Atlantic Coast Part Two: L'île de Ré, Tidal Flats, Nantes, and into Brittany (10-20 June 2015).

Prior to arriving on l'île de Ré, we were invited by a former WWOOF host, Pascale (see blog post "Wild Edibles, Medicinals, and Mountain Panoramas") to spend a few days in a family house on the island.  A very generous and well-received gesture, indeed. So we found ourselves on one of the Atlantic coast's most famous islands, known for its bike culture.  Moving on, we would follow the EuroVelo1 northwards again, and then moving inland to reach the superb city of Nantes.  Finally we would ride the final segment into the department of Morbihan, Brittany, where the final WWOOF host of our tour is to be found...

We left La Rochelle heading for the nearby island of Ile de Ré.

Jeff on the 3km-long bridge to the island.

Our first look at the island.  (We would later find out that it has become a posh destination for French film stars.)

A look back at the remarkable bridge...

... boats waiting out the tide in La Flotte.

The fantastic entrance to St. Martin-de-Ré.  No coincidence about the bike flow: Ile de Ré is a known cyclists' haven, being flat and scenic and relatively small.

Katy negotiates the crowds in St. Martin.

The port at St. Martin.

Our destination on the isle is the village of Loix-en-Ré, which is found on the other side of a network of marshes and tidal flats.

The old house which belongs to Pascale's family, where we've been invited to stay for several days.

Bo hits the streets in Loix.

Loix is on the short list of international towns which qualify as Cittaslow, a movement begun in Italy that aims to resist cultural homogenization and globalization and promotes quality of life. (take that you capitalist bastards!)

The island's history involves salt harvesting and continues to this day....

... Salt collection ponds.

Church steeple in Ars-en-Ré.

A not-so-warm Bo on a beach visit near Les Portes-en-Ré.

Phare des Baleines.

Ile de Ré is known for its diverse waterfowl.  Above, Great Blue Heron...

Egret.

Black-winged Stilt.

A rare treat: seafood dinner in St. Martin.  

Just north of La Rochelle we ran into John, a down-on-his-luck Irishman intending to cycle the entire French segment of the EuroVelo1.  On this day, relentless punctures had forced him to walk 8 km, spend hours repairing ruined tubes, and had basically zapped his patience and energy (culprit: his road bike unsuitable for surprise rough roads and tracks).  We stopped to help him out and chatted for awhile, and somehow John gifted to Bodhi his mascot: Cookie Monster!

So John's mascot became our mascot.

Atlantic sunset.

Swans on the Canal de Marans.

We rode out of Marans in grey drizzly weather.

Now in the department of Vendée.

A seemingly unlikely place for sheep raising.

A cyclists' impromptu gathering along the EuroVelo1...

... riding off across the flats of the Vendée.

Katy admires the architecture in Moutiers-sur-le-Lay.

Bo waits patiently while we make camp...

... in a gorgeous wood near Bournezeau.

Still a day or two's ride from Nantes we hit some nasty rain, and the long soggy day had few highlights.

Bo didn't mind though, and had plenty of fun in Les Essarts.

The twin Gothic spires of Les Essarts.

Nearing Nantes we started seeing some anti-airport messages.  These refer to the dreadful proposed airport of Notre-Dame-de-Landes, which has met with heavy opposition from local farmers, ecologists and activists, and has become a symbol of the crucial fight to protect countryside from short-sighted development projects, encroaching urbanscapes and rampant capitalism. 

Katy riding between Vertou and Nantes.

Arrived now in Nantes, Jeff and Bo crossing the Loire River, a major watermark. 

In Nantes, two of France's greatest long-distance cycle routes cross: the EuroVelo6 and the EuroVelo1.

We spent 2 days in Nantes, and made sure to visit Les Machines de L'Ile, an art project which has revamped abandoned shipbuilding and transport yards.

The showstopper is this massive mechanical elephant.

Spraying water and snorting and grunting along, Bodhi somehow slept through it all!

Nantes on the Loire.

We found Nantes to be a very pleasant city, alive with art, youthful energy and progressive transport and cycle paths.

Not to mention quirky botanical gardens.

Our hosts in Nantes, a welcoming Warm Showers family.

We left Nantes bound for Brittany, first heading west on the Loire.

On 17 June 2015 we celebrated one year of Bodhi on Wheels (!!!) in St. Etienne-de-Montluc.  One year of crazy adventures, new friends, hard cycling, a newfound deep awe of France, improved (jeff) and acquired (katy) French-language skills, and best of all, Bodhi has spent it all in the countryside, with organic food, farm animals, hiking, bike-riding, canoeing, etc..

Camped in a field in Loire Atlantique.

Old-timers playing petanque (boules) as we've now entered Brittany in the department of Morbihan.

Signs posted in Breton (below) and French.  Just try pronouncing the Breton names!

Chocolate gets the better of Bodhi at a boulangerie.

Jeff and Bo checking out remarkable architecture, small village style.

Windmill seen roadside.

We ran into some hills before Muzillac.

Market day in Muzillac, and Bo heads straight for the public fountain.

In Muzillac we treated ourselves to a couple of hot Breton waffles, made with nearly 100% buckwheat flour and no eggs (a streetfood dream for us) and smothered in dark chocolate sauce.  Now we knew Brittany was going to treat us well.

So close to the sea after an inland stretch, we detoured a bit to visit the beach ...

Jeff and Bo at Damgan.

We crossed the Rivière de Penerf in a pedestrian/cyclist ferry...

... Bo and Katy...

... colorful boats...

... and a friendly welcome in La Tour-du-Parc with these guys, who shared beer and snacks with us in early evening.

Dawn slumber, our last night bush-camping on this bike trip, just east of Vannes!

Vannes, bustling with action on a Saturday morning in mid-June.

Distinctive architecture in Vannes.

Bo chats with the locals in St. Anne-d'Auray.

Katy pedalling what will be the last (for now) few hundred meters of our bike tour, as we approach our last WWOOF stay near Brech.