Camaret-sur-Mer — Finistére (Bretagne, France)
I am just as much a stranger here as anywhere else. But here is the sea. I can emphasize it again and again, the sea heals. An hour’s drive and we are in Camaret-sur-Mer.
We park at the harbor, from where we set off on a circular walk along the coast. I’m not quite there from the start, my head is traveling to other places. But as we reach the wide open space at the top of the hill and the sea stretches out in front of us, my mind arrives. But my body is still dragging itself along the paths.
The weather is unstable today. A gale-force wind is blowing in places. Dark clouds keep appearing in the sky, bringing rain. However, they often pass us by and we only get a few drops. A few moments later, a rainbow stretches from the sea to the mainland. And then another one.
These moments bring me out of my lethargy. The magic and colors of nature are the best way to do this. From this moment on, the hike becomes easier. We look out for the red and white markings and stay on the GR34 until we reach the beach Plage de Pen Hat, where we go to the water and I enjoy the sound of the waves.
We linger here for a while, looking for stones or shells in the sand and are simply happy to be here. From here we head back. As the next cloud front moves towards us and it starts to drizzle, we climb up the hill to the Manoir Saint-Pol Rou, a ruin that was once the home of the poet Saint-Pol-Roux. There is not much left of the once magnificent building.
It looks smaller than on the plaque on a rock in front of the ruins. Its splendor has collapsed and what remains is a blurred memory, evoked only by words of a past that no longer exists and never will. The ruin is a memory of this poet. Many of his works were destroyed in a fire that destroyed the house itself. If it were no longer there, he too would soon be forgotten forever.
A fate borne by countless nameless people, but also by kings who once ruled over all the nameless and believed they were blessed by a higher power. We are all equal in death, they say. And in history. Some outlast time a little longer. But all will eventually be forgotten and disappear forever.
As we move away from the ruins and enter the village, an open field opens up with the stone rows of Lagatjar, the Alignements de Lagatjar. They don’t look like the rows of stones we’ve seen so far, more like those that have only recently been erected, but they are still very old. There are said to have once been 600 of them, but today there are only 72 left. Many of them were re-erected in the last century. Unfortunately, they don’t impress me.
From here we walk through the village until we reach the parking lot and our car. I wasn’t as happy as the day before, but I’m still glad that we’re here. The weather was kind to us, it was so different from the week. I appreciate that. I appreciate every moment we can spend in nature in Brittany.
Activity: Walk near Camaret-sur-Mer
Distance: 7,25 km
Total time: 2 h 30 min
Star/End: 48°16’52.9”N 4°35’52.6”W