Thursday/Friday, Sept 25 – 26, 2014 —
The water is still 81 degrees this late in September. The summer season here is coming to an end. The shops now show winter clothing and the swimsuits and sandals are on sale. It is hot by day with the sun shining, but the temperature drops as the sun goes down so we are now closing the hatches at night.
On Friday, we motorsailed into 
Cannes about 6 pm and found a good spot to anchor just off the beach in front of the center of the city. The waterfront is crowded with hotels and apartment buildings, unlike the other areas we have been to so far on this coastline. As it got dark, the city lit up with colored lights and the music started – lots of bling! Unlike our usual anchorages, this one was filled with very large motor and sailing yachts. As one of the smaller boats, we were hanging out with the big boys, most over 100 feet in length!
The coastline of the Cote d’Azur and French Riviera, east of Marseilles to the Italian border, is less than 100 miles long with so much to see. The coastline up to this point, save St. Tropez, has been very natural, with sparse development along the waterfront and up the hillsides behind it. We can understand the draw that this area of the Mediterranean has. The contour of the coastline and the mountains beyond it creates a beautiful landscape. We appreciate this beauty as we sail along the coast from anchorage to anchorage just offshore.