Pink Granite Therapy - June 5th

High tide at Trégastel was early yesterday, and the weather forecast was not promising, but nine weeks of lock down had made me determined to carpe diem and with a very high tide promised....

I was awake early and the sun was almost shining through a cover of thin cloud and so I made as flask of coffee, fed the cat, roused the slumbering dog and set off for the coast.

We drove on roads that were totally empty.

It's not unusual for there to be little traffic on the dual carriageways here, in fact congestion is very rare and usually confined to the approaches to cities like St Brieuc and Lannion during rush hour, but even so it was strange not to see any other cars.

When we pulled up at the beach the weather was indeed unwelcoming, but the tide was definitely high.

As I stripped to my swimsuit and it started to rain so I returned to my car to wait it out which may seem strange, since I was going to get wet anyway, but I do not swim in the rain.

As soon as the shower passed I was in the sea. 

And it was cold but, I reminded myself, not as cold as that day in January when I took a dip from the beach at Trestraou, so I swam...

I swam out to the first buoy which seemed a long way in such a high tide.

I swam to the area at the left that I call my 'tropical bay' because it's sheltered by the pink granite rocks and the sea is calmer and warmer there.

I swam for thirty minutes and while I swam the clouds were swept aside and the sun came out and the weather was perfect for Tashi's walk.

We walked quite a long way and left the track to wander through fields before finding our way back to the beach.

Since it was still early, I drove to Ploumanac'h to see check out Le Mao. 

I've missed my lunches at Le Mao. They closed at the end of the summer season, put away all the outdoor tables and chairs, took down the strings of lights and the staff went off to their winter jobs in warmer places, so I'd been eagerly awaiting their re-opening in April but the lock down meant that their doors remained firmly closed.

But here in France the lock down has now been lifted a little and restaurants have been allowed to re-open, albeit with some restrictions o I was hopeful.

And, yes, there were people there preparing for their re-opening on Tuesday.

I asked if I should book a table?

No, they were expecting to see me.

Which was the cherry on my cake...  

  

Exploring l'Île Grande

It's been a long, grey. wet winter hasn't it?

And now we have the corona virus to stress us.

I freely admit to not thriving during the winter months and that at the first sign of anything even close to spring, I head for the coast to inhale some sea air and to soak in sea water.

But it can't always be Trégastel. Well, it could, there's no reason why I shouldn't keep returning to my favourite town. It's just that there are so many other wonderful places here that it would be a shame not to explore them, wouldn't it?

So a couple of months ago, before France entered its strict lockdown,  I headed for l'Île Grande in the commune of Pleumeur-Bodou...

I had printed the details of a walking tour of the island but it's 7 km and I was concerned that Tashi might not cope well with such a distance and as I would not be able to carry him back to the car should he suffer another stroke, we settled for a more manageable walk.

Here's the link to the walk 

After driving onto the island we turned left and found a car park with, happily, the convenience of public toilets, and set off on a path between the dunes towards the sea...

And this is what we found ... les dunes de Toul Gwenn 

L'est de I'Ile Grande, abrité, est caractérisé par les dunes de Toul Gwen. Ces dunes bordent la baie de Keryvon et font face à la légendaire Ile D'Aval. Le contraste entre la marée basse et la maeée haute est saissant et illustre bien le phénomène des marées.
(http://www.bretagne-cotedegranitrose.com/)

I say it every time, this coastline is so beautiful I am never tempted to go anywhere else.

The sand is smooth and clean, although closer to the water it's of that sinky spongy consistency that makes me worry that I'll lose my shoes or, worse still, sink to my knees, but it's a perfect place to walk a dog...

In the distance I could see some waves so we headed back to the car to drive further up the coast in search of some surf.

The video doesn't really do justice to the strength of the sea. Those waves were at least 5 feet but I couldn't resists at least attempting to capture the power of nature.

I'd thought I might swim. I'd donned my swimsuit, just in case, because I've learned during the last three years that it's best to be prepared in case the urge to dive in is too strong to resist. Yes, I swim even in winter. But the wind was too strong and the tide too high and the waves too wild...

Even I, famous for having fought several strong currents and once, in a kayak, having to battle against a rip tide, even I would not risk those waves...

We stopped following the path when we reached this guy.

From a distance I thought it was a fellow walker pausing to rest on a bench but no,  it's a sculpture to recognise the hard work of the people who worked here cutting granite from the cliffs.  

As this sign explained...

this rusty old wheel was part of the mechanism for hauling the granite from the cliffs

A sign warning people not to steal the pebbles.
They are very pretty pebbles and I am quite keen to use them to decorate my house and to remind me of days on the beach but here they protect the coastline.

A Breton house. This is a style much loved in this part of France.

We left l'Île Grande in search of a nearby menhir, which deserves its own post. That will have to wait, today I am heading to Locquirec to explore a new beach and, I hope, to enjoy a long, cold swim.

Chilling out on the Sentier des Douaniers

When the skies are Breton-blue and the wind is flexing its muscles, the best place to be is the Sentier des Douaniers...