May 22 – Capes and Coastal Towns

We left the hotel in the mid-morning only to discover a very large market going on in the two nearby parking lots.  Lots of stuff.  Mostly clothing and household goods but one end had food stalls.  But many of the vendors were still setting up.  Too early.

We had an hour drive out to the Crozon Peninsula to our first stop, Camaret Sur Mer, another coastal fishing village. 

There was a very large harbor with a long jetty that seemed to almost circle the harbor. 

After wandering the front street we stopped for drinks and while there the large fog bank that had been sitting out at sea started to come in.  Misty and pretty.

We headed out of town towards our next destination but got waylaid when we stumbled across a huge stone circle, the Lagatijar Alignments.  According to the posted information it is believed that at one time it was a group of about 600 menhirs (standing stones) but there are far fewer now.   The monument is believed to date from the Late Neolithic period ~7000 BCE (or 9,000 years ago).   

From there we moved on only to stumble across another World War II monument, the Battle of the Atlantic Memorial.  There were a number of huge naval anchors, each labeled as to the ship from which it came.  And there were also more German bunkers.

Eventually, we made it to our next destination, the Pointe de Pen Hir.  Very tall cliffs...

rugged coastline...

and beautiful views.

Nearby was the Cross of Lorraine.  The cross was used as a symbol of Free France during World War II.

From there we stopped for pictures at the Plage (beach) de Kerloc’h…

and the Plage de Kersiguenou. 

Across from the beach was the Castle of Dinan sitting on asea arch.  It isn’t really a castle but the top of the hills look like a castle due to the rugged stone peaks on the top.

Then it was on the Cap de la Chevre.  Another point with great views…

and another World War II memorial. 

From there we passed another beach, Plage de Veryac’h.  The beaches on this peninsula are huge and beautiful and very shallow.  When the tide is out you can walk a long ways out. 

We eventually headed back towards Concarneau but decided to make one stop.

Pont-l”Abbe is another coastal town...

whose claim to fame is one of the rare, inhabited bridges in France.  I really doesn’t look much like a bridge because of the bulk of the bridge and in fact that it has a number of large buildings on it.  but you could see the arches underneath where the river flowed. 

We also visited the Eglise St. Jacques de Lamour.  It is in ruins, missing its roof.

Then visited the Eglise Notre Dame des Carmes.

And statues of women on the riverbank.  The statue represents the women and children of fishermen as they wait patiently for the fishermen to return from the sea.

We found a small sandwich shop and had dinner in Pont-l’Abbe and then headed back to Concarnea.