Sunday June 12, 2022

We got up early and walked 2 kms to Mont-saint-Michel which is a monastery in the middle of the sea. It was shrouded in mist this morning and the skies threatened us with rain.

Narrow streets led us to a cafe serving coffee and crepes. We ordered our usual espresso followed by crepe du pomme compote which was basically stewed apple on a pancake! It was delicious.

Refreshed and caffeinated, we meandered through winding staircases dating back to 957. That’s really old.

At the top we looked out over the mud flats where we saw a group of walkers making their way across the alternate route. They appeared to be stranded. The walk across the mudflats must only be attempted with a guide as a false move will have you sinking in the sand, or the tide coming in and sweeping you out to sea.

We continued around the old monastery and Mike pointed out holes where the defenders might have poured hot oil down over attackers, or worse still, piddled on them.

There are a few hotels on the monastery and some people actually live in the village. As we made our way down, we noticed the people trying to walk across the mudflats were still in the same place, apparently struggling to know which way to go.

In the other direction the bridge we had walked across earlier had hoards of people walking towards the monastery. We were glad we’d started early and avoided the masses.

As we walked back towards camp, we noticed the people who had been stranded wading through the incoming tide, thankfully making it to safety.

The rain that had threatened all day didn’t come. I spent the rest of the day sorting out some photos while Mike worked on a route plan.

We had dinner at the restaurant again as we have no decent food to cook and there is no shop.

We’ll be back on the bikes tomorrow, hoping the rain stays away.

We are vlogging our cycle adventure on YouTube and are adding a new video weekly. You can watch them here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAP03_iOV9QrtahRxRPBTVB9ZTNOmdizn