Getting up and out of the house was a bit of a bleary-eyed task this morning, but by shortly after 8 am, we were out of the house, sandwiches in hand.
Claire (our GPS) shows an arrival time of 9:08 which stretches to 9:15 by the time we got to the port in Quiberon. Dave dropped us and headed to find a parking space. As usual, I worried whether he'd get back in time. All the other passengers had loaded and we were waiting at the point where they would check Dan's tickets on his phone. Of course, everything was fine and we had plenty of time.
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Our ship, the Bangor (named after a Belle-Isle city)
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You can bring your car, but it costs $90 one way, so we opted to rent on the island. A good choice.
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| leaving Quiberon |
I was able to drive my scooter up the car ramp and use an elevator to get up to the level of the passenger seating. Of course, being among the last to board, we had trouble finding 4 seats together. But Paulette prevailed and we found seats outside on the back of the ferry. I parked my scooter near the elevator and joined them. The day was beautiful. Sun shine, fresh breeze. Dressed in a sweater over a t-shirt, I was comfortable the whole way.
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| We're on the way |
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| Dan and Paulette at the back of the boat |
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| Dave and Lynn enjoying the sun at the back of the boat |
Fifty minutes later, we were safely tucked inside the breakwater at the port of Le Palais (the name of the town).
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| the seawalls of Le Palais (looking into the sun, so it looks grey) |
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| Entering the Port of Le Palais on Belle Isle |
A huge citadel built by Vauban sits on a rocky promontory overlooking the port. It's an impressive construction of 17th century military architecture.
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| part of the citadel. It's closed right now for restoration work |
The car rental agency is right across the street from where we debarked and the tourist office is only a few doors away. While Dan checked in with the rental agency, Dave got a map of the island from the tourist office. I watched the ferry load and leave for Quiberon.
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| passengers waiting to board - many with suitcases after a vacation weekend |
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| leaving port |
Our car is not parked in front of the rental agency, but is several blocks away in an enclosed parking lot. Dan took a navette (small bus) to the lot and returned to pick us up. We were on our way.
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| loading our little SUV with the scooter and our raingear (just in case) |
Belle-Isle-en-Mer is the largest island of Brittany (85 square km), with 4 cities and 6,000 year-round inhabitants. It is the farthest from the coast of Brittany (50 min by boat from Quiberon) and has a varied landscape including high cliffs, deep valleys, moors and farmland. I am doubtful that we can circumnavigate the island in the few hours we have to explore.
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| courtesy of https://liletbelle.com/maps/ |
We decided to explore our arrival port, Le Palais, at the end of the day, time allowing, and headed north to Pointe de Taillefer for the panoramic view.
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| Dan and Paulette at Pointe de Taillefer |
We worked our way around the island, counterclockwise, stopping next at Sauzon on the north side of the island. We parked just outside the town and walked the quay all the way to the lighthouse. It was quiet and lovely.
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| looking out toward the breakwater |
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| Sauzon |
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| Sauzon |
The lighthouse area was very walkable.
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| Lynn, Paulette and Dan on the quay |
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| Dave and Lynn near the end of town |
We found a little church (and restrooms) and had to investigate.
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| How many churches have a view of the water out their door? |
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| the altar |
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| Every church in Brittany has a ship hanging inside - for good reason. |
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| looking down the nave |
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| Eglise St Nicolas, Sauzon, Belle Isle |
Another stop along the coast:
The very northwestern point of land on Belle Isle is the Pointe de Poulains. Besides its lighthouse on the rocky promontory, it is famous as the summer residence of Sarah Bernhardt. Her manor house is now a museum. We took our lunch along a rock wall with this magnificent view to look at. We also had some persistent guests who refused to find another place to lunch.
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| Dave, Lynn, Paulette and Dan with the lighthouse of Pointe de Poulains behind us. |
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| This gull insisted on being a guest at our lunch |
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| Dave, Lynn and the gull |
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| Our gull guest posed for many photos |
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| Dan exploring in our lunch spot |
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| the lighthouse on Pointe de Poulains |
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| Paulette poses with blooms of broom and the lighthouse behind |
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| Our first view of the lighthouse |
The cove of Ster Oeun is a natural fjord surrounded by cliffs with a small beach at the head. It is popular with boats who anchor for the day to explore and swim in the shelter of the cove.
The beach at Ster Vraz (Big River) is large and popular beach due to it's mix of sand and fine pebbles. It is sheltered by cliffs on either side.
On the southwest corner of the island sit the Aiguilles (needles) de Port Coton, painted by Claude Monet. They are really breathtaking peaks of rock sticking up from the seabed.
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| Dave and Dan on top left give and idea of how big these rocks are |
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| panorama from the top |
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| another view. Again, look for the people on top of the rocky cliff on the left to get an idea of the scale |
Nearby is a very tall and picturesque lighthouse called Le Grand Phare (The Big Lighthouse) whose 285 granite steps we decided not to climb for the panoramic view.
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| Le Grand Phare |
We passed through the inland town of Bangor on our way to Locmaria at the southeastern tip of Belle Ile.
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| churches of Locmaria |
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| an unusual place for a crucifix, but it really grabs your attention when leaving the church |
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| looking toward altar from back of nave |
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| Eglise Notre Dame de l'Assomption |
We made our way along the northern beaches on our way back to Le Palais.
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| looking north at La Plage des Grands Sables |
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| looking southeast at La Plage des Grands Sables |
Dan dropped us at the ferry dock and returned the car. While we waited for him, we took seats in a café and tried to order ice cream. But they have a non-compete rule that they don't sell ice cream in the afternoon in support of the ice cream stores. Hmmm..... So we had drinks instead. Dan joined us and we had time to finish our drinks leisurely before joining the lines waiting to board the newly arrived ferry.
As we were going to join the line, we were told to wait at the front of the line (because of the scooter) and were boarded first. How thoughtful. We again found seats outside to enjoy the 50 minute ride back to Quiberon.
After the car ride home, it was too late to grill, so we had hamburgers and ratatouille (encore) and skipped apéros. (At least that's how I remember it. Paulette and Dan may have clearer memories of the day.)
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