{"id":5902,"date":"2025-11-22T11:57:28","date_gmt":"2025-11-22T09:57:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kommt-zeit-kommt-rad.ch\/finally-out-of-marseille-along-the-coast-to-the-pyrenees\/"},"modified":"2025-11-22T12:11:32","modified_gmt":"2025-11-22T10:11:32","slug":"finally-out-of-marseille-along-the-coast-to-the-pyrenees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kommt-zeit-kommt-rad.ch\/en\/finally-out-of-marseille-along-the-coast-to-the-pyrenees\/","title":{"rendered":"Finally out of Marseille \u2013 along the coast to the Pyrenees"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Route to the blog:<\/p>\n\n

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Finally moving on, finally checking out of our 12 m\u00b2 hotel room, getting out on our beloved bikes, heading south along the coast. Still feeling a little cautious after the flu, we don’t set ourselves too ambitious a goal for the day. After just a few kilometers, things finally quiet down again \u2013 Marseille is an extremely loud and dirty city! The smells of dog poop and urine are replaced by fresh sea air and Proven\u00e7al herbs \u2013 yes, they really do grow everywhere in Provence \ud83d\ude05. Due to the long enforced break, it felt as if we were setting off on our big adventure all over again.<\/p>\n\n

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Beautiful beach with a view of Marseille<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Let’s get started with gravel \ud83d\udcaa\ud83c\udffb<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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But it’s worth it for the peace and quiet!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n

The climate along the coast feels very dry: lots of pine trees, the first cacti, and clay or sandy soil. So on our first beautiful wild-camping spot just outside the city, we thought: We\u2019ll definitely have a quiet night here \u2013 there surely aren\u2019t any animals around. Not even 20 minutes after crawling into the tent, Nicole said after a strange noise: \u201cWas that a pig!?\u201dBeni: \u201cNo, in this dry region without water and without mud for wallowing, there are definitely no pigs. That was surely a motocross bike accelerating.\u201dSo we decided to lie back down and sleep.Beni: \u201cShit, I heard it too now \ud83d\ude48\ud83d\udc17!\u201dThis time we were properly startled \u2013 and apparently the pig was as well. When we jumped out of the tent, we only saw it running away. Wait a minute: right behind our tent stood a trough filled with water. That wasn\u2019t there by chance \u2013 someone waters their pigs here \ud83d\ude02. And we were clever enough to pitch our tent right in front of it. No wonder the pig came so close. Luckily, for this trip we had chosen a smaller, freestanding tent (Durston X-Dom 2). It was easy to just carry it a few metres away. Now the pig could drink in peace and we could sleep in peace.Unfortunately, these nightly encounters repeated themselves over the next two days. On the second night, we unknowingly camped between oak trees, whose acorns are used as feed for the wild Iberico pigs \u2013 the very acorns that later give their meat the typical nutty flavour. But by then we didn\u2019t care about the pigs\u2019 grunting anymore \u2013 they don\u2019t do anything as long as you don\u2019t get in their way. But when we suddenly heard our bike fall over, we were instantly wide awake and outside in a flash. A nearly tame fox had apparently smelled our leftover pizza in the food bag. Luckily, we noticed it in time, because he had already bitten through a bungee cord and dragged our backpack a few metres away. The fox simply wouldn\u2019t leave, so that night wasn\u2019t exactly restful either.On the third evening, we already saw tracks in the mud, but we still got a fright when the pig splashed loudly into the creek right next to our tent as it jumped in to cross it.Then the nightly haunting was finally over. The path led us further towards the \u201cRegional Nature Park Camargue.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

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Now the tent is at a safe distance from the trough.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Not only herbs can be found at the roadside, but also trash from Provence\u2014what a shame!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Among the oak trees for the Iberico pigs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The troublemaker…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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…who tried to steal our backpack.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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So far, our only minutes of rain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The ferry across the Rh\u00f4ne also marks the beginning of the Camargue Nature Park.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The Camargue is located in the vast Rh\u00f4ne Delta, where the mighty river divides into several branches and forms a unique landscape of water, salt, and fertile alluvial soil. Wide plains, shallow salt lakes, wild lagoons, and countless birds characterize this area. Dozens of flamingos stood in the shallow water as if they had been placed there especially for us. The mixture of sea, marsh, and dry plains gives the Camargue a very special atmosphere. <\/p>\n\n

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November 2, 2025<\/strong>: Our plan was actually to spend the night at the campsite in Salin-de-Giraud. We had strong headwinds, were tired, and gusts of up to 50 km\/h were forecast for the next day. However, when we arrived, we discovered that the campsite was closing for the winter season, starting today of all days.When we looked for alternatives on Google Maps, we quickly realized that this was not the exception, but rather the rule. So we scrapped our plan and struggled a few more kilometers against the wind to find a suitable place to camp in the wild.Although we set off early the next morning, the 50 km\/h gusts soon made themselves felt. At least we had found a campsite in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer that was still open. There we found a wind-protected camping spot \u2013 and after the last few days, a shower was urgently needed! <\/p>\n\n

It’s Beni’s birthday, and fittingly, the wind has changed direction and the sun is shining down on us all day long. Celebrating a birthday on a long journey is something special. You’re happy, but there are limits to how you can really celebrate. We wanted to treat ourselves to a nice dinner anyway. But reality had other plans: contrary to the opening hours listed on Google, most restaurants were already in hibernation.After all the restaurants we tried were locked and it was slowly getting dark outside, we gave up. We sat down on a lit bench in front of a cemetery and instead of a delicious leg of lamb, we had pasta with broccoli and coconut milk \ud83e\udd2a \u2013 it wasn’t so bad! Suddenly, Anika rode her bike out of the darkness toward us. She was also looking for a place to eat her dinner and stopped out of curiosity. So Beni unexpectedly got some more company on his birthday after all\u2014and we spent the evening having exciting conversations about traveling, experiences, and new plans. <\/p>\n\n

After dinner, the three of us pushed our bikes to a nearby park, pitched our tents, and went to sleep. It was a somewhat different birthday, but definitely one that we won’t forget anytime soon. <\/p>\n\n

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Camargue horses<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Headwind forecast<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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At the campsite behind the bushes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Beautiful in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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birthday breakfast<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Birthday dinner \ud83e\udd66<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n

Anyone who has studied our equipment list<\/a> a little more closely may have wondered: Did Beni really bring his paraglider with him?! Yes, that’s right \u2013 Beni couldn’t imagine going without flying for such a long time. But until now, he had been lugging around a total of 9 kg with him. It’s not quite that simple: you have to be in the right place at the right time, and then the weather has to cooperate too.But on November 8, almost a month after the start of the trip, the time had come. We were relaxing on a small sandy beach near S\u00e8te when Beni said the wind was just right for a bit of ground handling (playing with the glider without flying). But this dry run wasn’t to be the last \u2013 just three days later, everything fell into place! At the S\u00e9maphore launch site near Leucate, Beni was able to soar comfortably along the coast and get a bird’s-eye view of our route towards the Pyrenees. <\/p>\n\n

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Ground handling on the beach<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Launch site S\u00e9maphore<\/em> near Leucate<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The Pyrenees can be seen in the background.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n

Slowly but surely, the Pyrenees appeared on the horizon as we cycled along EuroVelo 8. The EV8 surprised us in a positive way: mostly wonderful asphalt, away from the road, often right along the coast. Only the countless tourist castles towering high into the sky clouded the picture. We didn’t even want to imagine what it would look like here in high season! We often found charming places to sleep just a few meters away from the bike path\u2014in the high season, this would certainly not be so easy.<\/p>\n\n

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Super Cycle Route<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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lunch break<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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At first we thought it was a beaver\u2014but it’s a muskrat.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Beautiful stretch of coastline between S\u00e8te and Marseillan Plage<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Campsite right by the sea, hidden behind reeds<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Get out of the reeds and admire the sunrise<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The nights are getting cold here too!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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We try to camp under trees whenever possible, because they…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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…absorb moisture and keep the tent dry!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Beni writing on the blog<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n

We wanted to take one last break before Spain, as there was still a lot to do and organize. In addition to the usual things like washing clothes, showering, cleaning and maintaining equipment, planning our route, and writing to friends and family, our gas stove was causing us concern. The silencer attached above the gas nozzle looked as if it wouldn’t last much longer.So we booked one of the few Airbnbs in Argel\u00e8s-Plage and got to work.It was a blessing in disguise: we quickly found the replacement part on Amazon Spain. Now we just needed a Spanish address to send it to. The Warmshowers platform is really handy for situations like this. So we wrote to a few people in Girona, the nearest large city in Spain, and Pau not only replied with his postal address, but also with valuable tips on routes across the Pyrenees. He also gave us an insider tip: the Refugi Centre Excursionista Empordan\u00e8s, a mountain hut right on the French\/Spanish border.The hut used to be a bunker; thick reinforced concrete and small windows made spending the night there a bit of an adventure. We couldn’t help wondering how people must have felt in there during wartime \ud83d\ude23. During the night, strong gusts swept across the pass and we were glad to be able to spend the night surrounded by thick walls rather than in a tent.<\/p>\n\n

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Airbnb in Argel\u00e8s-Plage<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Collioure<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The first real meters of elevation gain…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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…to the Pyrenees<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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It’s unbelievable that such achievements are possible again \ud83e\udd29<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Fufi is also enjoying the convertible ride \ud83d\ude02<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Refugi Centre Excursionista Empordan\u00e8s<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Cleaning Beni at the window – for a better view<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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bunker atmosphere<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n

You can find out how things are progressing here in Spain in the next blog.<\/p>\n\n

For even more insight into our everyday cycling life, check out our latest video:<\/p>\n\n

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