SEPTEMBER TRIP AROUND BRITTANY

 

At the end of August we were ready for a holiday as we hadn't actually had more than a few days away from home since February.  We didn't want to go very far and as the weather was fine we drove only 2 hours to the west to L'Aberwrach at the far end of Finisterre.

 

We stayed on a campsite at Sainte Marguerite we had seen when we used to come here on the boat. On the first evening we walked along the dunes to see the lighthouse and identify the channels we used to use when we were sailing.  The last time we came along here we were being towed in by the lifeboat after midnight when our engine had broken down and there was no wind to sail by.

 

The next day we cycled a bit further along the coast path and I drew a few more of the channel markers essential for safety to avoid all the rocks in this part of Brittany. I've stuck in a bit of the map to show where the campsite is, right by the sea.

 

We finally arrived at the port and had a delicious lunch at Captain Crepe, a friendly creperie we've been going to for many years.  We sat on the quayside and reminisced about our sailing years and how much we used to love coming here.

 

That white buoy on the right is probably one that we tied our boat to and spent many happy days relaxing in the sun and rowing ashore to shop and eat in the many restaurants along the waterfront.

 

We cycled a lot while we were here this time and found some new places we hadn't seen before.  Here's another pile of rocks mostly covered by the tide as it came in.

 

I'm always interested in the wild flowers I find growing in the different places we visit and pick one example of each to take back to camp to draw later.  This sea-holly was very prickly and I was glad I had a plastic bag to put it in to carry it.  I love the delicate pale green of the leaves with their whitish edges.

 

Another day and another long cycle ride and lunch in a different place we found ourselves sitting at the fishing boat end of the port watching the boats unloading.  To start with many bags of nets were craned ashore and we wondered "why no fish?"

 

We soon saw the answer, the fish came out last!  An enormous refrigerated lorry backed along the quayside right up to the crane and many crates of fish started to come up to be emptied into fridges in the lorry, then sent back into the boat to be reloaded.  At the same time a queue of people arrived carrying bowls and bags to buy their fish directly from the boat.  There were 3 fishing boats lined up all awaiting their turn to unload while the tide was high and they could moor against the wall.