Today we went to a little village called Plan D’Aups. From here we did a walk into the hills and up a mountain range (Sainte Baume) heading for the Grotto of Mary Magdalene. Apparently this is a bit of a pilgrimage site. It was a beautiful blue sky day but the wind has been bitterly cold. The walk was incredible through ancient forests that have been there since the 14th century (possibly earlier). Legend told is that Mary Magdalene fled with her mother and brothers to this area to avoid persercution as a Christian. She is said to have lived and evangelised in this region and later died in a grotto that is perched on the side of a cliff. We climbed all the way up to the church cut out in the cliff. Stunning views of the area from there. The grotto is incredible complete with statues, holy water, stained glass windows and of course the Catholic sacred relic (in this case, Mary’s bony something-or-other).