers.

During the night, the wind was so strong that our camper was shaking. Not very pleasant.

The next day, we went on a 5.5-hour circular hike. First following the footsteps of an old Roman road, then climbing a mountain to an observatory, then following a flat mountain ridge, and finally descending back into the valley. Unfortunately, all the restaurants along the way were closed, so we had no choice but to eat the tuna from the can that we had packed as a precaution. Along the way, we only encountered a few locals, and every now and then, we heard the rustling of a mushroom picker from the depths of the forest. Not a single tourist in sight.

After the 5.5 hours, we were exhausted. Filou immediately fell asleep - see the picture where he is lying on the gravel - and we quickly cooked a large portion of Cinqui Pi because we were damn hungry. And for the first time in two months of traveling, I felt like I had stepped out of my comfort zone.

The next day, we continued further into the nature park to Castellane. During the 90-minute drive, we didn't have a single car in front of or behind us. The drive took us through beautiful landscapes; at times it looked like the Jura Mountains with its limestone rocks, then like the Grison Alps with its mountain regions, then again like the Entlebuch with its lush, wide meadows. Along the way, there were numerous places where you could easily wild camp. However, we needed a shower again, and I wanted to have access to electricity for a while to be able to write without constantly worrying about the charge of our auxiliary battery. Therefore, we headed to a parking area outside of Castellane.

Castellane itself is a sweet, small - for the area rather large - town with a small old town, a few restaurants, a gas station, and everything else you need. In a restaurant, we ordered a flammkuchen to share and then drove another two or three kilometers to the aforementioned parking area. It was beautifully nestled in the natural landscape but there were no showers, toilets, or drinking water. However, there was electricity and unofficial drinking water. The owner said that the regulations regarding drinking water in France are very strict and the effort to comply with them is very high. Therefore, she labeled her drinking water as eau non portable, but actually you can drink it. Just to be on the safe side, we poured some of our water disinfectant from Katadyn into the water tank. 24 hours here cost 11 euros, including electricity, no matter how many people are staying. Super cheap if you have your own toilet and don't urgently need a shower. But we would have actually needed one, after all, we hiked all day yesterday. Then it suddenly occurred to us that we have a shower with us - a bag with a hose. We tried it out - for the first time - and it worked perfectly.

Our next major destination is Avignon, either this Friday or Saturday. We will pick up Sarah's colleague there, who is coming to visit us for a week, and drive with her to Vaison la Romaine, where my godmother and godfather are and have a cozy vacation home. Sarah and her colleague will stay until Tuesday, then the two of them will drive to Marseille, and I can work on my distance learning in peace until Friday. Then Sarah will come back to Vaison, and then we'll see if we continue directly or maybe stay there for a few more days.

So, that's it for now, and now a little call to friends and family: We will most likely be in Portugal for Christmas, New Year, and January, but we don't have any plans yet. If any of you have vacation or want to celebrate the new year with us (maybe in an Airbnb on the beach?), please let us know! 😊

By the way, today is the publication of the first of my two articles for TCS. For those who are interested in what you need to consider when planning a long-term camper trip, it's worth taking a look. You can find the article at the following link: https://www.tcs.ch/de/camping-reisen/camping-insider/ratgeber/reisevorbereitung/langzeitreise-mit-dem-camper-planen.php

Until next time!

Author: Stephanie Köllinger