St Malo and Mont St Michel, Brittany and Normandy, France
In the very early hours of the morning Endeavour docked smoothly and quietly inside the sea-lock in the ancient Breton port of St Malo. On awakening for breakfast we looked out not on the rough waves of last night but on the solid granite protection of the walled-town with its massive walls and walkable ramparts.
Immediately after an early breakfast we boarded the coaches which were to take us to the even more solid and rocky island of Mont St Michel. Our local guides of the past two days were with us once again as we drove the one hour through the pastoral Breton countryside en route for the famous monastery sitting atop the great granite outcrop of the Mont itself. Just before arriving there we crossed an invisible border and were back again in Normandy – the Mont St Michel sits just inside the Norman territory much to the annoyance of the Celtic Bretons!
But the argument whether it belongs to Normandy or Brittany was quickly forgotten as we approached closer and closer and started to realise the size and overwhelming scale of this great religious pinnacle, sticking out of the sheep-strewn mud-flats which make up the estuary surrounding the little outcrop. Not even being a UNESCO World Heritage Site can prepare you for the impression this fairy-tale like collection of jumbling medieval streets and stairways makes. The ascent to the inner sanctum of the cathedral is steep, slow but spectacular with views across both Normandy and Brittany. Each turn in the winding and twisting steps and pathways reveal architecture of various and varying stages and confounds the mind – how could so much dressed stone and huge building blocks be carried all the way up and around the steeps slopes of the Mont in a time when sheer human effort was the driving force of the day? But here it stands, after over 1,000 years of domination of the local countryside. And it is still in use as a living, working monastery with both monks and nuns confessing their faith in its hallowed surrounds.
Despite the volumes of photographs we collectively shot it can still only be truly experienced and appreciated by simply going there, absorbing it and letting it ‘sink in’ as you wend your way slowly back from the tour of the top to the curious cafes and garbled gift shops that line the narrow streets below.
Following lunch we had an excellent walk through the old town of St Malo, still sitting inside its protecting walls, rebuilt after World War 11 following a dreadful bombing error by the Allies. At first it seems like a meaningless rabbit-warren of streets but as our knowledgeable guides walked us through its maze and explained its history it began to feel much more comfortable and familiar. St Malo was home to the famous Arctic explorer Jacques Cartier as well as other less-welcome seafarers – the Corsaires or pirates of the area. The gift shops predictably promote the pirates but leave Cartier to lie softly in the deep peace of the great cathedral next door.
During our time ashore Endeavour moved from the calm waters of the inner lock to the outer bay due to the dramatic tidal drop of this part of the coastline. This meant that the trip back from shore was in the Zodiacs – and through rather sizable waves! However the sheer joy and enchantment of the day more than compensated for the occasional ‘splash’ we encountered as we made our way back to the ship with St Malo shrinking away behind us. Tomorrow would be a full day at sea, allowing us time to reflect on the volume of experiences and information we have been pampered with since we joined the ship all those days ago in Amsterdam.
In the very early hours of the morning Endeavour docked smoothly and quietly inside the sea-lock in the ancient Breton port of St Malo. On awakening for breakfast we looked out not on the rough waves of last night but on the solid granite protection of the walled-town with its massive walls and walkable ramparts.
Immediately after an early breakfast we boarded the coaches which were to take us to the even more solid and rocky island of Mont St Michel. Our local guides of the past two days were with us once again as we drove the one hour through the pastoral Breton countryside en route for the famous monastery sitting atop the great granite outcrop of the Mont itself. Just before arriving there we crossed an invisible border and were back again in Normandy – the Mont St Michel sits just inside the Norman territory much to the annoyance of the Celtic Bretons!
But the argument whether it belongs to Normandy or Brittany was quickly forgotten as we approached closer and closer and started to realise the size and overwhelming scale of this great religious pinnacle, sticking out of the sheep-strewn mud-flats which make up the estuary surrounding the little outcrop. Not even being a UNESCO World Heritage Site can prepare you for the impression this fairy-tale like collection of jumbling medieval streets and stairways makes. The ascent to the inner sanctum of the cathedral is steep, slow but spectacular with views across both Normandy and Brittany. Each turn in the winding and twisting steps and pathways reveal architecture of various and varying stages and confounds the mind – how could so much dressed stone and huge building blocks be carried all the way up and around the steeps slopes of the Mont in a time when sheer human effort was the driving force of the day? But here it stands, after over 1,000 years of domination of the local countryside. And it is still in use as a living, working monastery with both monks and nuns confessing their faith in its hallowed surrounds.
Despite the volumes of photographs we collectively shot it can still only be truly experienced and appreciated by simply going there, absorbing it and letting it ‘sink in’ as you wend your way slowly back from the tour of the top to the curious cafes and garbled gift shops that line the narrow streets below.
Following lunch we had an excellent walk through the old town of St Malo, still sitting inside its protecting walls, rebuilt after World War 11 following a dreadful bombing error by the Allies. At first it seems like a meaningless rabbit-warren of streets but as our knowledgeable guides walked us through its maze and explained its history it began to feel much more comfortable and familiar. St Malo was home to the famous Arctic explorer Jacques Cartier as well as other less-welcome seafarers – the Corsaires or pirates of the area. The gift shops predictably promote the pirates but leave Cartier to lie softly in the deep peace of the great cathedral next door.
During our time ashore Endeavour moved from the calm waters of the inner lock to the outer bay due to the dramatic tidal drop of this part of the coastline. This meant that the trip back from shore was in the Zodiacs – and through rather sizable waves! However the sheer joy and enchantment of the day more than compensated for the occasional ‘splash’ we encountered as we made our way back to the ship with St Malo shrinking away behind us. Tomorrow would be a full day at sea, allowing us time to reflect on the volume of experiences and information we have been pampered with since we joined the ship all those days ago in Amsterdam.
