Cassis and a boat trip to the callanques - a must do!

Today we were up bright and early to catch the 9.15am bus to Cassis - we made it easy!!!! It is certainly easier when it is the 2nd time and you know where the bus stop is. Loki has such a good memory got us out the right exit right by the bus stop. (There are about 8 exits at the metro so well done Loki). 

The bus ride and views over to cassis are spectacular.........it is my third trip (once by car and twice by bus) and the views still amaze. 

Our plan was to catch the 9.15am bus so that we could catch an earlier bus back to Marseille...............opps - re the bus back, there is no bus back between 12 noon and 5.15pm - oh well, 5.15pm it is!

As soon as we arrived we booked our tickets for the boat trip out to explore the calanques.  We chose to visit 8 calanques and within 10 minutes we were off.................wahoo

For those of you who havn't been to Marseille and don't know what on earth we are visiting - A calanque is a narrow, steep-walled inlet that is developed in limestone, dolomite, or other carbonate strata and found along the Mediterranean coast, particularly between Marseille and Cassis.  Karl, I and the boys have walked to a couple but were very keen to see them from the water.

First off we headed out of the beautiful harbour of Cassis and past some pretty cool houses - 

Loki, Karl, Cathryn and Clarke on the boat and ready for action -  

Bye Cassis - see you in a couple of houses (we are loving the colours of all the houses in town) 

The colour of the water is just amazing - so beautiful and inviting and I could live in that house - 

Or this house - 

Pretty soon we were at our first calanque - 

Port-Miou calanque (which is the one pictured in the post of me, mum and the boys on the tourist train), witch means in Provençal is well sheltered from the wind. On the right-hand side, and secluded by pine trees, lies the chapel of Notre Dame, witch was constructed in 1649 in order to give thanks for having survived the plague. 

From here you can begin the GR 98, a cross-country footpath witch follows the coast and the creeks as far as Marseille, witch is about a 12km hike away - mmmm, no thanks! 

Approximately 500 small boats moor here all year long. It is the longest creek in the area measuring 1.6km in length. There is a quarry which you could see which opened in 1901 and finally closed in 1981. It's stone-blocks were used to construct different Mediterranean ports such as Alger, the Suez Canal, among many others..... and the plinth of the Statue of Liberty in New York!

The next calanque we saw was at Cacau point, witch means warm in Provençal. Port pin, it is named after the Alep pine trees that grow between rocks and require very little soil to survive.

The third callanque, En Vau, witch means in the valley, in old French. It is a pearl of the creeks according to many and the water is stunning.  This is one that you can walk to and swim at and it looks amazing - It is also known as the meeting place for climbers from all over the world 

 

Hanging out on the boat with my little guys -

Bub and Connor out the front - getting the best views and looking for fish.................and seeing some 

Chilling out - checking out the calanques and the water

Connor and Bub just chilling and enjoying their experiences together .

Next we were off to L'Ule - a calanque whose entrance is barely visible.........the passage between the rocks ends at a deep round bowl and its name is derived from the word "cauldron" because whenever there is stormy weather, the water seems to boil!

Look close - yes this is the entrance to this particular calanque -

Boys being boys -

Next we were off to Devenson calanque bounded by a circular cliff 150 metres high and dedicated to the god of winds.

Next were were at L'Oeil de verre calanque and at the top of this cliff you can see a big round black eye shape. It is actually a crystalline stone reflecting the setting sun-rays like the sparkle of an eye

Next we were off to Sugiton Calanque - this was one of the first places for naturists in France -

 I didn't see any naturists today

And the last calanque is Morgiou.  This calanque is a typical fishing port with small pleasure craft.  Around the port are situated Marseille-style fisherman's cabanons.  

A little gappy Connor -

Time to head back to Cassis for lunch, some shopping and a nice swim.................................................

and on the way we saw a shark fin -  not so sure about swimming now..........

Then more cliffs = 

The calanques were certainly beautiful - and what a great day to be on the water and sharing the experience with family - perfect!

The cute hubby -

On the way back in there is the boat petrol station - quite cool!

Time for a swim in the Mediterranean as apparently the sharks stay out of the swimming areas - beautiful!

The boys play dumping games.............while I try and stay out of the way! 

The boys were super keen to hire a pedal boat - Karl and I were not keen and the boys then moved on to Uncle Clarke and Cathryn - and here they are - they found a keen and willing participant and had a great time - thanks Cathryn! 

These boats were really cool and had a slide off the back - perfect!

The boys were loving it -

What a great day - fun had by all.  Now it was time to head back to Marseille to get ready for a night out.  Clarke and Cathryn are taking us out for dinner and we were off to a traditional French restaurant - great food, great company and great wine - what more could we want.