Riding to the lighthouse

This morning, we drove to les Saintes Maries de la mer and rented bikes to ride along the dike trail to the lighthouse, Phare de la Gacholle. We were the first customers of the day at the bike shop, and as a result, the trail was pretty empty as we rode east to the lighthouse.

The view to the Mediterranean

The view inland into the Camargue

Once we turned around (after about an hour and a half), we encountered a lot of riders who had started their rides later in the day.  At one point along the trail, sand has sort of drifted across the road making riding impossible, and bikes have to be pushed or pulled across the deep sand for 40 or 50 feet.  Every year, the sand piles up in the same place.  Today we encountered a sizable group of people in the deep sand who wanted to know if there was "beaucoup sable" (a lot of sand) on the whole trail.  We were able to explain in French that the sand problem was only right there.  Many people were pulling trailers behind their bikes.  Some contained kids; others contained dogs.

We saw lots of flamingoes along the way, and several other interesting birds as well.

Then after the ride, we ate moules (mussels) for lunch at our favorite local restaurant, where we listened to a quartet of gypsy musicians:  2 guitars, 2 drummers, one vocalist.

Moules!

Roving gypsy band

A nice day in the Camargue.