Camargue Bull Racing

It was a lovely day when we woke up, but windy. We did a washing as it was such a great drying day. We then jumped on our bikes and rode out a quiet road in the marshes. It was easy cycling as the wind was behind us. It is a huge flat expanse with mostly water everywhere and small bits of land here and there. A lot of this area had been used as salt marshes. Now in the farming areas they make rice.

We found some flamingos sheltering from the wind on the edge of a large pool. There were several waders that Glenn enjoyed watching.

The cycle back was really tough into the wind. The town was only a few kms away but it seemed to take ages to get there.

We arrived back at the van, had a quick lunch in the sun, changed and went out to our next event- Camargue Bull Racing. We didn’t wear much as it was really warm despite the wind.

The event was in the bullring in town. We had bought tickets earlier so went straight in to see the full bullring. It was just like a Roman arena with concrete seats.

The view of the old church was good - showing tourists sitting on the roof trying to watch the bull racing.

There were about 8 fit young men in white in the arena and a feisty bull came into the ring, pawing the ground and roaring. The men then taunted the bull to chase them and tried to cut the string tied between its horns - or touch its head. To escape they jumped over the barrier on the edge. We weren’t sure of the scoring and what it all meant.

One bull managed to jump over the barrier and was running around the edge with everyone else in the ring. The crowd really enjoyed that. After some difficulty they got it back in.

The next bull was even smarter as it repeatedly jumped over the barrier.

It was very cool due to the strong wind. The sea was quite wild pictured from the bullring.

After 8 bulls it was over and we left to see barriers up on the streets and people waiting to see the next part - the bull run. Soon after they opened the gates and horses went galloping down the street followed closely by a few bulls. It was quite dramatic. There was quite a traffic jam with all this going on.

We then headed back to the van to get some warm clothes before going out for dinner.

We found a restaurant doing fish and seafood. I had mussels with Roquefort sauce - delicious. Glenn had paella - also nice.

We were naughty following it up with a traditional French tarte tartin to warm us up - very nice.

There is a lovely roundabout on the way home - all lit up - representing a nearby lighthouse.

It didn’t take long to get to bed that night!!