Normandy, France
Roma, our Mont St. Michel tour guide, met us after lunch for our “Bay” tour; only, we had no idea we were going on a “Bay” tour! As you will see in the pictures, Roma was dressed in shorts, Crocs, a hat, but we were all in pants, shoes, and only had sunscreen on our faces. He explained that we would be out in the sun for the next few hours and walking through mud and water. Oh, really? But Harmony’s reaction was, “Let’s do this guys!” and we said, “Ok, let’s go for it!”
As we walking back over the transportation bridge that connects Mont St. Michel to the mainland, Roma explained that the reason it was important to go with a guide into the large Bay was not just due to the tides and rivers, but due to the “quicksand” in the area. Gulp!
All of us were laughing, wide-eyed, and curious about the edventure that had surprised us. We had been thrust into a world-schooling Biology and Ecology classroom and were loving it!
As Roma gave us a tour through the salt marshes we followed the sheep trails through the foliage.
Thousands of sheep are allowed to graze on the salt water plants that grow in this area. For example, one plant called “the pickle of sea” grew in short bunches and was safely edible for people although salty to the taste.
As the lambs in this area graze on these plants their meat actually becomes salted and is sold at a premium cost to restaurants and consumers.
One of the first things we came across was a small black object. When Roma asked, “Anyone know what this is?” Hope didn’t miss a beat and said, “I know! That’s a shark egg!” Close, it was a Sting Ray egg casing. But we were all impressed with Hope— it was an egg casing in the same line as a shark egg. The rest of us had no idea what it was. But, Hope loves animals and has learned so much through watching Wild Kratts, nature documentaries, and going to zoos and aquariums. Here she is holding up the Sting Ray egg casing.
We also found dried Cuttle fish all over the bay — the kind you would put in a bird cage to offer to a bird.
We also came across several types of jelly fish — but they were not harmful like in other parts of the world. Paula kept her distance since she is allergic to jelly fish stings. Roma explained to the girls that you can touch the top of the jelly fish all you want but its the tentacles on the underside that produce a sting.
Then we came to an area of sand that was close to water and had a thin covering of water over it. Quicksand! Roma showed us that if you march your feet back and forth on the “hard surface” the whole area starts to liquify. Its like walking on jello. You slowly start to sink in. The best thing to do is to simply keep walking and not stay in one place. If you do work your legs down too far into the quicksand, you would eventually have to lay flat on the sand to work escape. But Roma explained there is no danger of disappearing in the sand — that is a Hollywood myth. We also walked through plenty of soft sand, where you would sink down 5-6 inches, but that is not quicksand. Quicksand, Roma explained, always has water on the top.
The worst that would happen with quicksand in this area is that you would get stuck up to your waist and then the tides would get you. This is actually one of the reasons why Mont St. Michel was so easily defensible throughout history. Not only is it a well-built island fortress, but armies would have to deal with the tides, rivers, marshlands, mud and quicksand. It would be very easy for people or a horse to get stuck in the mud as they approached, and then they would still have to deal with large rampart walls and archers.
This is also one of the reason why Mont St. Michel is one of the most difficult religious pilgramage sites to reach.
Back to our science lesson: Roma had earlier spotted a seal with his binoculars. Later in our hike we saw where the seal had been sunning itself and then slid down into the river that would take it back to the ocean. The girls got to see the flipper marks in the sand.
Off in the distance we saw fishermen. They are able to hunt for all types of shellfish, but mostly fish for wild salmon. The wild salmon still uses the fresh water rivers on either side of Mont St. Michel to spawn. While commercial fishing of the salmon has been outlawed to protect the fish, you still see local fishermen trying to catch them.
We were a little confused why Roma kept walking us away from Mont St. Michel, but he was looking for a good place to cross the river. As we approached the river I looked out into the muddy water and could see tons of sparkles in the water — Mullet fish swimming very close to the surface of the water.
We all laughed that we were going to have to walk through the fish! Well, a few of the girls were on high alert and squealed as the fish brushed by their legs.
We later learned that Mullet have a hard “armored” head. That would explain why Joy got a bruise on her foot as she accidentally kicked a fish that had swam between her legs! She kicked it toward Paula who let out a scream. We were all cracking up!
We found a lot of variety of shells on the beach. For example, oysters, and a shell related to oysters called “Onion skin.”
The French call this shell, “American shells” because they came on American ships either attached to the underside of the boats or in the ballast areas inside the ships.
The most famous shells in the area were the “Angel wings.” They are named after the Archangel Michael, the patron saint of Mont St. Michel. It was believed that if you could find a pair of “angel wings” that your own passage to Mont St. Michel and, someday, heaven, would be more certain.
Over the years there have been different amounts of water surround the Mont. This is due to the tides and rivers depositing silt. Roma showed us a bank of the salt marsh that shows the sedimentary layers. So, it is a misconception that Mont St. Michel is sinking; rather, the surrounding salt marshes are growing thicker/taller layer by layer over the centuries.
By the late afternoon, hundreds of people were walking out in the Bay, some of them walking miles toward the ocean. Since our hike took us to the far side of the Mont, we got to see the forested, windy side of the Island, and some of the unique chapels located there. After hiking carefully with our guide for a few hours, the tides had receded enough to begin our pilgrimage toward Mont St. Michel in the footsteps of spiritual pilgrims across the centuries.
Mud! The last 200 meters or so were thick, slick, dark clay mud. We linked our hands up in a “train” so we could help one another and slogged through. Roma kept urging us not to look down at our feet, but out toward the gates of the city… our goal.
Nicole found his advice symbolically and thematically delightful for it’s parallels to a spiritual journey! Don’t get bogged down, stuck, or even focused on the hardships at hand. Set your eyes on your goal and press through, even if the steps are slow and uncertain. Link up with others for support! Press on! And when you have made it through the muddy depths, wear the marks of your challenges with pride.
We have not been this muddy in a long time. We were sunburnt, soaked and filthy. We had learned and edventured through an awesome “world school science classroom.” Here are some of our favorite pictures.
Thanks to our family for literally diving into the day’s adventure without hesitation or complaint!
Thanks, Roma for sharing your passion for the land, water, plants and animals of this beautiful and very unique ecosystem!
Thanks, Saint Michel for guarding our steps along the pilgrimage!
To enjoy this tour yourself contact:
Romain Pilon
06 74 28 95 41
Le Pont Landais – 50 170 ARDEVON
email: romainpilon@hotmail.fr
www.labaiecderomain.fr
This is now on my bucket list! ” Soaked and filthy sounds fun!
You and Mark would have a fantastic time!