Ile d’Aix
The large waves we had ridden our Zodiacs through back to the ship on the previous day had seemed to bode ill for our day at sea – since lifting anchor yesterday we had to travel over four hundred miles from the important and spectacular piratical port of St Malo to the picturesque Ile d’Aix! However, much to our joy, the spell of bad weather had passed and a high pressure zone now guaranteed pleasant travel for us around the large peninsula that is Brittany, one of the most unique regions of France. It dawned bright and clear, and the sunshine and gentle swells persisted throughout the day – absolutely perfect conditions for a well-deserved day at sea.
The occasional day at sea throughout our trips is always welcome, as they allow us to recover from the intense emotional and educational experience that exploring these incredibly rich areas of the world entails. We had the opportunity to catch up on sleep, travel journals, letter-writing and reading, as well as reflect about the areas we had just visited; but even more importantly this day gave our staff the chance to add immeasurably to our voyage with their knowledge.
In preparation for our following day’s visit to Ile d’Aix, where Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was finally forced to give himself up to the English, historian David Barnes told us more about this powerful and charismatic general and leader, and about his importance in the post-French Revolution Europe. During the afternoon, archeologist Vincent Butler led us far back in time to the prehistory of Western Europe as related by bones, art, implements and tools; after which our other historian, Steve Blamires, gave us a fascinating account of the peoples the areas we are visiting are best known for: the Celts, thus dispelling many misconceptions and untruthful myths and giving us the real picture of a fascinating and diverse group of people.
Any free time we had was spent on deck, enjoying the wonderfully warm weather and on the look out for the occasional pelagic sea bird such as gannets, shearwaters and gulls with our natural history staff, or taking advantage of the Lindblad Expedition’s open bridge policy to visit with our captain and officers and learn more about the operation of the Endeavour. Continually on the look out for anything that might interest our guests, they announced strange fluorescent green patches on the water surface, which appeared shortly after an air force-looking plane over flew the ship repeatedly. These were probably the result of the testing of some kind of tracker dye, but we enjoyed much speculation as to the nature of the strange phenomenon: ranging from unnaturally bright plankton blooms to anti-submarine warfare practice!
The great meals and mid-afternoon tea just added to what has been a fully enjoyable, educational and relaxing day; and we are now ready to continue with our exploration of Western Europe with its unbelievably rich heritage.
The large waves we had ridden our Zodiacs through back to the ship on the previous day had seemed to bode ill for our day at sea – since lifting anchor yesterday we had to travel over four hundred miles from the important and spectacular piratical port of St Malo to the picturesque Ile d’Aix! However, much to our joy, the spell of bad weather had passed and a high pressure zone now guaranteed pleasant travel for us around the large peninsula that is Brittany, one of the most unique regions of France. It dawned bright and clear, and the sunshine and gentle swells persisted throughout the day – absolutely perfect conditions for a well-deserved day at sea.
The occasional day at sea throughout our trips is always welcome, as they allow us to recover from the intense emotional and educational experience that exploring these incredibly rich areas of the world entails. We had the opportunity to catch up on sleep, travel journals, letter-writing and reading, as well as reflect about the areas we had just visited; but even more importantly this day gave our staff the chance to add immeasurably to our voyage with their knowledge.
In preparation for our following day’s visit to Ile d’Aix, where Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was finally forced to give himself up to the English, historian David Barnes told us more about this powerful and charismatic general and leader, and about his importance in the post-French Revolution Europe. During the afternoon, archeologist Vincent Butler led us far back in time to the prehistory of Western Europe as related by bones, art, implements and tools; after which our other historian, Steve Blamires, gave us a fascinating account of the peoples the areas we are visiting are best known for: the Celts, thus dispelling many misconceptions and untruthful myths and giving us the real picture of a fascinating and diverse group of people.
Any free time we had was spent on deck, enjoying the wonderfully warm weather and on the look out for the occasional pelagic sea bird such as gannets, shearwaters and gulls with our natural history staff, or taking advantage of the Lindblad Expedition’s open bridge policy to visit with our captain and officers and learn more about the operation of the Endeavour. Continually on the look out for anything that might interest our guests, they announced strange fluorescent green patches on the water surface, which appeared shortly after an air force-looking plane over flew the ship repeatedly. These were probably the result of the testing of some kind of tracker dye, but we enjoyed much speculation as to the nature of the strange phenomenon: ranging from unnaturally bright plankton blooms to anti-submarine warfare practice!
The great meals and mid-afternoon tea just added to what has been a fully enjoyable, educational and relaxing day; and we are now ready to continue with our exploration of Western Europe with its unbelievably rich heritage.
