Tour de Globe: Stage 4 (France)

Bonjour! The shipboard community had the option to travel with the MV Explorer from Antwerp, Belgium to Le Havre, France (a total of 272 miles) or to travel “overland” to Le Havre. Thus when we ported in Antwerp, the only restriction for participants was that everyone had to be back for “on ship time” in Le Havre in 5 days. This allowed many people to travel through Belgium, to Amsterdam, or to Paris for an extended period of time. I have already been to Paris and Normandy (though I’d gladly go back to both), so I wasn’t trying to cram a ton into this port city. In addition, I decided to travel on the ship because I was doing a Field Program in the morning after immediately getting to Le Havre.

After porting in Le Havre, the ship was cleared at 8am and I headed out for the Field Program, a trip to Mont Saint-Michel. My desire to travel to this destination was two-fold. First, over the years I have seen pictures of Mont Saint-Michel and thought it would be an interesting place to visit. In addition, I was watching the Tour de France this year (shocking, I know) and stage 11’s Individual Time Trial route took riders 54km from Avranches, finishing at Mont Saint-Michel. Seeing Mont Saint-Michel on television was awesome and I once again thought it would be an amazing place to visit. Low and behold, two days later I was looking at the various field programs offered by SAS in Le Havre, France when I spotted the picture icon of Mont Saint-Michel on the page. Done…that’s it…I was going (before reading the date/time). As it turns out, I was actually the RD On-Call the day the trip was being offered, but immediately switched (giving up a half day in Cuba) with another RD.  

 Looks like Chris Froom & Andy Schleck left their bikes at Mont Saint-Michel

We had a 2.5-hour bus ride before getting to our destination, during which our tour guide chatted about everything you’d ever want to know about France and Mont Saint-Michel. She also mentioned it was Heritage Day in France, which is scheduled each year for the third weekend of September. Thus, every museum and historical site was open and free to the public, which probably added to the mass numbers visiting Mont Saint-Michel (side note: 3 million people visit Mont Saint-Michel each year).

History Nerd Time: Mont Saint-Michel was founded in 708 when Bishop Aubert of Avranches had a sanctuary built on Mont-Tombe in honor of the Archangel Michel. Saint Michael, head of the heavenly militia, was of great importance to Medieval religious sensibility, as he was the one who led away the dead and put their souls in the balance on the day of the last judgment. Because of this, Saint Michel is often depicted holding a sword and a set of scales. In the 10th century, Benedictines came to the abbey and a village grew up below its walls. During the Hundred Years War (a series of conflicts from 1337 to 1453 between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of France for control of the French throne), Mont Saint-Michel served as an impregnable stronghold, which resisted all the English assaults. Because of this the Mont became a symbol of national identity and caused Mont Saint-Michel to be a place of pilgrimage for many. In addition, the structure was a political prison until 1863, classified as a historic monument in 1874, and was listed as a World Heritage Site (a place of special cultural or physical significance) by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) in 1979.

With about 15 minutes to go, we had this impressive view out our bus window:

Mont Saint-Michel really is the only thing around the area and it instantly reminded me of the city of Minas Tirith in the Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (it also reminded me of Hogwarts from Harry Potter as well, but not as much). The structure was previously connected to the mainland via a tidal causeway (a trackway covered at high tide and revealed at low tide). This area also has the 3rd highest tidal range in the world as the tides can vary greatly, at roughly 46 feet between high and low tide. I was visiting at low tide, so the Abbey didn’t appear as an island, which would have been neat to see. Because of this, people are able to walk on the sand around the Abbey to other mounds or to the neighboring coasts. I’m sure doing this offers nice photos of Mont Saint-Michel; however, I don’t know if there’s a bad place to take a picture of it either.

Our group did a walking tour of Mont Saint-Michel and I didn’t really know what to expect inside the walls. As mentioned earlier, a village had been built up around the base throughout the years, which has now been turned into restaurants (about 25), hotels, and gift shops. As we were walking past the various levels making our way higher and higher, I couldn’t help but think of the city of Minas Tirith again (yes…I’m a nerd in many ways). My travels through Mont Saint-Michel were almost exactly like the scene where Gandalf and Merry are riding through level after level of Minas Tirith, climbing higher and higher till they reached the Citadel of Minas Tirith at the top.

 Models of Mont Saint-Michel (above) and Minas Tirith (below)

In Mont Saint-Michel, the Abbey Church, situated at the top, stands on crypts that create a platform designed to take the weight of a church 80m long. Our group was led through various rooms in the Abbey and my mind couldn’t steer clear from Lord of the Rings (or Game of Thrones or Harry Potter). For example the Great Pillared Crypt definitely reminded me of the Dwarf-City of Dwarrowdelf in the Fellowship of the Ring. The views from the Abbey were nice, but there isn’t much of anything around to actually view (the areas is all about the Abbey).

 

Great Pillared Crypt (above) and the Cloister (an open gallery near the top of Mont Saint-Michel, providing communications between buildings and was a place of praryer and meditation. 

After the extremely detailed tour through Mont Saint-Michel, we were given free time to wander around alone and to grab a bite to eat. Being in France, I naturally found a place with crepes and croissants (both were staples for my diet in France). I also took a ton of pictures of Mont Saint-Michel during this free time:

 Before leaving, we learned about the effects of erosion on Mont Saint-Michel and the engineering challenge to replace the causeway with a bridge. In 2006, the French Prime Minister announced a €164 million project to build a hydraulic dam using the waters of the river Couesnon and of the tides to help remove the accumulated silt deposited by the rising tides, and to make Mont Saint-Michel an island again. The construction began in 2009 and was scheduled to be completed in 2015. However, the construction is now complete (so a much better time estimate than Hamburg’s Elbe Philharmonic Hall). When finished with the view of the dam, we hopped back on the bus for the long ride back to the MV Explorer, where I was the RD On-Call again. Luck was on my side though, as it was yet another quiet night!

I woke up the next morning and went off to explore Le Havre with a few others. Le Havre is an urban French commune and the second largest port city in France (behind Marseille). This being said…there really isn’t too much going on in Le Havre. So much so that when other travelers on our ship explained to French citizens where the ship was docked, the French apologized (and probably surrendered…I’m kidding). The ship was docked about a 20-minute walk from the city center, but as soon as we started walking, it started to downpour. We ran for cover, called for a taxi, and made it into the city just as the sun started coming out again. The weather couldn’t make up its mind all day as we kept getting sporadic showers followed by clear skies and sun. 

I started the day in the non-exciting port city by finding a mall and going “shopping” for a much-needed 2nd pair of jeans. Per usual, my “shopping” lasted 15 minutes and I was done. Alison and Carla took a little more time (Alison loves shopping…apparently she’s been to a mall in each city we’ve traveled to) before we went and grabbed lunch (sandwiches on fresh French baguettes…can’t beat it) and sat outside the Hotel de Ville and the Le Havre City Hall. We continued our tour of the city by walking on the cold and windy beach, stopping by Saint Joseph’s Church (a Roman Catholic church built in 1951 as part of the reconstruction of the town of Le Havre, which was almost entirely destroyed during WWII. The tower is 107 meter tall and acts as a beacon visible from sea and a memorial to the five thousand civilians who died in the conflict), grabbing some pastries, and walking back to the ship.

At the beach in Le Havre, France

Saint Joseph's Church in Le Havre, France

The remainder of our time in Le Havre could have been better. Embarkation was rough as students, with apparently nothing to do in Le Havre, chose to drink large quantities of French wine, prior to getting back (or trying to get back) on the ship. This caused some issues on the gangway, which the staff had to deal with. In addition, the MV Explorer sat in Le Havre for 1.5 days before leaving for Dublin, Ireland. Now the reason for this is due to the fact that students HAVE to have class days on the ship. Because our European countries/ports are so close to one another, this hasn’t allowed students much time for “At Sea” or “In Class” days. Finally, one of the RDs, Carla, stayed in Le Havre for an extra couple of days for a student medical issue (which turned out to be nothing) and had to fly to Dublin to meet up with the ship.

If Le Havre wasn’t a “gateway” to Paris, I don’t think SAS would return to this location (given the feedback I’ve heard). In fact, our Executive Dean spoke to the students at a Pre-Port meeting for Dublin & Ireland and stated, “Le Havre…they [the French] can Le Have it.” However, docking so close to Paris is a huge benefit (only about 2 hours by train) and no one really needs to stay in Le Havre, so I think future voyages will port here as well (just checked and the Fall 2014 voyage will be returning to Le Havre).

Au Revoir till the Emerald Isle!

"Hindsight, I think, is a useless tool. We, each of us, are at a place in our lives because of innumerable circumstances, and we, each of us, have a responsibility (if we do not like where we are) to move along life's road, to find a better path if this one does not suit, or to walk happily along this one if it is indeed our life's way. Changing even the bad things that have gone before would fundamentally change who we are, and whether or not that would be a good thing, I believe, it is impossible to predict. So I take my past experiences...and try to regret nothing."