11th - 13th September, 2021
Hotel Les Rizíeres, Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, France
A 5 hour trip from Tarragona saw us at our next hotel on the outskirts of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer in France. As we travelled towards the border between Spain and France, we had the surreal experience of passing through toll booths where barriers were permanently up and signs relating to payment instructions blanked out. Instead, notices stating a 30kmp speed limit and no stopping were prevelant! There were Catalan flags and bows in evidence as well as protestors on bridges, presumably not in agreement with the loss of toll revenue.
We weren't sure what to expect once we arrived at the border. However, traffic was moving smoothly and it was a bit of an anti-climax as no-one appeared interested in checking out passports, TIEs or vaccination certificates.
Once settled into our hotel rooms we first of all went in search of the stables from which we'd start our trek in the morning. Having assured ourselves of the location, the priority was to find something to eat (a reccuring theme!).
There was one street in particular in Saintes-Maries which was heaving with people; meals were (relatively) cheap. There were other restaurants with stupid prices and neither really appealed. Our eyes alighted on a bijou place and we were able to order a selection of tapas to try. When the bill came, we were taken aback somewhat as individual tapas had been priced reasonably. Seems as if a bottle of wine could've caused the problem - lesson learnt!
Walking back to where we parked the car, we were drawn to a open restaurant where live music was taking place. We stopped to listen and a waiter came out to seemingly try to tempt us to come in! We checked that there would be live music the next night too and were provided with a number to ring and reserve a table.
We weren't sure what to expect once we arrived at the border. However, traffic was moving smoothly and it was a bit of an anti-climax as no-one appeared interested in checking out passports, TIEs or vaccination certificates.
Once settled into our hotel rooms we first of all went in search of the stables from which we'd start our trek in the morning. Having assured ourselves of the location, the priority was to find something to eat (a reccuring theme!).
There was one street in particular in Saintes-Maries which was heaving with people; meals were (relatively) cheap. There were other restaurants with stupid prices and neither really appealed. Our eyes alighted on a bijou place and we were able to order a selection of tapas to try. When the bill came, we were taken aback somewhat as individual tapas had been priced reasonably. Seems as if a bottle of wine could've caused the problem - lesson learnt!
Walking back to where we parked the car, we were drawn to a open restaurant where live music was taking place. We stopped to listen and a waiter came out to seemingly try to tempt us to come in! We checked that there would be live music the next night too and were provided with a number to ring and reserve a table.
The next morning I was up early to welcome in the sunrise. Finding my way towards the marshes in the darkness, I had to use my tripod as a prodder in the long grasses to ensure I didn't finish up knee deep in water! Once settled, I enjoyed listening to the wildlife beginning to stir and move as it began to get lighter. I could also hear a plopping sound and was looking forward to perhaps seeing some wildlife right in front on me as it became lighter. In the event, it turned out that I was close to a boggy area and the plopping was caused by gases rising! As I returned to the hotel, the sun was just touching the reception area overlooking the lake. A beautiful start to the day
Once we'd enjoyed a sumptous breakfast, including learning that eggs aren't provided hard boiled(!), we set off again for Saintes-Maries to explore the town. There didn't seem too much to do although we spotted that it was possible to climb up to the church roof to see an overview of the marshes. We duly presented ourselves at the church at opening time and climbed to the roof. It was somewhat disappointing as the views weren't great on the walkway, however we decided to get as high as we could by climbing onto the roof itself and straddling the ridge. The problem came when it was time to get down. I slid down on my backside first, ready to capture the moment Pat & Linda descended! Just as we were once again standing upright, so the church bells began to ring out, directly above us! A quick escape down the steps to the street again was called for. As we emerged from the church, we spotted a guy who had come into the Bijou restaurant the night before whilst we were eating and sat down at a table next to us. Clearly three sheets to the wind, he was nonetheless pleasant towards us. Holding a guitar and already with a can of beer he beckoned and said he'd play for us - for 6€! As I wanted to take some photos of him, we obliged.
Sitting in the car getting ready to return to the hotel in preparation of our horse ride, I saw a dragonfly perched on the top of a radio antenna on a car nearby. I was amazed how much detail I captured with my camera from a distance.
Sitting in the car getting ready to return to the hotel in preparation of our horse ride, I saw a dragonfly perched on the top of a radio antenna on a car nearby. I was amazed how much detail I captured with my camera from a distance.
The time for our much anticipated horse ride arrived and we headed to the stables to get ready for a trek on the famous white horses of the Camargue. We arrived at 16.30 and watched with some trepidation as horses of varying sizes were brought out, saddled up. There were two others on the 3 hour trek with us, both French and only one of them with a little English. Our leader was Claudio, who was providing us with horses from his own stables. He spoke no English, just a little Italian and German. Undeterred however, he proceeded to instruct us on riding these famous horses, once we had been matched up based on, height, weight and experience (non existent!).
We three were beginning to wonder what we'd let ourselves in for as we tried to grasp how we were supposed to control these animals once away from the stables! Each of us had to adopt the horse's name for shouted instructions during the trek. Trying desperately to remember hand positions for the reins, manoeuvring and sitting positions, Claudio's explicit instructions not to let the horses stop to eat were still ringing in our ears when he opened the gate and we were off.
Chris was instructed to return at 20:00 to collect us - 2½ hours away! How were we going to survive for that length of time was prominent in all our thoughts.
It wasn't long before Claudio started to shout out instructions. Linda's horse was called Petittoo and it was a name we would all become familiar with over the next few hours! Her horse was the smallest and also seemed to be the most difficult to handle with a determination to do its own thing, regardless. We all felt the wrath of Claudio's tongue at times, however it was Petittoo whose name we'll all remember as well as Linda's resigned acceptance that the shape of her horse contributed to her saddle gently sliding to one side, wherever Linda positioned herself! We stopped a few times for Claudio to take photos on our phones (no other camera allowed) and thankfully, he manoeuvred the horses manually into position and they sat still whilst photos were taken. After a while we started to relax a bit and enjoy the experience. We stopped to see flamingos not far from us and had some heart-stopping moments as Claudio yelled at us to keep moving, FAST! However our Franch companion told us that we should no longer consider ourselves to be novices, we had earned the right to call ourselves experienced!
It was a tired line of riders which headed back to the stables as the sun went down and we watched a glorious sunset from our saddles. One of the funniest sights as we arrived back, was each of us being helped off our respective horses! The rest of the evening disappeared from memory leaving just a glowing sense of achievement!
We three were beginning to wonder what we'd let ourselves in for as we tried to grasp how we were supposed to control these animals once away from the stables! Each of us had to adopt the horse's name for shouted instructions during the trek. Trying desperately to remember hand positions for the reins, manoeuvring and sitting positions, Claudio's explicit instructions not to let the horses stop to eat were still ringing in our ears when he opened the gate and we were off.
Chris was instructed to return at 20:00 to collect us - 2½ hours away! How were we going to survive for that length of time was prominent in all our thoughts.
It wasn't long before Claudio started to shout out instructions. Linda's horse was called Petittoo and it was a name we would all become familiar with over the next few hours! Her horse was the smallest and also seemed to be the most difficult to handle with a determination to do its own thing, regardless. We all felt the wrath of Claudio's tongue at times, however it was Petittoo whose name we'll all remember as well as Linda's resigned acceptance that the shape of her horse contributed to her saddle gently sliding to one side, wherever Linda positioned herself! We stopped a few times for Claudio to take photos on our phones (no other camera allowed) and thankfully, he manoeuvred the horses manually into position and they sat still whilst photos were taken. After a while we started to relax a bit and enjoy the experience. We stopped to see flamingos not far from us and had some heart-stopping moments as Claudio yelled at us to keep moving, FAST! However our Franch companion told us that we should no longer consider ourselves to be novices, we had earned the right to call ourselves experienced!
It was a tired line of riders which headed back to the stables as the sun went down and we watched a glorious sunset from our saddles. One of the funniest sights as we arrived back, was each of us being helped off our respective horses! The rest of the evening disappeared from memory leaving just a glowing sense of achievement!