On the road (Europe 2010): The River Orb and Berlou

Been exploring the area north and west of Pouzolles in the past couple of days, in between bouts of work. The valley of the Orb river is rather picturesque and offers such recreation as kayaking and rafting. Many people swim there and dive from the convoluted rock formations that line the shore. I was rather impressed by the children doing back flips from rocks 20-30 feet high. The water is deep and fast in places and somewhat murky. I haven't seen anyone fishing there, but there are quite a few fish in the water, too. Very pretty and an interesting change from swimming in the sea. I think the last time I went swimming in a river was probably around 1974, in the Little Miami, near Yellow Springs, Ohio.

Driving through the hills in the area, heading for the town of Berlou, hit a detour. A temporary route took us virtually to the doorstep of the Les Coteaux de Berlou. Coincidentally, this is the cooperative that made the very tasty Schisteil brand rosé I tasted a couple of weeks ago. The people in the tasting room were friendly and helpful. They seemed surprised that I had been looking for their wine--although I see that the 2009 vintage has won a gold medal in the 2010 Paris Concours Général. I tasted the 2007 (review here). Both are excellent. I picked up a few bottles to leave for the owner of the house here and a couple bottles of the white, which is a tasty blend of Grenache Blanc, Rousanne, and Marsanne.

Looking for birds, yesterday I spent a couple of hours walking in the hills around Pousselieres and La Fraise. This is beautiful country. Pousselieres is just two or three houses. The tiny road that leads to the hamlet off the D612 passes through La Fraise and La Treille on its way to Berlou. An unpaved road (marked AVA4, the meaning of which remains obscure to me) leading from the road to Pousselieres rises eventually to a summit that gives a panoramic view.

The rocky unpaved road is lined with dense mixed forest--mostly chestnuts, oaks, and pines--but here and there there are clearings carpeted in heather and bracken and spotted with small trees. These open areas seemed perfect habitat for birds (especially the sections marked AVA1 on the ridge at the top), but there were comparatively few, and the birds I did see were generally shy or distant or both. I saw a couple of uncertain warblers, what I believe to have been a yellow wagtail (although apparently not the local race of this highly variable bird; the one I saw had a mostly yellow head, typical of the flavissima subspecies), and three or four of what I believe to have been wrynecks. I've added only the wagtail to my list, though, as I like to be certain. Another frustrating day of birdwatching, but the hills were beautiful. From what I can tell from maps, this area is close to the divide between the Atlantic and Mediterranean watersheds. At the top of the dirt road, I came to markers erected by the Office National des Forêts indicating "Route Forestière: Des Crêtes" and one indicating I was in the Forêt Domaniale des Avant-Monts. Besides myself, not a soul in the place--just the wind.