A Charmer and the Wild Surf

We had planned to take a boat trip on Thursday to "les calanques", the coves along the rugged coastline between Cassis and Marseille but that had to be postponed because of the very strong winds and rough seas. For Plan B, we decided to visit Sanary sur Mer and then go further east along the coast.  So, we took the coastal road the short distance to what turned out to be a most charming Provençal fishing village.  I'd heard Sanary was lovely and had remembered the name from the movie, Bienvenue Chez les Ch"tis, as the place where the main character's wife wanted him to be posted as a mail supervisor.  I'm not sure the three of us were ready for just how fabulous it was. We wandered around the little harbour where even today only a limited number of fisherman - I think it was 12 - are permitted to sell their day's catch at their little stalls dockside.  We went up the hill to take in the stunning views further along the coastline and strolled the back streets and alleys where a seasonal art exhibit had painted fabrics strung across the streets further enhancing Sanary's prettiness. We stopped for coffee before setting off to explore further. 

The port at Sanary sur Mer

More of Sanary

One of the painted fabrics on exhibition

Another view of the port

Sue and Keith having morning coffee

One of the squares with more of the paintings

Now, I've mentioned it was so windy that it thwarted our day's plans but, clearly, what didn't work for us thrilled the hundreds of surfers, windsurfers, and kite surfers who inhabit this area. As we drove along the water at nearby Six Fours les Plages, the sea was jammed with them. Who knew you could surf on the Côte d'Azur?  Our destination was Giens, not far from Hyeres. Unfortunately, we had to make our way through the busy town of Toulon (around the size of Victoria) to get there but even that wasn't too bad with Sue's superb navigational skills.  Giens is situated on a peninsula and there are two roads to get there. One is a beach road running between the sea on one side and salt lagoons and marshes on the other. This particular road is closed at night and no doubt also during high tides and bad storms. Again, the sea was full of activity as hundreds of kite surfers and windsurfers took advantage of the weather. It was amazing all those lines from the kites didn't get tangled.

The beach along Etang de Pesquiers on the way to Gien

The wind and kite surfers - very windy!

We continued along to Giens which surprised us by being on a hill. We had a leisurely lunch then took photos of the beach below on the one side and the Iles de Hyeres on the other.  The coastline along here is very green and lush with vegetation and nestled in it you can spot the pink and coral coloured villas which are numerous in this area. On the drive back to Bandol, we took the motorway so we avoided most of the Toulon traffic.
 

Looking toward Isles de Hyeres from Gien

Looking back on the beach and salt flats