| I'd love to have confirmation
on this, but the site rivierafrance.com states the road through
the gorges was built by navies paid
for by the cycle club of France. Sounds crazy, but then the
French are pretty mad when it comes to cycling and stranger
things have happened.
It's certainly a very popular route
for cyclists today, just about equaling the traffic found
on the Col du Vence
on the other side of the Courmettes Mountain.
Before this road was built it used to take 2 days on horseback
to reach Nice from Greolieres; difficult to imagine when
you can now jump in a car and be by the sea in 35 minutes.
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As you drive up the gorge the first tunnel
you come to was dug when the original road that snaked around
the gorge partly
slid into the river. What's left is now a popular viewing
point and at the exit to the tunnel is a small parking area
where many of the Canyoners park up for the day. Just a little
further is the Cascades du Courmes. This
is a very pretty, albeit quite small, waterfall, running down
from a source in Courmes, another medieval village perched
high above and out of sight.
Up until before the war there
used to be a tiny café nestled behind the
cascading waters and you can still see the entrance steps cut out of the sold
rock. It must have been quite hilarious sipping a coffee in the damp recess
of the waterfall, a fine spray of cool spring water descending
on you. By order
of the Mayor of Courmes the steps and cafe have been closed to the public,
leaving them to stare from the narrow road.
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