Sunday 29 June – Arcachon, the Dune Du Pyla, a Pinasse to the Oyster Beds and a French BBQ

Arcachon & The Dune Du Pyla

We had a quick breakfast in the kitchen. The fruit was beautiful and the apricots were especially delicious. Everyone loved the yogurt!

Dune du Pyla

We set out early to visit the Dune du Pyla. I was especially excited to show my family this amazing dune. Scott and I had such a wonderful experience there and I wanted them to experience the wonders of the dune. Neither words nor pictures can capture this magnificent dune. It is the tallest sand dune in Europe located in the Arcachon Bay area. It is one of the most visited natural sites in France. This aerial view of the dune is from Wikipedia.

The dune measures about 500 meters wide, 2.7 km long and its height is currently 110 meters above sea level. It is moving 1 to 5.5 meters inland each year. It is gradually reclaiming the forest under the forces of the wind and tide.

We were on our way for a 2 hr drive. The bottom of the the dune is a forested area. You need to walk through the area until you get to sand. It is so interesting how the dune is encroaching on the forest.

The way up the dune is either by slogging through sand or going up 180 stairs. Previously Scott and I went up the stairs and I decided to go that way again. The stairs are a plastic type material and the handrail is a rope.

So up I started with Julien clearing the sand and Megan behind for support.

The rest of the family made it up as well!

The Atlantic from the top.

Kate, Beth, Glenn, Jacob, Dylan, Sawyer and Steve

Mary, Syd and Kris. Steve, Syd and Kris.

Dyan and Kris. Dylan, Beth (hidden) and Glenn.

What is everyone thinking? Glenn, Kate, Beth.

Finn, Sawyer, Megan and Julien. Megan, Mary and Julien.

Jacob, Beth, Kate and Glenn.

And then they all went down!!!

Our next adventure was taking a Pinasse to Lège-Cap-Ferret and the oyster beds for lunch.

Sights of Arcachon

Arcachon is a popular seaside resort town in the Landes forest in southwest France. It is known for oyster harvesting. The Arcachon bay is a bay in the Atlantic Ocean on the southwest coast of France. Dune du Play is part of this bay.

The harbor and our boat, the Pinasse Magymara

The Pinasse: Its origin and that of its name have been the subject of much controversy! They are lost in the mists of time. It is not certain that the word pinassé comes from the name of our regional tree. What ship inspired the builders of the time? What we are sure of is that this ship existed in its current form in 1727, according to the description made by Masson Du Parc. There are several types of pinasses depending on the work required of it. At the beginning, it was designed to be propelled by oars. A small lug sail (belot: pronounced [belottel]) could be rigged to relieve the crew’s efforts. It was motorized from 1902 and the sails quickly disappeared from the pinasses.They reappeared during the Second World War, due to restrictions. On feast days, fishermen and oyster farmers organized regattas, times when the sail area could approach 30m2. At the beginning of the sixties these regattas disappeared and it was not until the beginning of the eighties that, thanks to the Amicale des Pinnaseyres, the “Queen of the Basin” was seen sailing again. Today, around thirty sailing pinnaces are in working order and it is a magnificent spectacle to attend, during the summer season.

Our boat: Pinasse Magymara

Harbor sights

And we are off

Everyone enjoyed the boat ride

The shoreline: Sights and an oyster bed

We arrived

Getting off the boat

Sights we saw walking around the town. Beautiful village.

Lunch at Ti Commerce

Entering the restaurant

Above, views from the restaurant.

Eating this great seaside meal.

The food

Besides the oysters we had shrimp and snails. For those with shellfish allergies, Megan brought pate, vegetables and other picnic goodies and of course we had plenty of baguettes!

After we finished Sydney, Dylan, Jacob, Kate, Sawyer and Finn decided to go down to the beach before we went back.

Our day at the dune and the village ended and we were headed to the boat to return. Everyone was tired.

Relax and a French BBQ

There were lots of surprises waiting for us. First, we had a relaxing and refreshing swim and game of volleyball.

Next we had a special drink and then a potato chip challenge.

Julien treated us to this special drink: The Floc de Gascogne. It is a regional aperitif from the Cotes de Gascogne and Armagnac regions of Sud-Ouest wine region of France. Gascony is the wine area between Bordeaux and Toulouse. It is a vin de liqueur fortified with armagnac, the local brandy. Floc de Gascogne is a mistelle, a vin de liqueur (a fortified sweet wine) made of 1/3 armagnac and 2/3 fresh grape juice both from the wine area Armagnac/Cotes de Gascogne. It was garnished with a strawberry, rosemary, and slices of lime and orange. It was delicious!!

Toasting and then on to the potato chip challenge.

Megan had us do a potato chip challenge. Please note the baskets of potato chips. She asked us to take a chip from each basket and then guess the flavor. We tested Chèvre et piment d’ Espelette (chili pepper), Poulet Braise, Sauce Curry, Fromage du Jura (a cheese from Brittany), Cheddar Jalapeño, and Pesto Mozzarella. It was tough. Not sure who the winner was but Sydney and Glenn were giving it a good try.

While waiting for the dinner to be cooked Sawyer and Finn taught us Swoop! It was a fun game and we ended up playing it several time during the week.

There were lots of tasks and Julien had many helpers. Julien was in charge of getting the BBQ ready.

Saucisse de Toulouse (pork) and a pork roast with mustard, paprika and oregano rub. In addition we had roasted potatoes and a couscous salad.

Then, to end our meal we had a very special lemon meringue pie! Julien made the lemon filling the evening before. Then Jacob and Dylan got in the act.

Dylan looking over Jacob spreading the meringue.

Then the torching began!

Voila!! The final pie. It was delicious.