From Cassis, I took a train east to the town of Hyères. It was a very scenic train ride as we paralleled the coast, with views down past hills to the Mediterranean. The south coast through which we travelled is quite developed many with towns and the city of Toulon, but there were some areas of green fields and vineyards, as well as views of forested hillsides to the north. From Hyères, I took a local bus down to the small beach community of La Capte which is about half way down the Giens peninsula.
The Giens peninsula is a rather unique landform. At its southern end is the hilly and rocky Presqu’île de Giens, which translates to the ”almost island of Giens.” At one time though it was an island and over time two parallel spits of land joined Giens to the mainland, with acres of lagoons between the two long sandy spits. Technically, the Giens peninsula is double tombolo, one of only five double tombolos in the world. (A tombolo is formed when a narrow spit or bar of deposited sediments connects an island or islet to a mainland.) This is when I wish I had a drone to take photos from the air as that would be the best way to show the unique structure of this peninsula. Please do have a look at a satellite image of the area to see what I mean!
So, why did I choose to come here? For hundreds of years, the shallow lagoons of water between the two spits were used to produce salt. When that industry ceased in 1995, the lagoons and adjacent wetlands were designated as a wildlife refuge for migratory and resident birds. Over 260 species of birds have been found here including pink flamingos, herons, and avocets. I very much wanted to see this wildlife area as well as the two long stretches of sandy beaches. Another reason I chose to come here is because of the Île de Pourquerolles, which is just to the south of the Giens peninsula and easily reachable by passenger ferry. The Île de Pourquerolles has the distinction of having had two of its beaches named as ”the most beautiful beach in Europe.” Reason enough for a visit I think!
I went first to my rented apartment to drop off my backpack and groceries for my four day stay. I feel very lucky to have found this place (roomy, comfortable, and with a full kitchen and private outdoor space) at a very good price!
Once settled, I headed out to the Rue des Marchands, a quaint little commercial area with a grocery store, cafés, bars, restaurants, and shops selling beach gear and souvenirs. The vibe was very relaxed and very summery and reminded me of California. Passing by the lovely outdoor restaurant seating areas I felt a bit regretful about my fridge full of groceries. But, then again, I can have one restaurant meal for about 20 euro, or I can buy groceries that provide me with enough healthy food for four days of breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the same price!
The beach is straight ahead at the end of the street, and only five minutes away from my apartment, while the start of the lagoons are only a two minute walk in the other direction! Here is the beach, just east of Rue des Marchands. It goes on and on.
I took off my shoes and chose to walk north towards a small marina,
and then I continued a short distance and crossed two wooden bridges built over shallow canals that allow fresh sea water into the lagoons.
This wide beach of golden sand stretched as far as the eye can see towards the mountains of the mainland.
I walked with my feet in the cool water for quite a ways up this beach, nice and easy, and took this image looking directly out to the blue blue sea.
A little while later I turned back south to return to my apartment where I made a delicious pasta dinner, complete with a glass of wine to celebrate this first day of my little holiday within a holiday.
Salt Marshes Restricted – No Access!
The next morning, I had a great plan. I would walk to the access bridge over the canal that separates the lagoons from the main north/south road, and then make my way across the peninsula via the trails that crisscross the lagoon on low dikes. Once I reached the beach on the other side, I would head south and do half of the Sentier Littoral (coastal path) that circles around the Presqu’île de Giens. But…., the first problem with this plan was a locked gate with a big sign that said that access to the lagoons is restricted except for guided tours. What? Nowhere in my research had I read that. No wonder I hadn’t seen anyone out on the dike paths yesterday afternoon or this morning. I looked longingly out at the birds that I think were flamingos but they were too far away to know for sure. Darn! But, conversely, I did feel happy that the birds are able to get as much peace as possible from us humans while they feed and nest.
So, I had to head off south down the main road but there was a constant stream of cars driving past me heading for the ferry to the Île de Pourquerolles. Road walking and traffic, yuck, and just how far is it anyway to the Presqu’île? Rather farther than I had thought (I really hadn’t researched this properly) so I decided to hitchhike my way south to end the agony of walking right beside all of those cars. A couple from Toulouse, on their way to the ferry, kindly stopped to pick me up and then they dropped me off where the Rue de la Madrague branched off from the main road at the end of the lagoons and headed towards the western shore of the peninsula. This road was also busy, but a cycle and walking path soon branched off from it and provided a little more peace as well as good views of the lagoon and its silty shore.
There were few birds to be seen at this end, but I could see small fish in the canal that was between me and the lagoon.
Soon I reached the north/south road on the western edge of the peninsula. The side of the road was full of tightly parked campers and vans and I could see some sailboarding kites in the sky. This side of the peninsula is typically quite windy and is very popular with wind surfers and kite boarders.
Partway along this road I reached a very enticing beach access,
and after climbing up and over the small hill I descended to views of a beautiful sea with many windsurfers and kite surfers skimming along at speed.
Here is a view of the beach looking north where some sort of event was taking place,
and the view south.
I headed in that direction and stopped often to look out at the windsurfers on the water.
Some were rising up on foils and doing jumps into the air.
This is my favourite picture of the day.
The dark line in the foreground of the photo above is caused by a kind of seaweed which is being washed towards the shore. The tideline here, and also yesterday on the eastern beaches, was full of it. It looks and feels like paper-thin strips of wood. There was also another kind of seaweed in pellet shapes that was fibrous like coconut husks. Strange!
The brown ribbon-like seaweed lay in thick carpets over some parts of the beach.
As I walked further south I came upon great mounds of it piled up six feet high against a sea wall.
This little knight, standing upon his castle mound of seaweed and looking out to sea, actually had a toy sword which he brandished in the air just moments after I took this picture.
I took one last photo of the windsurfers,
and then I carried on until travel along the beach was no longer possible and I had to rise up to the road near this small marina.
Looking out at the point beyond the marina I admitted to myself that I had grossly underestimated my distances when planning to do the coastal path. Definitely too far. I consulted a map on my phone and decided to cut across the Presqu’île on roads and then join up with a trail on the other side that would lead me to the coastal path, except that it didn’t. After rising to the top of the hill, access to my intended trail was blocked by a private gated community. Another ”No access” sign! Now, I had to head back down the hill and then find another route up. Grrr. At this point, I decided to just give up on my plan of hiking the coastal path, and so I took some pictures of roadside flowers to make me happy again.
And that worked wonders. All ambition and regret was gone and I just enjoyed the lovely sun and the warm breeze on this Easter Sunday morning. It was calm and peaceful where I was walking and I enjoyed looking at people’s houses and gardens. I decided that this old unoccupied house, with its nice big yard and a sea view, would be very worth the effort to bring it back to life.
I made my way to the small town of Giens where I knew I could catch a bus back up the peninsula to La Capte. Located in the town was a little park on a hill with an observation deck, and I was very happy and excited to find this excellent view north of the peninsula and its beaches and lagoons. Here you can see the western tombolo stretching to the mainland with the lagoons to the right of it.
And, panning a bit eastwards, the lagoons are now in the centre, edged by the eastern tombolo which is covered in vegetation, on the right.
My morning had not gone to plan, but it was still a very good morning exploring the Giens peninsula. Now, it was time to head home to my comfortable apartment in La Capte for an easy afternoon, a post-dinner walk to the beach, and a quiet evening of reading. Good-bye from the unique Giens peninsula.
