Saint-Delmas-Valdeblore

6 September 2015:  For the avoidance of doubt, I wish to state expressly that we were not tempted to remain in Nice this morning and declare our GR5 hike completed.  It's true that our regular routine of preparing our gear for the day's hike seemed a bit incongruous when performed in a Niçois hotel room, but we were keen to return to the GR5.  Our brief trip to Nice reminded us how close we are to our goal.

So we went to the Nice train station, where we had breakfast and then caught the 9:10 am bus that would take us back to Saint-Sauveur-sur-Tinée along a dramatic road that follows the Tinée River.  That bus is part of an impressive network of bus lines that radiate from Nice into the surrounding mountains.  The bus service is heavily subsidized by the local government – a single trip ticket costs only € 1.50 – and is well worth the cost, in my opinion. 

We arrived in Saint-Sauveur-sur-Tinée around 10:45 and immediately resumed our hike on the GR5.  It was a relatively short and easy hike, leading to Saint-Dalmas-Valdeblore, where we had reserved a room at Les Marmottes, a gîte d'étape.  Our Belgian friends were already there and were surprised to see us arrive late in the afternoon after a hike from Saint-Sauveur-sur-Tinée. We enjoyed telling them about the unusual circumstances that had led to us spending the night in Nice and therefore starting today's hike a bit late.

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Nice train station:

Saint-Sauveur-sur-Tinée:

We have seen a lot of purple shale around here.  It's a beautiful color. 

The trail passed through Rimplas, another picturesque village perched upon the hillside.  We stopped here for our picnic lunch and then a coffee in a café.

Gîte d'étape Les Marmottes: