Sunday, April 3, 2011

Camargue

Yesterday we drove south of Arles to the Camargue region of Provence to see the flamingos, bulls and horses (a little "cowboy" culture French style!) for which the region is famous, and to visit the beach front at Stes.-Maries-de-la-Mer.   We got a little off track just past the little town of Mas-Thibert and had to stop to get directions.  A lady kindly pointed out the road to Stes.-Maries-de-la-Mer, but then added that there was a festival happening in town and we should hang around.  So we did for a few hours.  


Biding our time while waiting for the bull run during the provençal day in Mas-Thibert.  Our presence there would have pushed the town's population to just over 1500.

Here's the pre-bull parade.  

The couple of guys standing beside us were eager that the Canadian lady get a real good picture of the running horses followed by the running bulls and pulled me from behind the barriers.  You can understand why I didn't quite commit to the middle of the road for this photo.


Flamingos at the Parc Orthinologique


We were lucky to see some Camargue horses in the marshland right by the side of the road.  These semi-wild horses have been in this area for possibly thousands of years and are said to be descendents of the pre-historic (Paleolithic period - around 15 thousands years ago) horse of France.  Quite the lineage!

Beach time along the waterfront at Stes.-Maries-de-la-mer.


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6 comments:

  1. Karen and Ryan NashApril 3, 2011 at 5:27 PM

    Hey there! What a fantastic trip. I think the girls would have loved this! I love the pictures of the horses. They are beautiful. I love the photos of the girls on the beach. pure joy. missing you,
    Karen

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  2. LoisApril 4, 2011 at 9:17 AM

    Yes these are fantastic pictures! Those are quite the barriers lining the streets. Where are the photos of the running bulls ? :)

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  3. LoisApril 5, 2011 at 9:30 AM

    I'm thinking that the 3 photos of the girls at the beach would be a beautiful framed picture series. They are so innocent and fun !!

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  4. Virginia AveryApril 5, 2011 at 10:32 AM

    Good idea, Lois!

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  5. jksheehanApril 5, 2011 at 4:30 PM

    I haven't kept up on my blog reading lately....but wow have you guys been so busy! so much fun. looks like fun is being had by all. enjoy your last few months.

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  6. Virginia AveryApril 5, 2011 at 11:34 PM

    Thanks, Kim. We should....we've got lots planned to make the most of the time we have left.

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