The wetlands,
lakes, salt plains and marshes of the Carmargue Nature Reserve on the
Mediterranean coast of France felt almost like the northern islands
of Holland as we made our way to the sea on Friday afternoon. This
vast nature reserve, just a small part of the Carmargue region, is
bounded by the mighty Rhone river meeting the sea on the east and by
the Petit Rhone on the west, with the rest of the river delta in
between. Home to many rare species of birds and wildlife, the area is
pancake flat - a novel experience for us after leaving the Ventoux
region just the day before.
Our home for the
next few days would be a quiet campsite right on the sea front in the
small town of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer (The 2 Mary's of the Sea),
named after the mothers of 2 of Jesus's disciples who legend says
landed here from the Middle East shortly after the crucifixion. A
region we'd wanted to visit for some time, after some long journeys
and a busy few weeks, we hoped to be putting our feet up and relaxing
in addition to a bit of cycle exploring and considering our next move
as well.
Sadly our arrival
coincided with gale force winds hitting the coast for several days
which somewhat curtailed our exploring and kept us pinned down in the
campsite, not helped by a nasty round of stomach cramps I suffered on
the second day. However, the heated outdoor pool and occasional sunny
spell provided a welcome way to relax and although our excursions
were limited to one afternoon walk into the town (being sandblasted
as the wind whipped across the beach) and short visits to the sea we
did feel well rested.
The
wind was much calmer on Monday and the temperature a toasty 25
degrees, just right for finally getting our bikes off the van and
having a better look around. Following the coast westwards through
Saintes-Marie-de-la-Mer, we picked up the route across the sea dyke
heading towards the Rhone delta. The dyke was built at the end of the
19th
century is 25 miles long and 2 metres high to prevent the autumn and
winter sea intrusions which had made agriculture impossible. As an
added bonus it also provides a perfect cycle route on the narrow spit
of land separating the raging sea from the calm lakes and marshes.
With the sun shining and thousands of flamingoes and other sea birds
flying overhead we felt very lucky as we pottered along.
Returning to the
motorhome after lovely 25 mile ride we felt ready to move on the next
day having finally been able to enjoy the beautiful Carmargue coast.
Although it would have been fun to have explored the delta even
further we also knew that winter was on its way and we still have hopes of maybe making it to the Pyrenees before the snow arrives.
No comments
Post a Comment