Zodiacs ferried the group across an amazingly calm sea to the small island of Ile d'Aix, which was fortified in the seventeenth century. Our morning excursion included a visit to a museum dedicated to the life and times of Napoleon Bonaparte.

The afternoon found us in La Rochelle whose history is inextricably linked to the sea. Originally this settlement began as a small fishing center but was to endure and expand into a commercial and political stronghold during the Middle Ages. Up to the latter part of the eighteenth century La Rochelle traded intensively with America, Africa, East India, and China. In 1890 a new commercial port at La Pallice was opened and fostered an expansion of trade. During the Second World War a substantial submarine base was constructed and directed by the Third Reich. The Allies attempted unsuccessfully to put an end to the havoc that it's U-Boats meted out through a number of air raids. The submarine pens remain as a mute reminder of the substantial losses, in terms of human life, on both sides. The city has an outstanding array of eighteenth century buildings, in a remarkable state of preservation, attesting to it's highly successful commercial enterprises in the past. With it's attractive narrow laneways, historical building fabric, including the fourteenth century port tower in the photo above, and an ever-growing population, La Rochelle exudes an air of vibrancy and modernity.