We drove out of the Cevennes and headed towards the Camargue where we had planned on spending a few days. The drive was very scenic and we enjoyed the viewpoints along the way. We stopped for a quick lunch when we spotted a picnic table and then continued on our way. As we approached Montpellier, we saw a fruit stand advertising melons and thought that we should stop to check out their produce. We picked up two cantaloupes, a small watermelon and a few apricots which looked good. 

 We arrived in the town of Saintes-Maries de la Mer and looked at the campsite where we had planned on staying. It looked quite busy and was right next to a big parking lot which we thought might be noisy. We decided to check out the other campsite in town before deciding where to stay. As we drove through town we noticed that there were an unusual amount of people and wondered why. Our question was answered shortly by the posters around town – there were bull games and activities going on for three days… We listened to the band beating away on their drums, watched sporty cars full of young men swinging in to camp, tires squealing and decided to look elsewhere for campsites. There was one still central enough for our planned outings, but far enough from the craziness in town. We headed over, stopping en route to take some pictures of the Camargue bulls. They are used for the various games that take place in the summer; unlike their Spanish counterparts, these bulls are returned to their pasture once the games are over. We arrived at the campsite and set up in a shady pitch since it was about 35 C out and we were roasting. Unfortunately, we realized shortly thereafter why the Camargue is notorious for its bugs. We didn't have a big problem with mosquitos which we had repellent for, but these small black fly-like creatures that we think are midges in English. They swarmed around in groups, not at all deterred by the repellent, chomping at will. We also noticed that they were small enough to go through the screens on our van windows, not a good sign for sleeping later that evening! Anoop valiantly volunteered to cook the turkey we had picked up for dinner while Mom and I moved the table into the sun and where there was a bit more wind, hoping to avoid the bugs for a bit. It worked long enough to eat dinner before washing up. Since it was still quite warm out and we didn’t think we’d be able to go to bed yet, we went for a short walk to see the nearby rice field which we had passed on our way in. I had never seen rice growing before and thought that it was so neat to see fields of it. Rice is a major crop in the Camargue and has been particularly important there since WWII. We saw a magnificent sunset before returning to the van to hole up for the night, sweltering with the windows shut, but at least bug free.

The next day we checked out of camp having decided that it was just too irritating having the midges try to climb in your eyes, ears and nose at every possible opportunity. We decided to go further north out of the marshy area and then just return as a day trip to at least be able to enjoy the evenings and mornings outside. The campsite owner didn’t seem too surprised that we were checking out early and asked if the bugs had already gotten to us. They definitely had! We set off for Aigues Mortes, a town nearby with ramparts all around. We headed for the parking only to discover that there was a market going on and that parking was taken up with stalls. We found a lot nearby and just squeaked under the height barrier before returning to check out the market. It was quite a good sized one with lots of variety of things for sale. We sampled two cheeses, a tomme de provence and an estival fruité which we quite liked. We thought we’d pick up a small piece of both and asked for the smallest piece he could cut of each. To our surprise, the total still came to 19 euros! This definitely would not be a cheese we would use in cooking – just savour it on our baguettes. We continued on and picked up a fougasse which had been flavoured with orange flower water and was quite delicious. After dropping our purchases off at the van, we continued on in to town and followed the arrows on a bit of a walking tour. We were pleasantly surprised by the amount of jasmine in bloom and enjoyed its fragrance while we wandered. It was quite a neat town with a huge main square, lots of smaller squares and lots of shops to check out. We had originally planned on walking the ramparts but they were charging 7.50€ to go up; since we’ve all explored many ramparts, we decided it wasn’t worth it and bought a gelato instead. 

 We decided to stop at the Domaine de Paul Ricard because Anoop had seen that they had a walk through the marsh with info panels describing the flora and fauna of the region. We discovered that they had a demonstration of the various bull games going on at 3:30 and Mom decided to watch that while we went on our walk. It was roasting out, but we packed lots of water and figured that we could handle a 3 km loop. The panels were very interesting and we learned about all sorts of things. Rice planting takes place in April-May while the harvest happens in September-October. It talked about the bulls which are smaller, darker and have differently shaped horns from the Spanish bulls. The horses are born a dark colour such as black or brown, but when they are between 3-5 years old, they turn white. In the summer, there can be between 10 000 – 20 000 flamingoes in the Camargue! The bugs weren’t too bad since it was quite windy until we arrived closer to the horses where they descended en masse – we swatted away and kept moving quickly and seemed to avoid the worst of them. We quite enjoyed the walk and Mom thought the demonstration was interesting. We then hopped in the van, cranked the AC and drove north to St. Remy en Provence where we planned on camping for a few days.

Monday we went to Les Baux en Provence which we have posted as a separate blog.

Tuesday we returned to the Camargue with an early start to go horseback riding. We thought this would be a great way to see some of the countryside and cover a bit more ground than if we were walking. We arrived with lots of time and after checking in we slathered on the sunscreen and bug spray. Then it was time to meet our horses and mount up. There were nine of us in the group, all with varying degrees of riding experience. As we left the corral, the horses just lined up one behind the other and stayed that way for the rest of the time. We enjoyed seeing the different plants growing in the marsh since it was so different from what we had seen elsewhere. Most of the plants were quite short except for a few spiky ones and the taller reeds which the horses eat. Anoop took pictures as best as he was able over his shoulder at Mom and I or at the scenery around as we went past. The horses walked most of the time, but every once and awhile they would trot which was a very uncomfortable bounce for us since Mom and I are used to English saddles where you can post. It was a beautiful ride and we passed by lots of birds including flamingoes and egrets. Anoop’s horse enjoyed having Anoop for a rider (it was Anoop’s first time) since he would let it eat as it went along (against the guide’s instructions). Anoop thought that was the horse for him since it would take a chomp out of anything it could as it walked along. We stopped for a few minutes to let the horses eat part way through and the guide told us that we were going to go through the reeds at a fast trot and that they would be up to our thighs. He said not to scream if something went wrong (this was mentioned for the rather nervous Italian lady), but to call calmly for help and he would come back. The reason we had to go at a very fast trot was because the mud was coming up to the horses knees and if they stopped they would just sink. It was interesting to go through the reeds so quickly and to feel the horses just sinking in before they lifted their hooves out. I don’t think they enjoyed it very much and neither did the Italian lady. We were definitely mud-splattered by the time we emerged and Anoop lost the lens hood off the camera as we went bouncing along. At least we can get another one when we get home! We had a wonderful time and were so glad that we had chosen that area to ride in. Perhaps we will try to fit in one more ride elsewhere before we head back since we really enjoyed ourselves. We had a picnic lunch at the tables in the treed picnic area along with a group of school kids, about 8 years old, who asked us if we were tourists – when we said yes, they said to enjoy our stay. We then continued on our scenic drive, stopping along the way at a beach with caravans lined up the whole way along and people basking in the sun. We also stopped for flamingo pictures and drove out to where our guidebook said there were often large groups of them. Unfortunately the wind was fairly high and they seemed to be sheltering behind the reeds further away. We got to see lots of them along the way though and even saw some take off – they look like they are running on the water as they try to take off. When they are in flight they really reminded me of the croquet scene in Alice in Wonderland where the queen of hearts is using them as mallets – they really are long and skinny. We then stopped off at the salt mine viewpoint and could look over to the huge heaps of salt which is collected in the area. It is done on a much larger scale than on the Ile de Ré and you could see the trucks and conveyor belts working away. It was also interesting to see that the pink pans were where the table salt was going through the evaporation process. It actually did look pink! We continued on our way back to camp and passed by a herd of horses grazing. When I looked closer, I spotted foals so we pulled over to take pictures of the brown foals with the white adults. We then drove back to camp where we enjoyed a swim and were able to eat outside without swarms of bugs.