Last week Don had a break in his wedding schedule (he’s had 90 so far). When we could see that this break was going to happen, we planned with a church friend, who has a car, to take a road trip to northern Brittany.
Brittany is the most western part of France and is about five hours west of Paris. The Brittany area is surrounded on three sides by the ocean and has a saw tooth coast line of almost 750 miles. The shore is extremely jagged with many islands, islets, cliffs, caves and reefs. It has always been a dangerous place to sail into and not just because of the early corsairs (official French pirates) but because the sea is full of rocks that are difficult to see, especially in high tide. Now, there are lots of lighthouses and beacons to help guide you into port safely.
The tallest part of northern Brittany that we visited was Cap Frehal which stands 182 feet above the water and where a much needed lighthouse sits atop a red sandstone promontory. There is also much pink granite in the area. The red and pink rocks are a nice contrast to the beautiful emerald green water. In this area there are seagulls, cormorants and other sea birds galore. There is not much vegetation due to the sea breeze being at times gale like and very salty. Further inland, it is almost tropical with much vegetation and it never freezes due to the warm ocean currents.
We also visited St Malo and drove along the Rance river estuary. There is much evidence of the tide in this area. The tide which goes in and out every 24 hours can rise as much as 44 feet. While the high tide can be the most beautiful with water covering the mud and splashing against the rocks, the low tide is great for seafood and shell collecting.
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