In Arles: day two

October 13, 2024

Today is much nicer - calm and fair, so we opt for an early lunch so we have the whole afternoon free. Today’s lunchtime target is l’Escaladou, and it serves us up what might be our favorite of our three meals here. We each get the sea bass accompanied with steamed rice and a delicious assortment of grilled vegetables: cherry tomatoes, pepper, zucchini, carrot, and escarole.

We arrive right at noon and are among the first seated. It’s a good thing we booked, because fifteen minutes later the small place is full up. Probably five minutes after we arrive we’re entertained by a large Chinese group that enters the restaurant. There are about ten women in the group and they all immediately head for the women’s bathroom. There’s only one of course, but they all want to get in at the same time so there’s some frustrated jostling in line as they see how many can fit in. Only about five make it before the door closes behind them, leaving the others impatiently queued up outside in the the middle of the diners.

And then a party of four arrives to take the table next to us, and while we wait for our meal to arrive we surreptitiously glance at them too. They’re a total delight: mom, dad, and a pair of beautiful twin blond girls about three years old - curly hair, bouncy, entertaining. Well worth a photo of course, but there’s no way for a candid shot at such close quarters.

Best meal of the stay, but really we’ve eaten well nearly everywhere since we came south.

Rachael’s first out the door after lunch, off on a walk I came up with for her again. The goal today is the top of Montagne des Cordes, a small knoll about five miles to the northeast that’s the only high ground within walking distance of Arles that I can see. It only rises about two hundred feet above the plain but that should be plenty. She should be able to look down on the ruins of Montmajour Abbey, maybe see the nearby aqueducts, and enjoy a broad view across the Rhone delta. I wouldn’t be surprised if she can even see Ventoux if it’s clear enough.

She’s first out the door by a few minutes, and I wait long enough to get a photo of her walking down our alley. Before I can though she calls me because she needs navigational help. Her Garmin has been having difficulty positioning her lately for some reason, and it especially gets confused in warren-like spaces such as we’re in here. It probably doesn’t help that her left eye is swollen partly shut either. So I look out the window, point out the correct direction, and take my shot.

Unfortunately I’ve let partner down once again - or at least RideWithGPS and I collaborated to do so - because I’ve drawn her an unwalkable route. She gets within sight of the hill but gets turned back by barricades and private property signs so she turns back and finds another lane to walk down instead to get her 12 miles in - but not one that will get her to that tantalizing hill. Regardless of what RideWithGPS and Google Maps both say, it doesn’t look like you can walk to the hill from this direction.

Not the end of the world though. She still gets to see Montmajour abbey, and donkeys, and a nice cat. Nice, but probably not enough to tempt us to come back to Arles for another extended stay.

It’s always a good walk that includes a cat or two.

And she did still get a decent view of Montmajour Abbey.

My favorite view of Montmajour is still this one though, taken 27 years ago on our ride from Nice to Lisbon. This is another of those photos we enlarged and framed to hang on the walls of our Portland condo.

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I’m headed south to the lagoon again, on the longer of the two loops I’d mapped out for myself. This one goes further south and along the eastern edge of Étang de Vaccarès to a viewpoint where I hope I’ll see a new bird or two. If not, I should at least find something of interest and enjoy today’s sunnier conditions.

Before I leave I stop for a photo in the hotel, just in case I don’t find much else worth stopping for.

The first five miles go quickly, as they’re a repeat of yesterday’s ride until I come to the turnoff to the new route I’ll follow. I keep a steady pace, banking time for slowing down when I get to the lagoon, and don’t bother stopping until I come to the beginnings of the pervasive rice fields that cover the delta.

It’s all shorn stubble now, but rice paddies are still attractive even like this. The Camargue is one of the oldest rice cultivation regions of Europe and produces 75% of France’s rice supply.

I stopped for the rice but was surprised to see the formation in the distance. I can’t tell for sure what we’re looking at here - maybe the Alpilles?

I slow down when I come to the lagoon, stopping in a few spots where you can walk up to the water’s edge. It’s a familiar story though - it’s a vast body of water, and if it’s harboring many birds they’re sensibly enough not hanging around close to the road. Still a very pretty scene though, with a few surprises even if there’s nothing new to record.

A Clouded Yellow on an almost cloudless day.

Gulls and cormorants. Nothing new here, but still picturesque enough.

Well, here’s a set close enough to get excited about.

Leaving the lagoon, I bike another few miles further south until I come to my turn to loop west and then back north through Le Sambuc. At 36 miles it’s a pretty long loop for one that started in mid-afternoon, so for the most part I bike steadily. It’s worth stopping in a few spots though - especially when I see a Camargue horse with an egret standing in the sway of its back on the other side of some reeds, both looking my way. I can only see the horse’s head because of the reeds, so I hold my arms up full length with the camera to get a more complete view. It’s not until I lower them and look at my shot that I discover they’re not alone.

I like everything about this lucky shot - the bird, the horse, the unexpected foal I didn’t see at first, and even from the bit of straw hanging out of the horse’s mouth.

A few feet further down the road I came to a gap in the roadside vegetation and looked back.

More rice, not a surprise. It’s pretty easy to find here.

South of Le Sambuc I come to the D36, the road I’ll follow north the rest of the way back to Arles. It’s about 5:30, I’m still about 15 miles from town, and sundown is at 7 or even a few minutes earlier by now to I can’t tarry any more. I pick up the pace and keep a steady 13 mph for the next hour, making it back to town while shadows are getting long but it’s still light enough to feel safe.

There are three or four interesting miles north of Le Sambuc though when I realize I’m seeing the shadows of birds from above flashing across the pavement. I look up and see gulls swirling above, large numbers of them. I stop long enough to get a few shots so I can identify them later and then move on. I’ll still be biking beneath them for the next three or four miles, acting as a rabbit pulling me up the road.

Later I’ll confirm they’re just the usual for around here - black-headed gulls - and read up on their behavior. Apparently they’re known for gathering in large flocks of hundreds or even a thousand birds. These must be the ones in the large bird cloud I saw in the distance yesterday also.

South of Le Sombuc I come to this marked bike path paralleling the D36. I give it about a fifty yard test before deciding it’s the wrong idea.

It’s a long road home. Better get on with it.

For three or four miles I’ll bike beneath black-headed gulls gyrating above the road.

By the time I get back I realize I’m famished so I step out right away and find myself an open cafe for a burger and brew. Afterwards I’ll walk back past the cathedral and be surprised to see the Hotel de Ville illuminated in pink, the same hue I saw lighting up its interior two days ago.

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Today's ride: 36 miles (58 km)
Total: 4,214 miles (6,782 km)

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