Festival of Stink

The next day’s ride opened with continued cycle-trekking through cultivated forest.

Two days ago Gérard had told us a bit about the area. Gascony was not as fertile or economically thriving a region as some, and to encourage businesses to invest in the area, Emperor Napoleon III established economic incentives. Those incentives continue to this day. A major industry in the area now is the cultivation of lumber, which the land is well suited to, and the tax incentives provide the impetus to make use of the land in an industry with a significant time delay to payoff.

Maturing trees next to a patch that has been recently harvested

One of the main uses for the trees is the processing of the pine resin into turpentine. The Inn at which we stayed the previous evening – Le Résinier– takes its name from that heritage.

On the ride, we passed by a working sawmill. I took the picture below, and wanted to take more, but a woman in a work apron emerged from the machinery and began yelling at me. I had no idea what she was saying - she may or may not have shouted one of the twenty-three French words with which I am familiar - but her displeasure came through loud and clear.

Julia and I were totally perplexed as to the reason for the fuss. We pedaled away, while the woman continued shouting at us. She went on for quite a while…

Rustic looking log-picture

I am pleased to report that garden gnomes are actually a thing, and that we saw some in a garden. They looked content.

***

On a previous stop at a large market, we had stocked up on picnic items, and we were quite pleased to roll them out.

We had scored a couple of Grand Cru Bordeaux, some foie gras, some various sliced meat treats, jams of both quince and fig, and a quadrumvirate of smelly cheeses: Pont-l'Évêque, Époisses , a soft French Munster, and a soft raw milk Chèvre. The first three we can sometimes obtain at a local specialty cheese store – when they are available – and they are quite dear. The raw milk Chèvre cannot be had in the States at all.

We stretched this picnic fare over two days. On the second day, we stopped by a boulangerie and scored some split-tail mini-baguettes. They have a name that is not baguette, but I do not remember what it is. They are different in some way from baguettes but I do not know exactly how, because my bread-fu is weak.

But it was really really good.

***

We cycled through terrain that transitioned quickly from cultivated woodland to coastal waterway stuff. Day Two of Stinky Picnic was in a park in front of a small harbour, and next to a bird sanctuary.

Julia was keen to check out the Parc Ornithologique, and I was keen to nap on a park bench, so we did those things.

Julia took many many many pictures of wetness and birds. And also of a rodenty thing.

A rodenty thing

A colorful and particularly loud duck, making its loud duck noise

 The cycle path followed the edge of the bird sanctuary for a few kilometers

As we neared the coast, we cycled past some beachy bits

And as we entered Arcachon – where we would be spending the next two nights - we passed a number of small harbors, full of fishing boats, which were also hubs for the oyster farming trade.

Oysters are grown on grates which are maintained in shallow water, then harvested, after which the grates are cleaned off and re-used. For years, Arcachon was a sleepy village devoted to oyster farming, until later being developed into a beach community. However, the oyster farming trade still thrives.

We were pretty tuckered out at this point, as this was the longest bicycling stretch of the trek – 50 Km – so we did not spend a lot of time on the boardwalk. However, we did spend a few minutes looking over the barrier and between the tents at an acrobatic show that was being held.

***

We were drained of energy, and for dinner stuck with the prix fixe menu.

Duck bacon!!

Julia’s entrée was smoked duck breast, accompanied by various salad stuffs, among which were toasted walnuts. Duck bacon + toasted walnuts = awesome.

Salmon terrine

Mine was a salmon loaf chunk, with nice salad components, and part of a quail egg.

Lobster Lady

We also occasionally got to see a lady fish a lobster out of a tank. Whenever this happened, she had to contend with a skirt she obviously wished were longer at the moment, while simultaneously making sure she did not drip water from her lobster net onto nearby guests. We were kind of punchy-tired, so this was amusing.

For mains, Julia got sturgeon stew. When it arrived, she realized she had no spoon, and was not sure how to eat the dish. However, the broth was so rich and salty that it was immediately apparent it was not to be slurped in and of itself, but was there to provide flavour and spice.

I opted for sea bass. I typically do not eat fish, but thought I would be adventurous, and had envisioned being presented with a grilled fillet. Ha ha ha ha!

I hugely dislike dealing with fish bones but I went ahead and, rather gamely I thought, peeled the flesh away from the spine and ribs, and tucked into it. It was in fact delightful. All went very well indeed until I inadvertently got a mouth full of fin. At that point I threw in the towel. You win this round, Mister Sea Bass, but I will be back one day for your brother…