EXPLORING GAVRES AND THE AREA

June 6-7

 

Our first full day in Gavres we just spent hanging out.  It was kind of nice to just veg after 15 straight days of cycling.

Don worked on attaching photos to the reports and I read my book and played monopoly.  We took a walk around the point of the peninsula, exploring the old concrete military bunkers and gunnery stations.  This was a very strategic area during the Second World War because the Germans had a submarine base up the strait at l’Orient.

       

Tuesday we took the little shuttle boat across the strait to the town of Port Louis.  There we visited the very interesting Citadel which houses a Naval Museum, an armory, a water rescue museum, a museum displaying items recovered from sunken ships, and a museum about the East India Company.  We walked around the ramparts of the fortress, imagining how it must have felt to be a sentry in 1591, and we enjoyed the view across the strait to l’Orient.

    

The fort was begun in 1590 and when King Henry died the governor of the area realized that the new king was going to be Protestant.  He contacted King Phillip of Spain and invited him to take over Brittany so that it could stay Catholic.  Phil sent his gang over to finish building the fortress and they took over for several years.  Later King Louis of France regained possession and started to demolish the fort when he realized what a strategic location it was.  He renamed the town and the fort after himself and the fort continued to be used and expanded over the years.

 

During the Second World War l’Orient, Port Louis and Gavres provided a very strategic port for the Germans.  They built many bunkers, a submarine base, a dry dock, and special concrete “pens” for submarines.

 

The several museums housed at the Citadel were different and quite interesting.  The naval museum had many interesting models of ships.  With the models it is possible to see how the cargo is stowed, where the engine equipment is located, sleeping areas, food storage areas, etc.  There were models of sailing vessels from the 18th and 19th centuries, cargo ships, and modern day battleships.  I also enjoyed the portraits of various politicians who were in charge of the fortress over the years. 

 

The East India Company museum included interesting furniture, samples of the spices and teas that were so valuable in the 18th and 19th centuries, illustrations of life in India, and more models of the types of ships which sailed around the Horn to the Far East.

 

The Armory was full of gun displays, with handguns, rifles, muskets, cannons and mortars dating from the early days of the fortress all the way to the 20th century.

 

There was an interesting documentary about how china, tools and coins are recovered and from sunken ships and cleaned up, documented and identified.  Displays of fancy china and other artifacts were quite interesting to see.

 

After leaving the Citadel we rode our bikes over to the Intermarche for some grocery shopping and then took the shuttle boat back to Gavres.  Don got good old American hamburgers for dinner and we had a quiet evening.

 

Now, in early June, the skies stay light until 10:30 at night.  The evenings here are especially pleasant and we are starting to see more people out and about.  I imagine that in a few weeks, when the summer vacation time starts, this place will be packed.

 

We are beginning to meet quite a few Brits here.  Apparently this area is a favorite layover for sailboats.  Several people we have met from the Isle of Wight actually moor their sailboats here because the slip charges are much cheaper than in England.  Don keeps striking up conversations with sailboat people in hopes of cadging a bit of sailing time, but so far no invites.