Marseille — Surprise! Surprise!

I got down at the Marseille train station just before sunset very cautiously trying to keep an eye on my surroundings and looking for suspicious characters which you should in any case when traveling to a new place but I was being extra extra careful given the reputation. It was late and I was worried that it might be hard or might not be safe enough to find dinner at night. So I grabbed a burger to-go from the McDonalds at the station and headed to the Metro to downtown Marseille. You have to give in to the perception that Marseille is rough and tough, the people hardly seem approachable. The vibe I got was similar on the metro ride to Vieux Port, the central port of Marseille. While on the metro I had almost made up my mind that I was going to keep Marseille confined to the business I had come for — watch the game, maybe click a few pictures and leave.

Everything changed when I walked out of the underground metro station at Vieux Port. The sun had set already. I looked on my right and there was the port — white sail boats anchored on both ends of the port and right in the center, a serene reflection of the moon in the now dark Mediterranean — it was beautiful! To my left was a party! It was almost 10:30pm, there were restaurants bustling with people, a small evening fair with a ferris wheel and a plaza in the middle with live music performances. Just then I got a whiff of the burger that I had in my hand and I said to myself — shit!

Marseille had caught me by surprise and I didn’t really have a plan. I had not researched anything about the city so I got a few tips from the reception at my hostel and started wandering around. I decided to walk to Notre-Dame de la Garde — the icon of the city of Marseille. A basilica dedicated to Mother Mary, the guardian of the city. On the map that I had in my hands, it seemed a short innocuous walk (Warning — 2D maps are not a good source of information about the terrain). It was a short but very very steep walk, perfect for a morning workout or burn out! As I learnt later this is the highest point of the city as well which means you get spectacular views of the city. Let me stress on SPECTACULAR! I must have spent over a hour and a half clicking pictures sometimes the same pictures over and over — going up a little, down a little, to the right and a little to the left whatever the angle the pictures were amazing!

I had heard some good things about Parc national des Calanques, a national park just outside of Marseille, but given the time I had, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to visit it. After Notre-Dame de la Garde, I had no doubt in my mind that I was going to do it. I took a 45 minute bus ride down to one of the many entries to the park. There were no signs so I just started following the crowd in front of me because they were carrying beach towels and I was looking for the Mediterranean. At the gate of the park which was basically a partial barricade there was a small cabin for information. I am not sure why ? but I was wise enough to ask the 2 people in the cabin about where exactly the beach or creek was (Even at this point I wasn’t sure what was on the other side). They only spoke french but through some sign language I was able to understand that the walk wasn’t short and I should stock up on water from a nearby drinking fountain and smear on a lot of sunscreen!

Uphill

For the next hour, I really couldn’t understand why I was doing what I was doing. It was hot and it was the middle of the day. The climb was getting steeper. I had had very little to eat in the morning. The only thing that was working for me was the bottle of water I had refilled, thanks to the nice lady and the gentleman at the information cabin. As I went on the crowd became scantier. Some young teenage boys who had been walking in front of me decided to digress to indulge in an experience that involved some very popular herbs. On the way a family had settled down for a picnic under a tree with a very wide span of shade. They had an extensive spread of charcuterie and pickles lined on the bench next to the tree and French bread and wine to go with it (Remember I had very little to eat)

The difficult decision

I kept walking for another 30 mins or so and then there were options! A road to the right which was wide and seemed rather safe, the other to the left which was going up but from what I could see, seemed to wind down the hill eventually. The third one was right in the middle — a narrow steep trail lined with dry bushes and paved with loose rock and pebbles which made it slippery and did I mention it was steep. Steep like I was standing at the edge of a cliff. Yes! risk and danger and adventure seems the right thing to do when you are in the middle of nowhere and there isn’t anyone around you. So I took the safe one on the right.

As I am approaching the end of the trail which is basically a rising cliff, I am not seeing anything but the sky and a shorter mountain blocking something but I keep walking curious to see what was being blocked — a breathtaking experience! I could see the bright, pristine ultramarine blue with patches of bottle green of the Mediterranean. There was a small dock and a number of sail boats anchored around it. Let me try and explain this in more detail because this is kind of important. In front of me is a cliff which drops around roughly a 800ft. Above me the hot sun and below me clear blues of the sea! I spent about 20 mins here doing nothing.

I walked back to the point of dilemma and by this time the teenagers I had left behind earlier were approaching, now “happier” and louder than they were when I left them; for obvious reasons. I asked them using some sign language about the beach and of course it is the steep narrow trail down. What the hell, I just go for it.

Downhill

This is a serious trek. If you don’t consider yourself fit, I wouldn’t recommend this because downhill is just the first half and the easy one getting back up is the challenge. There is no other way, this is the wild! As I descend there are some great views of the sea. At the base there is rocky beach, a very busy beach. There are a series of rocky limestone hill islands in the sea and people are climbing these and diving into the see-through water. On the way back, its easy to get lost and I say that because I did!

Lets talk business. Its game day! Germany — the clear favorites, the stronger team on paper.

Checklist

1. Game tickets (with someone else’s name) — check.
2. German jersey — have to improvise since airline lost my luggage
3. German flag — lets buy one!

They are selling it everywhere on the streets. I walk up to one of the street vendors. I am bargaining on the price when a French fan walking towards me starts yelling — “Buy the French flag, I give it to you for free!”. By the time he reaches me still yelling jubilantly, the transaction is complete. He looks at me smiles and says — “Good luck!”

Germany lost the game. I was warned about the Marseillais football fans. The violence at the beginning of the tournament wasn’t good news either but I ended up celebrating with them. The streets were a sight after the match. There were flares and music and chants of “Allez les bleu” (go blue) everywhere. It was a big party! All night there were bikes and cars going around town honking in the rhythms of Allez les Bleu!