words + pictures by Ellen Barone
Sometime after the 15,000 – 17,000 year-old cave paintings, right before the black truffle walnuts, my feet quit hurting. I lift my eyes to see the beauty of the view before me; an ancient landscape of imposing castles, lush farmland and cliffside villages that make the Dordogne one of France’s most inspiring regions. In the distance, the Dordogne River curves gently around a bend beneath a mist-shrouded château, then out of sight.
My sister, Kathy, and I snap photo after photo as we walk a centuries-old trail, through fields of drying corn and a backdrop of prehistoric caves and limestone cliffs, toward the village of La Roque Gageac, our base for the next two nights. Late afternoon honey hued light bathes the overhanging cliffs, home to human occupation some 400,000 years back to the days of the Neanderthals. It’s been a twelve-mile day, our third, and my body is thriving on a menu of sunshine, fresh air and physical exertion. It is for exactly this that we have chosen a walking vacation.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
I’m just back from a walking tour in Provence with The Wayfarers and am still savoring the magical moments and remain bedazzled by all that I saw, ate and experienced.
The trip was chock-a-block with Impressionist landscapes of gnarled olive trees, endless horizons of bright orange poppies and vineyard rows, the wonderful, warm and sometimes irascible characters made famous by Peter Mayle’s books, picture-perfect hilltop villages, and of course, the famed Provençal cuisine.
There were eight of us: an affable group of outdoorsy, inquisitive Americans ranging in age from 40ish to 70-something. We spent our days rambling down sleepy rural tracks, shaded forest trails and ancient village streets, chatting with friendly farmers and locals, and lingering over delicious café lunches.
A walk with The Wayfarers falls into my new favorite category of travel, “luxury adventure.” Which is to say that, après hike, we got to take a relaxing bath, enjoy a gourmet dinner, drink fine French wine and sleep in the comfort of a luxury hotel. Life was good!
Hard to capture the complexity, the camaraderie, and the richness of a week spent walking through an aromatic landscape of flowering broom and wild herbs, attuning my ear to the melodious lilt of Provençal French and falling under the spell of flattering Frenchmen in a single blog, but suffice it to say, I’m already dreaming about the next trip….Tuscany, 2009 anyone?
P.S. Click here for photos.
For More Information: The Wayfarers (800-249-4620; www.thewayfarers.com). Walking vacations include six to twelve nights in luxury accommodations and characteristic country inns & hotels, all meals (including wine with dinner) and on-trail snacks and refreshments, gratuities at hotels and restaurants, full-time services of both a walk leader and manager, support vehicle and all transfers (ferries, taxis, trains, etc.) as specified. Walking vacations range from $1,950 to $4,995 per person, double occupancy.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".