Typical Camargue Landscape
On April 7, Vicki and I retraced the steps I had taken with Didier almost exactly three years before, though we got a slightly earlier start by spending the night in Arles. Our first stop was south of the small village of Gallician where a main canal that tuns roughly from west to east meets a secondary canal that departs from it at almost a right angle. By menas of a sluice gate, water from the main canal can be diverted to the slightly lower secondary canal. The Camargue, Europe's largest river delta, is all about water and its management, and it is surprisingly tricky to avoid floods while at the same time making sure that every part of the area receives enough water.
We then drove along the secondary canal to the Centre de découverte du Scamandre, a nearby nature preserve that offers several trails through typical Camargue landscapes. We choose the sentier de la fromagère which takes a little over an hour to complete if one takes the time to admire the scenery and take pictures. As we left, we spotted a few Camargue horses grazing along a canal, so we stopped to observe them for a while.
Click on any image to see a larger (1500 x 1000 pixel) version!
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West-east canal near Gallician |
Sluice gates and north-south canal near Gallician |
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Marshlands |
Walkway to the bird observatory |
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Boardwalk |
Water on both sides! |
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Wetlands |
Odd place for a fence... |
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Heading east on the sentier de la fromagère |
Looking back |
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Looking towards the Etang du Scamandre |
Camargue landscape |
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Camargue horses |
The grass grows taller along the canal! |
Next, we made our way to Les Saintes Maries de la Mer ("The Saint Marys of the Sea"), the capital of the Camargue (see our earlier page to find our why this place is named after several Marys). Even though the population is fewer than 3,000 people (a number that swells to over 50,000 during the summer), it is definitely a small town and not a village. As I had done with Didier, we climbed on the roof of the fortified church after lunch; even though one is not that high up, the view is spectacular.
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Seashore by Les Saintes-Maries de la Mer, the capital of the Camargue |
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Pizzeria La Bodega |
Restaurant La Coupo Santo |
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Looking northeast from the church roof |
The view to the north |
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Looking down from the church roof |
Girls having lunch |
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Getting ready for the tourists |
The Rue Corneille |
Our last stop that day was the Parc ornithologique de Pont de Gau, a bird sanctuary about three miles north of Les Saintes Maries de la Mer. On a surface of 60 hectares (almost 150 acres), and walking along 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) of clearly marked trails, one can observe a bewildering number of birds in their natural habitat: Flamingos, Egrets Herons, ducks... and as most of these creatures emit sounds of various kinds, things can get rather noisy at times. Before heading back home, we crossed the street and went to look at (and pet) a few Camargue horses.
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Flamingos |
Taking a closer look |
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Red-crested Pochard |
"Oh, go sit on it yourself!" |
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In the bird sanctuary |
Camargue landscape |
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Footbridge |
Side canal |
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Heading back to the entrance |
Camargue horse |
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Camargue horse |
At the watering hole |
You can also visit a Gallery page of these and a few other Camargue photos. Enjoy!
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