Tuši

Tuši's blog

Tuesday, May 02, 2023

16056

France: Île de Saint-Cado, Carnac and Lann Menhir


It was August in 2010 and I was a member of once a great community called Couchsurfing. At that time a French family, better said Anne, contacted me and asked if they can stay for 2 nights at our place and I said yes. Patrick, Anne, Mewen and Andréas camped in front of our house and we spend 2 nice days together (11419, 11420). Almost 13 years later, Nada and me finally returned the visit in Brittany / Bretagne / Breizh. We also stayed for 2 nights, we met Thierry and in the end of the day we were almost fluent in French and Breton.

Anne and Thierry left for work in the morning, so Nada, Bronco and me first visited the island Île de Saint-Cado. Afterwards we visited Andréas and his girlfriend Maëlys in Carnac. We had lunch together, Andreas showed us around, while Maëlys had some errands and then we met again in a bar, until we had to return back to Lann Menhir for dinner and evening activities.

Previous days of our road trip to Bayern - BavariaHesseNorth Rhine-WestphaliaNetherlandsBelgiumHauts-de-France, Normandie - Normandy, Bretagne - BrittanyPays de la LoireCentre-Val de LoireBourgogne-Franche-ComtéGrand Est and Rhineland-Palatinate: Day 11 - 16055, Day 10 - 16054, Day 9 - 16053, Day 8 - 16052, Day 7 - 16051, Day 6 - 16050, Day 5 - 16049, Day 4 - 16048, Day 3 - 16047, Day 2 - 16046, Day 1 - 16045.

 
Wake up Bronco, we need to explore the island Île de Saint-Cado.

Little house with blue shutters set on the rocky islet of Nichtarguer.

Saint-Cado is the mysterious islet of the Etel River.

Also known as the oyster house as it was once the home of an oyster park keeper and his family.

 
Île de Saint-Cado is situated in the estuary of the River Etel, near the town of Belz, on the southern coast of Brittany.

 
One of the most iconic landmarks on Île de Saint-Cado is the Chapelle Saint-Cado.

 
Like many islands in the region, Île de Saint-Cado is affected by the tides, and its appearance can change dramatically throughout the day.

The fountain which gets regularly submerged by the tide.

 The waters around Île de Saint-Cado are renowned for oyster farming, and the island is dotted with oyster beds and fishing huts.

 
The chapel dates back to the 12th century and is known for its picturesque location and distinctive architecture.

 
Saint Cado, also known as Saint Cadou or Saint Cadoc, was a Welsh monk and Christian missionary who lived during the 6th century.

 
In the village, you can also discover the Calvary decorated with sculptures.

 
The Calvary on Île de Saint-Cado features intricately carved stone sculptures that depict the Stations of the Cross and other religious motifs. These sculptures are crafted with meticulous detail, reflecting the craftsmanship and artistic skill of the artisans who created them.

The island is home to a quaint village with traditional stone houses, narrow alleyways, and flower-filled gardens.

One more photo of the famous house.

Bronco on the bridge, that connects the island to main land and has an interesting legend, how it was created. It goes like this: Saint-Cado wanted a bridge to connect the island separated from the land by the ria d'Etel but lacked the means. One day it received a visit from Satan who offered his help on condition that he would be granted the soul of the first living being to pass over this bridge. Saint-Cado accepted and the Demon creates the stone structure in one night. In the early morning, Saint-Cado encouraged a cat to cross the bridge. Satan was not expecting this, but this is what happened!

Lonely boat.

  
Leaving the island - Garmin Connect.

 
After the lunch with Andréas and Maëlys we went sightseeing around the Carnac. Our first stop was Chapelle Saint-Michel de Carnac.

 
Bronco, Tuši, Nada and our local guide Andréas.

Dedicated to Saint Michael, mass is said there once a year, on the first Sunday in September. The wives of sailors from their coasts go there on pilgrimage to obtain favorable winds for their husbands, they sweep the chapel for this purpose, pushing the dust in the direction where they want the winds to come.

Our next stop was Maison des Mégalithes.

Approaching the Ménec alignments, Eleven converging rows of menhirs stretching for 1165 by 100 metres.

The most westerly of the three gigantic fields of menhirs, 1150 granite stones stretch over more than one kilometre in twelve rows, ending with a cromlech. Heights of 4 m in the western part but their sizes are decreasing towards the east. The queues are not parallel. The width goes from 116 m in the west to 63 m in the east.

2 more menhirs to see today.

Andréas, Tuši and Nada.

I think I did push it a little bit.

The word menhir was adopted from French by 19th-century archaeologists. It is a combination of two words of the Breton language: maen and hir. In modern Welsh, they are described as maen hir, or "long stone".

 
Swimming in the Atlantic ocean on Grande plage.

Maëlys came back to us.

One quick drink and a snack before we had to go back to Lann Menhir. Thank you Andréas and Maëlys for being our tourist guides. 

Back in René.

Before dinner, we did a quick hike around Lann Menhir with Anne.

One more menhir on on our hike - Garmin Connect.

Where to start, where to end? Well, cheers!

Music of the day: Les Ramoneurs De Menhirs - Dañs Gwadek (Hellfest 2017)

Day 12, 115 km: From Lann Menhir to Lann Menhir.

Geocache found:
- Boucle « Etré Douar ha mor » Tro Belz, GC81JPV, that received a visit by trackable items  "MissJenn’s 5 Cents", TB9K7R9, "Sukerbiet 1", TB9VDJJ, "Schwarzer Delfin mit Anker", TB9YMGV and "Geo virus", TB45ZBF


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