Italy Road Trip: Les Sucettes de Borne

The weather is a tad gloomy this morning but hoping for a good day up early to make tea and shower before going to the campsite reception for my morning conversation with Mademoiselle Le Pain. I ask her how she is, she replies well and asks how I am and then I ask for my bread and croissant and order tomorrow's. We then wish each other a good day and off I go. Mon Francais knows no bounds mes amis!!! ;-)
After breakfast enjoyed a conversation with the French cyclists on the site who were leaving early as the weather is so poor. We are now about to set off for Les Sucettes de Borne. The Sucettes are gigantic, elegant slivers of rock jutting up from the valley sides. They were formed aeons ago when differing layers of sediment were laid down on the ocean floor. When continents collided and the Alps formed the horizontal layers were folded Nd became vertical. Over millenia the softer layers were eroded away to leave the Sucettes standing proud.
In order to reach Les Sucettes we first had to drive through the Gorges des Gats, a narrow defile cut through the limestone rock by the river. At times the road is overhung by the rock walls or passes through tunnels. Waterfalls and side canyons flow in. Once through the gorge the road climbs up to the tiny hamlet of Borne with the car park just beyond. Then follows a delightful walk of 2.5km through delightful mixed woodland with the river noisily in the valley below and rock walls towering above. The suggested time for this walk is 40 minutes but that is not timed for the naturalist photographer!! At the beginning of the walk we passed through a meadow full of Poet's Narcissus or Pheasant's Eye. Also in abundance were plentiful numbers of lilies and orchids, unidentified as they are yet to one into flower. In a few days/weeks they will be fabulous. Although the weather had been overcast, to say the least, to this point, as we neared the Sucettes the clouds began to clear and the sun appeared. The walk had been worth it as the rock formations were amazing. The walk down was somewhat quicker, although I did get distracted by attempting the definitive trumpet gentian photograph. Beautiful they are, but just as difficult to photograph. The trouble with macro photography is that at a distance a flower/insect looks perfect, but through the lens at 1:1 every imperfection shows and that's without the problem of getting the exposure and focus spot on. And then there's low light levels, breezes, and ......where's the razor blade!! ;-)
Once back to the car it was time for lunch in the sun. It was only as we were packing up the I resized we had been sitting next to a burnt tip orchid; another photo opportunity.
Lunch concluded we pottered back down to Chatillon and then on to Die to buy the case of Clairette from the Jaillance cave. A potter round the lovely old town revealed no more life than our last visit, although we enjoyed yet another coffee in Cafe Voltaire. On our way back to the site the evening light was wonderful and I couldn't resist a drive up into the vineyards for some photography. Set attractively amongst the vines are wonderful buildings/workshops, agaIn built of the warm local limestone. Some of the vines are on ancient root stock, others recently planted, but on all, the new growth is fresh and brilliantly green with the tiniest fruit just beginning to form. I would love to be here in Autumn to photograph the back end colours.
All too soon it was time to return to cook dinner; pasta with fresh local asparagus and pesto with parmesan bought in Umbria.