Upon arriving at Saintes Maries de la Mer, I decided to join the portion of the group going on a boat tour into Le Petite Rhone for a chance to see some of the famous animals in the Camargue, a wetland area that also serves as a regional park and nature refuge. As soon as we figured out the details of our boat trip, Muaamar and I grabbed some lunch before we launched. I got a pizza (still very good, but I'll confess that I was getting tired of them by this time. But they made a "safe" lunch when not feeling adventurous.) Muaamar had some salmon and we ate as quickly as we could so we could make it back to the "Les Quatre Maries II" on time. I had a nice seat up front with dr. O'Brien, Dr. Wingerd, David, and Muaamar.
 |
| View from the nose of the boat |
Near the mouth of the river there were boats docked with fishing equipment. Before the current harbor was built all the boats were kept here. As we went farther up the river, we got father into the wildlife refuge and we saw some bulls. I think most were domesticated, but they indicated that some were wild. When we got even father up the river, near the ferry crossing (where we turned around) there was a field with horses and bulls. As soon as the boat approached the horses ran over.
I thought this was a little odd, but I quickly understood once one of the boatmen started throwing bread to them. Totally for the tourist photo opportunities - which I took advantage of. On our way back down the river we did see some wild horses drinking from the river. Over all I really enjoyed the ride. I love being on the water and found this more relaxing than being on the beach - and I still got to work on my tan. :)
 |
| Me standing in the Mediterranean |
I did have a chance to check out the beach. They were full of people - don't blame them the water was very nice. David and I met a man in New York, who wanted to talk about all the details of his trip. Thankfully we had to go catch the bus, unthankfully he cost me my precious time to buy a beverage and use a restroom since all the public toilets were closed. Adding to my day of small misfortunes (I forgot my sunglasses at the gite, thankfully Marissa had a spare pair). On the way home we did make a restroom stop - unfortunately no paper, none at the next one either when we stopped at Carfour. All I wanted at the store was lotion with aloe for my sunburn. So I picked some up, checked out with Jim. Got out to the bus and shared my lotion with Minda only to have it pointed out that I bought body wash instead of lotion. Awesome. :/ Just not my afternoon. Lesson learned - bring dictionary into the store. Since I was "pre-lathered" I took a shower as soon as we got back to the gite, had some dinner and went to bed early to call it a day.
For more photos of our time in Saintes Maries de la Mer click here.
No comments:
Post a Comment