The Camargue

The Camargue is located in western France, south of Arles next to the Atlantic Ocean.  It is also western Europe's largest river delta.  It comprises 360 sq. mi. made up, largely, of plains and brine lagoons, separated from the sea by sand bars. 

It is home to something like 40,000 birds and much of it has been a regional park since 1927.

Desolate, sparsely populated, the Camargue is the "wild West" of France to me.  They have cowboys ("gardiens") and bloodless bullfights and breeds of cattle and horse found nowhere else. 

The Camargue cattle are jet black with upsweeping horns who live semi-wild in the reeds and marshes.  They aren't Big Cattle at 900 lbs. for a bull and around 600 lbs for a cow.  What they lack in bulk, they make up for in agility.  They're used in cattle herding and the bullfights. 

The bullfights take place in an arena, but never having seen a French bullfight (other than over a cafe table) and knowing the bulls are not killed, I would imagine that the cowboys gather in the arena, the bull is let loose among them and then everyone chases everyone else until one of the two antagonists is tired and sits down. 

It's an image I bet you've seen - a herd of wild, white horses galloping through the surf on a beach.  These are the famous Camargue ponies.  They are born with a black skin and dark brown hiar.  As they age, more and more white hair emerges and as adults they have grey coats.   They've been there for centuries.  They thrive on the rough environment there. 

I'm thinking it will be very picturesque -- jet black cattle, grazing on soft green fields, with flamingos and Cattle Egrets dotting the cattle and the field. 

The Camargue is a short hop south of Arles and Arles is only about 50 miles from Marseilles where we will be staying.  It must be noted that Marseilles is by no means considered the chic end of the Riviera.  That would be the other end - St. Tropez, Nice, Cannes...  Having seen The French At Play on the beaches (God help us, the men DO wear Speedos) I think I will prefer the Camargue.