Mont Saint-Michel by the bay
WARNING: some actions told in this story might be hazardous. Don’t do anything that may put you at risk.
As written in my first post, I am currently in Basse-Normandie (in the Manche) where I work as a day care assistant. When I have some free time, I try to re-discover this region where actually came here when I was a child -like 15 years ago- and I try to do so when the weather is somewhat nice, which is something unusual this summer. #rain
Such weather happened to occur and I took this occasion to head to one of France’s most famous landmarks: the Mont Saint-Michel. It was also the “Grandes Marées” (Great Tides, where tides are lower than ever) and I wished to see what would the bay look like under this special phenomena.
You can easily find the Mont by following the roadsigns. They will lead you to a parking for rich and lazy ass tourists (I haven’t checked the prices though). If you don’t mind walking a bit, there are many villages around where you can park for free. You will then make your way to the Mont through salt meadows where sheeps are peacefully grazing. Gourmets know them as “agneaux de pré salé” since the salty plants they are eating such as glasswort give them a mouth-watering taste. There are dirt paths that you can follow and they will lead you to the causeway that connects the Mont to the mainland. Yearning to walk by the sea, I deviated from the paths and tried to reach the bay.
DON’T DO THAT.
You’ll end in some freaky quagmire and the saying “so close yet so far” will never be as true as there. Yet should you wish a free mud bath…
So just stay on the paths!
A Monument Historique as well as a Unesco World Heritage site, it’s needless to say the Mont attracts dozens of people. That’s why some advise to pay the Mont a visit during autumn months when the touristic runs dry and the temperature is still warm enough. I must admit the uninterrupted flow of people determined the activity I was about to do.
By the way, there are plenty of guides about the “inside” of the Mont: the abbey, the tourist traps and the rip-offs, the crowds… so I won’t be focusing on that in that article. We’ll stay on the “outside” of the Mont!
I remembered when I was a kid that island, dark from afar, mysterious and unreachable as it seemed. The tide was low, the sun was high, the desire to get my salty air quota was bursting; and so I started to walk towards the island.
Due to the Great Tide, the sand was almost dry and walkable. The Mont’s bay is famous for its quicksands and its rapidly-rising tides.
The journey took I think 40 min. The walk was relaxed, with an alternance of dried-up and wet sand banks. At one point there was a channel with a rather strong current, but that really was the only difficulty.
I finally attained the island. I learnt from the two info boards that it is named Tombelaine. A monastery used to lie on this island, but it was torn down during the French Revolution. It is now used as a wildlife and bird sanctuary. For this reason, access is normally restricted during spring and summer months (yet it does not stop people from crossing the bay, so I guess it’s okay to stay on the beach).
I took some minutes of rest, before heading back to the Mont. I was a bit worried the tide would be rising, but it did not happened. Actually 4 groups of walkers were heading towards the island and me (“Come at me you fools!”).
The journey back was as pleasant as before. It feels so good in the bay. Before heading back to the burg, I walked around the Mont, taking the last pictures taken with wet sand among the toes.
That’s where I stumbled upon a sign warning visitors of the perils awaiting visitors wishing to walk in the bay. Allow me to say that it can indeed be dangerous. The conditions under which I made my stroll were exceptionnal and cannot be met anytime. It is strongly advised to hire a guide or join a group tour under the supervision of professionnals, especially with children. Dangers include quicksands, rapid tides and deceptively deep channels.
I don’t want to play Mother Safety too much, especially when I just did the contrary #thuglife, but be aware of the risks. Ye be warned!
To sum it up, crossing the bay is a very nice walk that will provide you with delectable views. It is definitely something you have to do if:
- you enjoy walking and/or you’re a sea lover.
- you want to see the Mont from another perspective.
- you want to do something different from the regular Mont tourist.
- you are misanthropic and want to segregate from this world’s common and meaningless lows.
This was my first “true” article, hope you liked it! I shall find you with an even more interesting article next time.
