May 7, 2023
La Grande Motte to Ste Maries de la Mer
Pushing off at 11am seemed a decadently late hour but the take down of the campsite was slow; we were enjoying the morning rays far too much.
We are cycling into the Petite Camargue today, 50km is planned, so very do-able even with the late start.
Today marks the sixth morning in a row we've woken up in a tent. Other than the fine lunch in Beziers, this has been almost a week of really camping which, to me, means three meals a day outside and sleeping in a tent. And it has been wonderful to slow down and revel in nature and the exquisite scenery of southern France. Last night's supper of mixed seafood pasta and a huge fresh salad while watching the shadows lengthen, was just about perfect. Another reason for the slow start this morning.
So as we did yesterday, we passed once more through the beautiful resort town of Grau-du-Roi. It was hopping on this last bluebird Sunday of school break. Once through the traffic jammed up waiting to get over the one lane bridge, we headed east on a perfect trail beside the Canal du Rhone a Sete for six more km to Aignes-Mortes (it means "still waters") for our picnic waterside lunch. Now we are officially in the Petite Camargue, a nature reserve of wetlands, salt flats, and wildlife. We continued along the canal another five km and then the route took us onto the D58. Traffic, cars, I was a bit shocked that the Eurovelo 8 route would have us on this road, but there were wide shoulders for cyclists and so we carried on. The silver lining was a farm stand selling lovely fresh asparagus, which we bought, and strawberries which we ogled but feared they would not travel well for the rest of the journey. Soon after the route turned onto a small road with little traffic leading to a ´bac', which in Quebec means a bin for recycling but here is a small ferry that we took to cross the Rhone, and soon we were in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. Yes, in fact the town is named for three Marys who arrived in this place, presumably directly from the Holy Land.
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Today's ride: 50 km (31 miles)
Total: 544 km (338 miles)
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