Returning to the gastronomic theme, when we opened the
fridge last night seeking the modest lamb kebabs we had planned to barbecue, to
our surprise we found these two large steaks and half a dozen sausages. The butcher in Saint Gilles,
while friendly, spent most of the time he was serving us talking to the
previous customer, a formidable elderly lady who had ordered two large steaks.
We saw them being cut. What she said to the butcher when she found our lamb kebabs and marinated chicken drumsticks would have been a pleasure to witness. However, our meal at least was delicious even if hers was ruined.
This morning we set off early to find the Sunday market,
passing the main city gates on the way.
The market was extensive and had everything we wanted,
including the last of the season's cherries. This year they have been excellent.
We decided to make a little detour, heading through the harbour
– you begin to understand how Saint Louis could muster 1,500 ships here – and
down the short canal to Le Grau du Roy, the entrance to the Mediterranean.
On the way we passed the Salins
du Midi salt works, and observed the mountain of salt awaiting delivery to
our tables.
The Grau du Roy harbour was busy, and we turned west along
the little travelled Vidourie river, which meets up with the Canal du Rhône
a Sète
a few kilometres west of Aigues Mortes. There were plenty of fishermen, and
jumping fish too. Some of them remarkably large, but elusive for the camera.
There are impressive flood gates where the river joins the
canal, reminding us that winter spates can be fierce.
On the canal itself, there was not a lot to see, though at
one moment we did spot half a dozen flamingos – white rather than pink, for
some reason. Very elegant, but once again they eluded the camera.
A fisherman’s hut broke the monotony before we took a break
for lunch at Palavas. This is where we would have turned off to head up to Montpellier. But all our research seemed to indicated that it really isn't a very interesting city, and we decided to give it a miss.
A seagull sitting on the broken-down stone wall that
separates the canal from the lagoon was another high spot in the afternoon.
By good luck we arrived in Frontignan 20 minutes before the second of only two raisings of the road bridge across the canal. Lots
of other boats were waiting, and we who are heading west should have had priority.
But the eastbound crowd roared into action, and happy chaos ensued, though with
no apparent ill consequences. We had hoped to find a quayside mooring after the
bridge, but no luck, so we have rafted up to a boat about our size with no-one
on board at the moment, but flying a red ensign and a South African flag. There
is an electricity plug-in post within easy reach. Let's hope the owners will let us remain for the night. The wind has been getting up, and we did not
wish to venture out onto the Etang de Thau in a blow. One such experience a few
years ago was quite sufficient. It cost us a deck chair and we only just managed to save the barbecue as it was heading overboard.
No comments:
Post a Comment