Well we certainly can't complain about the weather (not that that would do any good anyway) - it's been pretty well perfect. A bit of overcast a couple of days, mostly sunny, a light breeze off the Mediterranean and 4 drops of rain in Arles (and I'm not kidding).
Aigues Mortes is a medieval walled city (like hundreds of others in France) and one of the main industries is salt. There are 10,000 hectares of salt marshes and surprisingly they are pinkish due to the little shrimp-like critters that inhabit the waters - the same critters that make the flamingos pink. Marj and I did a little tour there after our short (35 km) ride today. We mostly just did a couple of loops out of the village of Aigues Mortes so it was a pleasant ride although for some reason I'm feeling the sun a bit more today - perhaps just cumulative.
Here's a flamingo coming in for a landing. We saw hundreds today.
This is the colour the salt marsh is at this time of year. In the distance are the huge hills of salt waiting for processing.
One last night on the boat; tomorrow on the train back to Marseille. Not only has the biking been stupendous and the food fabulous but our guide Tamy, and her partner Bert (both originally from Holland now living in Italy and running their own mountain bike company as well as guiding here) have been exceptional - enthusiastic, informative, helpful, fun and super-competent. We have been well taken care of in every department.
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