Cadaques to Marsielle 20-09-2006 to 01-10-2006

Lady Drake
Peter Drake
Sun 1 Oct 2006 00:00

I stayed in Cadaques for two days and then headed towards France.  My last stop in the Costa Brava was a lovely anchorage in a pace called Cala Tamarina.  I anchored here for the afternoon and went swimming in the bay.

 

Lady Drake viewed from the beach in Cala Tamarina:

 

An excellent view of Lady Drake from the rocks:

 

Finally I crossed the border into France and anchored in the first Port I came to which was called Cerbere.   This place has an international railway station large enough to serve a city, but the it is like a ghost town.  I could not find a restaurant open past 9 pm.

 

Cerbere:

 

I did not sleep well that night in Cerbere as there were some strong gusts of wind, I left at first light to go to a place called Collioure which was another recommendation.  When I arrived at Collioure I found that it was also suffering from strong gusts and as I needed to anchor I decided to continue around the Gulf of Lion and managed about to cover about one third of Lion to a placed called Cap d’Agde.  My sail was a fast and rough one as the wind got up to force 8, but luckily was behind me, I eventually arrived at Cap d’Agde on top of a wave.

 

The windy conditions did not improve and I found myself at Cap d’Agde from 21/9 to 28/9.   Cap d’Agde is a purpose built marina about the size of a large town with many bars, restaurants and boutiques. I entertained myself by Karaoke and cycling.  There were some great cycle paths which went on for miles.  Cap d’Agde is also next to a Naturist Resort for 20,000 people, I did not see any naked people though.

 

One of the many cycle routes:

 

The cycle path leading into the town of Agde.

 

A view of the port at Cap d’ Agde:

 

When the windy conditions improved I headed away from Cap d’Agde and made it to the Provence to a place called Port Guardian.  Port Guardian was a great little village which had its own bull fighting ring and people walked around in cowboy hats.  Port Guardian is also the home of the Sarah the patron saint of the gypsies.    

 

Concrete plaque depicting a bullfighting scene:

 

I was lucky enough to witness an inshore rescue exercise where the inshore lifeboat rescued a guy in a rib.  

 

The rescue exercise:

 

There was also a rather unique market with everything from groceries to clothes.

 

The Market:

 

The church was a great experience as it was possible to go on the roof and enjoy the fantastic views.

 

The church from ground level:

 

On the roof:

 

A view across the rooftops to the port:

 

More views:

 

Buskers outside the church:

 

Inside the church:

 

The origins of the town are linked to a legend that says that Mary Magdalene, Mary Jacob sister to the Virgin Mary, Mary Salome mother of the disciples James and John, Lazurus who rose from the dead, Martha sister of Lazurus, Maximum, Sidonius the blind man who could later see and Sarah the black servant of the Marys were supposed to have arrived in a boat with no oars or sails.  Sarah was later adopted by the gypsies as their patron saint.

 

I think that this is supposed to be the two mariesM

 

There are many remembrance plaques around I think from gypsies:

 

On 30/9 I departed from Port Guardian and headed towards Marseille.  Because the wind was against me for the first part I had to make an earlier stop at a place called Carro.  I arrived at Carro in the dark and had to moor bows to which proved to be interesting by myself, luckily there was a fisherman to take my lines.

 

There was a great fish market in Carro so I bought some fresh fish before leaving the next day.

 

Lady Drake in Carro:

 

On 1st October I headed out of Carro to Marseille.  To my disappointment there was a regatta in Marseille and all the berths were taken, I eventually resigned to heading to the nearby Isle of Frioul which was a former navel base.  There is a ferry from the Isle of Frioul to Marseille so I did not miss out.

 

Lady Drake on the end of the pontoon on the Isle of Frioul:

 

The following day I headed to Marseille on the ferry for some sight seeing and was not disappointed.

 

The Cathedral:

 

Views from the terrace of the national museum:

 

 

I took a street train to view some of the sights.  I think that it is the best 5 Euros that I have ever spent.  Here are some of the sights:

 

 

 

A view from outside the Notre Dame:

 

The Notre Dame:

 

Inside the Notre Dame there was a display of model boats,  this one in particular interested me as it is of the Mayflower.  The remains of the Myflower are in Portsmouth.

 

 

A view of the city from the Notre Dame:

 

War memorial:

 

This was taken by the port in Marsielle:

 

And then back to the Isle of Frioul.

 

The ferry driver had a remote control: