October 15 - End of the Rhone River

Winter has arrived early in Europe.  Here is southern France, the morning temperature was 4 and with the Mistral winds still blowing there must have been a wind chill.  In northern Europe there has been snow.  Thank goodness we did bring some heavier clothes.   Mistral winds are supposed to last three days, but this episode is only going to last for another couple of hours and then we should be fine. 

We went on an excursion to the Rhone River delta, which is called La Camargue.  With an area of over 930 square kilometers the Camargue is western Europe's largest river delta. Here went to a wild bird sanctuary and small village on the Mediterranean Sea called Saintes-Mariesde La Mer.  Oh and guess what, this is another UNESCO Heritage site.

Flamingos in Camargue National Park

The Camargue National Park, we saw large flamboyance of Flamingos.  It was hilarious as one flamingo would start walking in one direction and suddenly all the flamingos would start walking in the same direction until another flamingo would reverse direction and again it would be followed by the rest of the flamingos.  It is believed that over 400 species of birds and has been identified.

Also in the Camargue there are thousands of white horses, which are indigenous to the delta.  It seems that each farmer has a stable of these ponies and each pasture is filled with them.  Also bloodless bull fighting is popular and the area has its own breed of bull.  This black bull is small but has very sharp horns and is extremely fast.

The church in Saintes Maries de la Mer has particular significance in the Christian Church.  The three saints Mary Magdalene, Mary Salome and Mary Jacobe, are believed to be the women who were the first witnesses to the empty tomb at the resurrection of Jesus. After the Crucifixion of Jesus,  the three Maries were said to set sail from Alexandria, Egypt with their uncle Joseph of Arimathea and landed in the local harbour. In the 15th century, someone "discovered" the relics of Mary Jacobé and Mary Salomé.  The 500th anniversary of this event was celebrated in the 20th century by Pope John XXIII.

The Gypsy culture is quite entrenched in this area of France.  The town is also a pilgrimage destination for the Roma , who gather yearly for a religious festival in honor of Saint Sarah. Dark-skinned Saint Sara is said to have possibly been the Egyptian servant of the three Marys. In another version, Sara was a local woman who welcomed the three Marys on their arrival.

Shopping in Saintes Maries de la Mer

This village has a population of 2,000 and I think everyone is a shop keeper or restaurateur.

Tonight was the captain’s farewell dinner.  It was another seven course dinner.  Marg had a lobster tail on Pappardelle with Asparagus for an entree while I had Chateaubriand in Port wine sauce and Potato Gratin.  We both had baked Alaska for dessert.

As is the tradition on cruises the entire staff was invited into the dining room and saluted by the passengers.  We've become very reliant on some of the staff and this was a nice opportunity to thank them.  Of course we’ll be handing envelops tomorrow to show our appreciation.

Sabrina, Ricardo, Marg and Brian

After dinner we had a Gypsy band entertain us in the lounge.  One of the guitarist was a former member  of the Gypsy Kings, which is a world famous flamenco music band from this region.  Watching the rhythm guitarist play was amazing.  His hand moves so fast it is just a blur.