Back Again

Where the port meets the channel and the Rance estuary.

After being away for a few weeks, we returned to St. Malo last Sunday to discover spring in the air. Although the week has ended with rain, it began with crystal blue skies, warm delicious weather and the beach full of happy people.

Sun bathers sit against the wall, where the warmth gathers and radiates.

With the full moon, we were in another phase of dramatic tide variation. In the foreground of the photo below you can see the entire boat ramp exposed. This is where the fisherman dock and the ferries to and from Dinard take people back and forth. All such activity stops, of course, when the water disappears. 

The fishing port shuts down entirely, waiting for the tide to come back in.

We saw people with buckets, shovels, swim suits and towels. Digging for clams, splashing about in the shallows, playing in the sand were all the order of the day. It was a joyful scene.

The little student sailboats, called Les Optimistes, weren't going too fast as there was scarcely any wind.

Here this week has been the second, and last, week of the winter holidays for school children and as usual you see many young ones scampering along beside their grannies and grandpas. It is a tradition for the grandparents to step forward during school holidays since there are so many of them!

Looking back at St. Malo, intra muros, from the breakwater.

It was pleasant to get back to our walking routines and to revisit the charming sights from a sunny stroll along the walls.

One of our favorite houses along the walls.

When the tide is low it is possible to walk out to the historic fort, designed by Vauban and built in 1689 on the Petit Bé. A path opens up for a short time between shore, the Grand Bé, and onto the Petit Bé, the two islands right off the coast. It's quite possible, of course, to get stuck on the islands if the tide comes in before starting the walk back to the mainland.

The fort on the Petit Bé as seen from the Grand Bé.

We hadn't made this trek before and we didn't quite make it this week either, although we did get halfway there. Our timing was a little off and the second half of the walk, between the Grand and Petit Bé, was still underwater.

The tidal swimming pool fills and empties with the coming and going of the waters. 

The rocky coastline around St. Malo is full of islands that appear and disappear with the tides. The ever changing view of land and sea sparks real joy in sailors and landlubbers alike.

The granite path leading from the mainland out to the Petit Bé is covered when the tide comes back in.