L’Ile de Ré – après déjeuner

Tummies full and happy, we headed to the far tip of the island, to Le Phare des Baleines (lighthouse of the whales). I did not climb to the top! It was impressive enough from the bottom. Yeah, that’s the reason.

It was at one of the little stores, on the left here in front of the lighthouse, where I bought my fleur de sel. I will be doing some gourmet cooking when I’m back home, and the finishing touch will be a dusting of fine salt petals.

On the other side of the lighthouse we met the wild Atlantic. These breakwaters, built into the ocean, were part of a fishing system. They are worn down now, and some have vanished completely. The birds seem to enjoy them.

We met an island cat. He really didn’t want to chat with us.

Back down the island now. This is a sundial carved into one of the stone walls that is part of 14 km of ramparts built in a semi-circle with a 1.5 km radius. The walls were built by Louis XIV in the late 1600’s to protect the Port of Saint Martin. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The sundial is no longer in working condition. 🙂

And this is Saint Martin, a delightful little city that becomes packed with tourists in the summer. I was glad to be here at this time of year.

There are markets up and down the streets off the main drive, and they sell everything. One thing that seems specific to Ils de Rè is soap made from donkey milk. You see the donkeys in the fields by the side of the road. I have no idea how they milk them.Look at the groove worn into the stone.

This is the entrance to the harbour. Louis XIV was here!Here we were lucky enough to find workers laying down new cobblestones. They last a long time, but not forever. The tide has now come up again.

It was a really great day, and I saw so much more with my new friends than I ever could have without them. I so appreciated the hard work it must have been for them to communicate with me and my fractured French all day long. Hopefully I can repay the favour in Canada one day.

Be happy.