today we drove out the the Camarge, and visited the nature preserve there. It was a nice little nature walk, a fairly remote outpost of the France park system it would appear, perhaps three or four cars in the parking lot and an equal number stopped along the road at water's edge. Mostly a place for bird watchers.
We met on the trail a German couple who alerted us to the nearby green lizards (which we then photo'd with some difficulty). THe man was making bird calls with his hands, but he didn't get a bird to come after him, only to call back. We never saw the bird in question.
We saw mostly ducks, heron, and flamingos (from a distance). Also the white Camargue horses.
We learned that the delta of the Rhone has been transformed by man over the centuries. There are channels and the runoff from rice farming irrigation has to be drained to keep the estuary from over filling. It is a tricky situation where everything is not "natural" but they can't put it back the way it was, either, so they try to keep the status quo.
In Arles we went to the coliseum, which is still in use, but opted not to do a tour, we just walked a bit, had delicious sandwiches, and walked some more.
On the way back we found a grocery store open on a holiday Monday -- it was jammed because everything else was closed. Just a big smitty's style grocery store, France style, but with Corsican ("Corse") specialties rather than Hispanic. Then we drove home and had a big picnic in the lawn beside our hotel. Wine and baguette and a three cheese sampler and the rest of the first C. Reynon sausage. Yum.
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