In Arles: day one

October 12, 2024

My day begins with a shock when the light comes on and I have a look at my colorful partner. Overnight she’s sprouted a new look, and not one that flatters her:

At least magenta is in her fan. It will go well with one of her cycling jerseys.

I didn’t mention it yesterday, but she had an accident yesterday afternoon when she left the hotel at the start of her walk. The hotel has quite a confusing, brachiated layout and it really won’t be until the third day that we reliably make it up to or out of our room without coming to a junction and stopping to puzzle it out. One thing that adds to the confusion is the large floor-to-ceiling windows and mirrors in a few spots.

Anyway, she walked into one last night, hard enough to earn a pretty good knot on her right eye. It reminds us of the time years ago when we were in a neighborhood pizzeria in Portland and she left the table to find the bathroom. When she returned her nose was bleeding profusely from walking into a clear glass wall. At least this time she didn’t break her nose!

This morning though its turned an impressive purple, almost like she’s experimenting with a new eyeliner, and her eye is partly swollen shut. Poor Rachael!

Just so you won’t be too alarmed for her though, she’s fine except for the look; and to jump ahead a bit, here’s how she looked rhe following morning. Better already!

It will take a few days, but it looks like there will be no lasting damage.

It’s not the finest day this morning: overcast, cool, windy, with showers forecast for the afternoon. If we’re going to get out it needs to be first thing , so we both get an early start with the usual constraint that we be back in time for our lunch reservation.

Arles is an interesting city of course, but it sits in the broad, flat plain of the Rhone delta. It doesn’t make the ideal base for walks because you have to get at least four or five miles out of town before you come to any sort of interesting terrain at all. Rachael will take three walks from here, but they’re all pretty similar - flat strolls along a river or canal. Today she walks west along the Petit Rhone, the large distributary of the main channel that splits off just north of the city. It’s not one of her longer walks, but that’s all the time we’ve got this morning.

Sound track: I’ll Never Go There Anymore, by Bill Charlap

That’s funny - Rachael found this music for her slideshow earlier, but it’s only after writing up that this isn’t the best base for a walk that I scrolled down to see its title. It’s fitting, because I suspect if we’re ever back this way we wouldn’t stop in Arles for more than a convenient overnight.

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I get what is for me an unusually early start of the day, leaving the room at about 8:30 not long past sunrise. There are two rides I’ve picked out for myself here - both south to the Étang de Vaccarès, the large saltwater lagoon near the coast. I’m hopeful that between the two of them I’ll see a new bird or two - maybe if I’m really lucky a purple heron or squacco heron, uncommon but striking and easily identified birds I’ve seen once or twice in other years. Today I take the shorter of the two rides because of the time constraint.

It turns out to be a nice enough ride, but it’s not really quite the one I’d hoped for. There are birds around and I do get a few nice sightings off in the distance, but it’s really too cold, windy and grey for birding - by me at least. Maybe if I was younger and my eyesight was better it would be different, but I really can’t make out the details of anything much less distinctive than a hawk or egret - they mostly just all look like little grey birds that I know will immediately fly out of range if I stop and try to zoom in on one. Hopefully the sun will be out tomorrow and I’ll get a better look.

There is one exception though when I see a brilliant turquoise patch fly away from me up a channel and then quickly disappear from sight. Unmistakeable. There’s really only one bird in Western Europe this could be - the common kingfisher - and it’s one I’ve had my eye out for all year. Am I really going to go through the entire year without seeing a kingfisher, I’ve often thought?

No, I’m not. And even though there’s no photograph to prove it, I’m happy to add #281 to the list. Later I’ll research the species on eBird to find a photograph to include here, and find this statement: “Often perches quietly in trees over water; most often seen in very fast low flight as a turquoise flash over the water, usually flying away.”

It was exactly like that.

I get an earlier jump on the day than usual.

An interesting, somewhat threatening sky this morning.

This looks like a promising road, the utility lines strung with doves and blackbirds.

This is the Camargue, there should be at least one horse photo. The cattle egrets are a bonus feature.

For several miles I enjoy an outstanding cycling road. No cars, no other bikes, but not many identifiable birds either.

I do like the look of the sky though, as long as the rain holds off for me.

In the distance a large bird cloud rises from the wetland. Mostly or all gulls, but too far off to identify beyond that.

#281: Common kingfisher (photo downloaded from the web). An unmistakable bird, even without a photo for evidence.

At the midpoint of the ride I finally come to the lagoon, the spot where I hope the birds will be. When I walk up to the edge the usual happens - I immediate.h hear some panicky splashing and the clutch of birds that was hidden below the reeds just yards from me quickly splashes and flies off to a safe distance. Zooming in though I see that they’re just coots so it’s no big missed opportunity. Panning the nearby water and shoreline I see a couple of grebes and an egret, but that’s it. I’m here on the wrong day apparently, so I just start biking again and head back for town.

Not much action on the lagoon this morning: some coots, a few grebes, an egret or two.

This is the Camargue, there should be at least one bull shot.

Maybe it’s because there’s a modest headwind when I turn north or maybe the elements have finally caught up with me, but partway home I realize I’m starting to get cold and am reminded that it was pretty foolish to be out here without a coat. I’ve got my blue layer, but it’s just on the end of being sufficient. I’ll never learn.

We both make it back in time for lunch, which is quite good but not the best of the three meals we’ll enjoy here in Arles (later we’ll agree that although the city isn’t a great hiking or biking base, it’s excellent for dining).

I spend the afternoon in the room, feeling just a bit off and hoping I haven’t done any damage to my health. Rachael does go out though, to a laundromat - a wet afternoon on a layover day is the perfect setup for this errand. And, as often seems to happen with her, she enjoys a delightful conversation with a young woman there, a student at the university. Rachael was impressed by her language skills - she’s French, completely fluent in English, and is currenty learning Polish so she can communicate better with her Polish boyfriend. Rachael was also impressed by her tactfulness - after she described what happened to her eye her new friend acknowledged that she had noticed the injury but didn’t think she should mention it. Maybe she thought Rachael had an abusive partner waiting for her when she got home!

Today's ride: 25 miles (40 km)
Total: 4,178 miles (6,724 km)

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