The Camaruge

On the south coast of France in the Rhone river delta is the Camaruge. It's an enormous mosquito-filled salt plain and marsh.





It's noted for being a bird habitat, especially to PINK FLAMINGOS!







Hundreds of them. This pleased me to no end.







The first time I saw them fly by, I had to laugh. They looked so unlikely to be suspended in the sky like that.

Most of the land in this area was the protected Parc Naturel Régional de Camargue, but there were some nifty nature centers and trails. Mostly, the ferocious local mosquito kept this from being a leisurely pleasure walk and more of a harried slap-dance through the bush.

The region has a lot of salt-producing plains (a lot of French Sea Salt comes from this area) and delicious black bulls (the restaurants in nearby Arles specialize in gardiane de taureau) that they breed mostly for the bloodless bullfights traditional to the area.





They weren't really something I were going to test my bravery out on.


phare de la gacholle

There were amazing remote beaches. This one we walked 4km to get to.



It was like a moonscape.



Not too many other people had decided that taking a 4km hike to the water was worth a day at the beach, so it was declared a naked beach. How fun is that?

The water was amazing, by the way. Bathwater warm and gentle surf made the brutal hike worth it.

There were lots of pretty Camaruge horses to be seen. There are feral managed herds running free, but it's also the only domesticated breed of horse in the area.





The foals are born brown or black, and gray with age.






These guys were glossy and fat living on the bruised fruit from a farmstand.



I did get some knitting done during all this running around:



It was so hot and sunny there, the idea of ever wearing any knitware again was absurd.

La Fête en Provence

A fête is a party in which the entire town shows up to.



There's music and dancers and horses and costumes.





The horses are of the local variety from the Camaruge. They are stocky, elegant and tough working horses.




This one wound through the streets of Arles....

Before ending in the 2100 year old Roman Amphitheater.







Provence has a long history of bull breeding for bullfights, and had developed their riding skills accordingly. The women rode sidesaddle or rump-side, and the cowboys were all serious equestrians. The marshland where the bulls graze is only accessible by a good horse, so they are still very much part of the culture here.





They had a lot of Spanish-influenced dancing and traditional folk dancing.

Arles

Compared to the countryside and tiny villages we had been frequenting, Arles seemed downright bustling. Provence is much more touristy then Languedoc.

Arles is where Van Gogh lived when he painted "Starry Night" on the Rhone.





This cafe still stands in Arles, except they painted it a gaudy yellow and green colors so it looks like it was illuminated much like the picture.





It's a beautiful, sun-baked city.



They have some spectacular Roman ruins, including the 1st Century BC arena that is still in use.



We happened to be there for market day. Arles has one of the largest markets in the area, and the whole town turns out to do their shopping.















This farmer had organized all her berries and currants in tiny containers with such care. She was so enthusiastic about what she did.





I was in foodie heaven. Each tomato I tried was better than the last. Oh, and the stone fruits were amazing- cherries, peaches and apricots were in peak season and really put American grocery store produce to shame. The wines were delicious as well- lots of crisp whites and roses that made for a nice, lazy afternoon.