Thursday 27th July – hot!
Our last day with The Beast before leaving it back at the factory, so we had to do something! We decided to go to Aigues-Mortes, a nearby old walled town in the middle of lagoons and salt marshes, and for once take a proper look at it.
We have been there several times for dinner, so have done the odd late walking tour inside the town, but not really done the tourist bit. We left The Beast outside and walked in to do the visit to Constance Tower and the ramparts.
Constance Tower is the only remaining part of the original castle which was built in 1240 by Louis XI who also established Aigues-Mortes as France’s first Mediterranean port – even though its not directly on the coast. He also built canals to the sea and on to nearby Montpellier and Nimes. It was a major trading post for a couple of hundred years until Provence joined France and Marseille took over. The port silted up and now it’s a tourist destination, accessible by road or canal, and very striking in appearance.
The tower has some impressive vaulted ceilings and a spiral staircase within the 6 metre thick wall. B was disappointed to find we were not allowed to climb it – you have to take the lift. But you get to go down so he got to laugh at me getting dizzy once again!
It takes about an hour to walk the ramparts visiting the various towers on the way – you need to go into them to escape the sun briefly! There were some strange artists’ installations in some of them, and more historic detail in others. In between there were more great views across the Camargue and over the lovely tiled roofs of the town.
It was a nice last fling. When we got back to The Beast – horror! Someone was actually daring to touch him!! He looked round and saw us and withdrew quickly. Seems he couldn’t help himself, he was so admiring of all the polished chrome and quickly congratulated B on his beautiful possession, who was quickly mollified. It’s been the same everywhere – the most frequently asked questions have been “how did you get it here?” and “how much time do you spend polishing it?” It is also interesting how many other campers have or have had bikes too – it’s definitely quite a talking point.
We have vowed to use in more when we are back home – weather permitting of course!
At the end of a hot walk around the ramparts – a beer is calling. Behind is Tour Constance.
And one of its vaulted ceilings.
The ramparts
The pink salines (salt marshes) beyond the walls.