I don't know how to describe the Camargue region of France to be honest. Every word I can think of does not adequately create a picture of this little part of France that I (& Ashley) have fallen in love with. Beautiful ... Stunning ... Addictive ... Hot (in more than one sense) ... Breath taking ... None of these really describe this place.
The Camargue, or more specifically Saintes Maries de la Mer, lies on the southern coast of France. It is home to hot French "cowboys" (gardians in French), "white" horses, black bulls, white sandy beaches, & pink flamingos. Stes Maries is like a little island ... it doesn't take long to walk it ... in October there are very few tourists & it is so peaceful, though nothing seemed to be open.
Because Ashley & I are great at finding water & horses, you can imagine where we headed first ... to the beach.
We had to play in the Mediterannean despite how cold it might be that October day. It was cold ... very cold ... despite the freezing toes, we enjoyed every minute of standing at the water's edge, watching it lap against our feet.
Ashley went so far as to take a little barefoot jog along the water's edge.
After our adventure in the water, we decided to find the tourist office to see if they had suggestions on horseback riding. Both of us have ridden, so we wanted some place that would allow us to do more than just go along at a nice little walk. At the office, we were handed a pamphlet of every riding facility on the island & a map. We started walking & immediately decided that the first facility we came across would be the "one." We found a great little hotel right as we walked out of the centre of town & chatted with the receptionist. For an hour & a half & for 20 euros, we could go for a ride through the marshes. We immediately said yes, explained our riding background, & often we went to wait 30 minutes for the other members of the group to show. All in all, we had about 13 riders & 3 hotel staff/wranglers/cowboys. Of the 13 riders, only 5 of us had ridden before, so at one point the 5 of us were allowed to break off from the group & go for a gallop across the marshes. However, we had to pull up quite quickly as the remaining riders, well, all but 2, had fallen off their horses! Once the horses were caught & the riders reassembled, off we went again for an exhilarting canter on a slightly uncomfortable saddle (it was like a leather seat & stirrups - no skirt to the saddle which hurt because the stirrup leathers pinched my knees, but oh well).
The Camargue, or more specifically Saintes Maries de la Mer, lies on the southern coast of France. It is home to hot French "cowboys" (gardians in French), "white" horses, black bulls, white sandy beaches, & pink flamingos. Stes Maries is like a little island ... it doesn't take long to walk it ... in October there are very few tourists & it is so peaceful, though nothing seemed to be open.
Because Ashley & I are great at finding water & horses, you can imagine where we headed first ... to the beach.
We had to play in the Mediterannean despite how cold it might be that October day. It was cold ... very cold ... despite the freezing toes, we enjoyed every minute of standing at the water's edge, watching it lap against our feet.
Ashley went so far as to take a little barefoot jog along the water's edge.
After our adventure in the water, we decided to find the tourist office to see if they had suggestions on horseback riding. Both of us have ridden, so we wanted some place that would allow us to do more than just go along at a nice little walk. At the office, we were handed a pamphlet of every riding facility on the island & a map. We started walking & immediately decided that the first facility we came across would be the "one." We found a great little hotel right as we walked out of the centre of town & chatted with the receptionist. For an hour & a half & for 20 euros, we could go for a ride through the marshes. We immediately said yes, explained our riding background, & often we went to wait 30 minutes for the other members of the group to show. All in all, we had about 13 riders & 3 hotel staff/wranglers/cowboys. Of the 13 riders, only 5 of us had ridden before, so at one point the 5 of us were allowed to break off from the group & go for a gallop across the marshes. However, we had to pull up quite quickly as the remaining riders, well, all but 2, had fallen off their horses! Once the horses were caught & the riders reassembled, off we went again for an exhilarting canter on a slightly uncomfortable saddle (it was like a leather seat & stirrups - no skirt to the saddle which hurt because the stirrup leathers pinched my knees, but oh well).
On the way back to the hotel, Ashley & I pulled our horses along side one another as best we could because our horses did not care for one another & proceeded to ogle over our "cowboy." I wish we had gotten a picture of him ... but needless to say, he certainly made the ride very enjoyable. :-D (I know, we're horrible, but we can't help it ... we appreciate men who can wear tight riding jods & handle his unruly horse.)After saying good-bye to our horses & favourite gardian, Ashley & I decided to walk around a bit as we had time before the bus came to take us back to Arles. We found a wonderful leather shop that had some very finely made western saddles, a few hunt saddles, & some wonderful purses & boots. We certainly enjoyed smelling all the leather. Some people probably thought we were a little crazy, but oh well ... we enjoyed it.
We headed back to Arles around 5pm so we could make it to Marseille to check-in to our hotel by 8pm ...
We headed back to Arles around 5pm so we could make it to Marseille to check-in to our hotel by 8pm ...
No comments:
Post a Comment