To The Sea!

We’ve visited three resort towns along the Mediterranean coast so far: Carnon, La Grande-Motte (the big dune) and Le Grau-du-Roi (the king’s inlet). They’re all on the barrier islands, backed by a series of lagoons, that run along the coast all the way to Marseille.

It was really windy on Wednesday when we visited Le Grau-du-Roi. As we parked behind the dunes, we could see a bunch of kites over the water. As we emerged from a passage through the dunes, we saw one of the kitesurfers fly up about 10m (30 ft) in the air and wipe out – board going one way, him tumbling head over heels. Holy crap! We didn’t have our cameras out at that point, but we did see many other adrenalin junkies flying through the air – though none so high, and none wiping out.

The harbor was a forest of masts, including a lot of catamarans.

Man-made islands in the harbor provided lots of space for that ultimate summer convenience – step right out of your condo and on to your boat.

Carnon also had a harbor full of boats:

And there were also sailors, though sailing something a little less dangerous – Optimist dinghies.

These beaches must be packed in the summertime, but we had them pretty much to ourselves. Some intrepid kayakers landed their kayaks and a few bundled-up walkers were all we saw. There aren’t even many seagulls around… perhaps they’ve gone someplace less windy?

I’m not a fan of the ambiance in these resort areas along the Med. All the character we enjoy in other areas of France has gone missing, leaving a bunch of bland buildings. On the plus side, they haven’t allowed high-rises to litter the coast as they do in Florida…

Our other island visit skipped the town and went straight to a nature preserve, le Bois du Boucanet. The previous day we’d done a hilly hike, so we enjoyed the ease of walking on the sandy, flat trails. The mistral was blowing, though, and hat-keepers and lots of layers were a must.

Far across the lagoon we saw a flamboyance of flamingos (had to look that one up!) sheltering from the wind, and we saw many more when we drove to Le Grau-du-Roi. (Well, I did – M was paying attention to the traffic.) They aren’t very pink, though – they must be eating something other than brine shrimp.