Having spent a week lying low and getting over the covid we hired a car from the local super U supermarket, as you do, and drove to Douarnenez for the weekend. While discussing the car hire on the phone, the very nice man also asked me about some onions I had ordered online. This doesn’t usually happen at car hire places in New Zealand!
Pauline parking Le BelemOne of the rooms on the Belem. It’s very much a working ship.Le Belem, a three masted barque, made her maiden cargo voyage in 1896, bringing cargo from the West Indies, Brazil and French Guiana to Nantes in Brittany.
Le Belem has had quite a career, being bought by the 2nd Duke of Westminster in 1914 who used her as his private yacht, then purchased by one of the Guiness family in 1922, she finally came back to France in 1979 and was recommissioned as a sail training ship. In 2008 she took 60000 bottles of Bordeaux to Ireland, saving 18375 lbs of carbon emissions. In 2024 she took the Olympic flame from Athens to Marseille.
There were some very pretty boats.I particularly liked this one.Some of the fleet, you could go sailing in these ones.The Hydrograaf, launched 1910 and used for hydrographic purposes. There was also a sardine festival as Douarnenez was a famous sardine port, at one time they had 5000 sardine fishers. Oddly, they ran out of sardines and had to fish further afield. I believe that the fishery is more sustainable these days.We tried some, verdict was “delicious!”This man was smoking sardines, mackerel and salmon the old fashioned way. Pauline had some salmon for lunch on Sunday, she said it was excellent. Gratuitous boat photo.We stayed at a nice little place called Les Résidences d’Armor right on this rather nice beach, Plage des Sables Blancs. It was quirky but perfectly comfortable and the area was perfect.Retour de pêche at the Restaurant Le Dz just across the road. Pauline said it was delicious. I had fish and chips, not feeling very adventurous but they also were very tasty.On the way up I had noticed this aircraft on the side of the road, unusual. It used to be a disco, Le Moulin. Unfortunately it has closed and it looks as though the aircraft has seen better days.Lockheed Super Constellation from the early ’50s. Seems a shame, they are very styley!Back home to find the Posankka is looking after the place for us, good to see!
It was nice to get away after being stuck in the house isolating, possibly a bit ambitious as we are still somewhat washed out but a very nice weekend all the same.
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