The beautiful island.
Belle Île en Mer, the name sets the tone. It is the largest island off the coast of Brittany and one is welcomed upon arrival from sea by a massive citadel and fortification built by the famous Vauban. The harbour entrance to Le Palais, the island’s main town, is something to behold and also to experience, especially on a sunny busy Saturday evening, as we should soon learn.
The helpful harbour master had been racing around the waiting boats outside of the picturesque harbour for a while, instilling orders of who gets to go in first, as soon as the gate would open and enough water would have risen in the „Bassin A Flot“ inside. It would be 6.30pm for us, we got informed, but we had to wait until the boats staying longer would have moored inside first, so we could raft up to them. Fair enough. Then all hell broke loose: boats circling the small entrance like sharks, eventually forming a line of boats pushing along to get in.
Having mastered several of such experiences at busy locks in Zeeland at home, the captain was grinning and smiling at the chaos around us. Lisa was busy waving at Frenchmen turning and twisting their boats in all directions trying to keep them away from Roci’s bow. After 2,5 hours of sweating (and Lisa silently swearing), we made it inside the actual harbour for the night. We were already spotted by the crew of another Dutch sailing boat, Amuse, who had been wondering what we had been doing for the past hours as they were already safely moored inside and had been cheering at the docking chaos (also called harbour cinema). Fun fact about cruising-life: We had seen them for the first time on our AIS, when we both crossed the shipping channel of Rotterdam months ago. Now we closed the loop by actually meeting in person with a cup of coffee the next day. Having made some friends with fellow French sailors that tied up to us, we were exhausted for the day.
The island itself offers everything: Between tranquil beaches and spectacular cliffs, between colorful harbors and verdant countryside, there is a rich mosaic of landscapes all around. Thus, the next day was for hiking along the majestic coastline, taking a swim in one of the several calm and shallow bays and simply enjoying this beautiful and buzzing island, from our well-deserved harbour spot.
We would only sail on the next day, enjoying the stable and beautiful summer weather.
