Horses!

La Camargue is known for its wild horses, salt flats, and historic cities of Aigues-Mortes and Saintes Maries de le mer. Our AirBNb was smack dab in the middle of the Camargue, but as I mentioned last time, not near any kind of civilization—except horseback riding outfits.

The day dawned partly cloud and slightly windy, but Brigitte assured. me it was not going to rain. We just had to go and few kilometers down the road to the stable. We had a brief stop for the shepherd to get his sheep across the road. The wrangler, Elise, had the horses saddled and waiting. Amy who had worked at a stable felt a bit out of it because she is normally doing the prep work. When Elise found out Amy had done dressage, she got her a different horse. I was on the her old horse and she told me that she had a soft mouth so not to pull on the reins. Amazing that I could get that in French. Lol.

We set off with little fanfare and without signing any liability paperwork as one would in the states. I initially followed Elise but her French was too rapid fire for me to understand, so part way through the ride, I changed places with Amy. That way she could practice her French and make decisions for us that she understood.

At one point, I smelled cigarette smoke and realized Elise was smoking. Amy told me the she had a helluva a time lighting a cigarette in that wind and on horseback—“that’s commitment!”, she said later.

Because we were experienced riders, we could do some trots and gallops. Elise also asked if we minded going through the water; we did not, but I don’t think my horse was too thrilled about.

The horses, as always, knew when we turned for home and started perking up. We thanked Elise profusely for our ride and I gave her a tip which she didn’t expect. It’s so different here about tipping.

Of course, you guessed it, we were hungry again. We drove into saintes maries de le mer, now knowing the history from our horse guide. The three Marys, Magdalene, Salome, and Jacobe, supposedly had to flee the holy land on a boat and ended up here after a fierce storm. The church is a major pilgrimage spot. However,

The Celts also had a legend about three women and the demographic often referred to as Gypsies, also have a history of coming here for Sara ful Kali. Yet another legend has a black servant of Mary Mother of Jesus coming here. Take your pick!

We found an open air restaurant with heaters but I was still cold most of the time. My horse being the shortest, I had gotten wet during the water crossing. I had a seafood stew sort of like a jambalaya and Amy had a ton of mussels. It may not have been the best choice for food, but the

Location….

We did a little shopping in town. I got some more celementines, a bottle wine for us and a bottle to replace the one from Brigitte, and a triple grain bière. I also got a cool pair of sage green sneakers. They love their shoes here.

Next stop was Aiguës-Mortes. We parked just outside the walled part of the city and began exploring. A lot of people arrive here by boat on the Rhône. We saw lots of boats moored on the river. The fortress museum was not open despite its sign saying it was. So…

We went out the other side of the walls to a little park by the sea. The boardwalk was not sound and we weren’t suppose to be on it, but what the hey? A strategic location, it’s easy to understand why Louis IX built it as a launching place for the Crusades. The surrounding salt marshes can appear pink at times, and contribute to the names Aiguës-Mortes, which means dead waters.

We found some shopping here too! At a leather store, Amy found a belt which she needed and I got a glasses holder for my reading glasses that clips onto my purse strap. There were so many cool purses in that store and the saleswoman was VERY good. It took a lot of willpower to not buy anything else. But I know I don’t use a lot of purses no matter how cute they are. I did fall down at another store where she had a lot of gold and shiny things. Here I got a cool mirror for the mirror wall I’m creating at my home and amour in gold cursive. I like to post love around the house too! Amy found a perfume that she liked. I also got some herbs de Provence and some postcards at another shop.

Then we were off to the InterMarche to get groceries for dinner. I thought I could exit the traffic circle before the one maps wanted us to, but once again I was wrong. However, as I waited to turn around, Amy noticed a Bio store in the parking lot. She made the excellent point besides being organic, it would be less crazy than the big InterMarche.

I got a beautiful small head of lettuce and some cheese for a salad. I picked up some other makings for dinner a nd breakfast, and an impulse buy of a local lavender rum to take home. I mean, why not? I decided against bringing wine home; I’m just going to enjoy it here.

We got home while the sun was still up, so I sat outside and had my bière. One of the resident cats came by, but did not engage. I moved inside for for dinner and the warm fire.