We arrived in France and we got a visitor onboard!

After a long sail from Ribadesella we arrived La Rochelle. Many people cross over Biskaya more outside the bay and they can use 3-4 days, depends on the wind. Since it is only the two of us we wanted to sail further inside the bay. We started from Ribadesella in the evening and after about 40 hours of good sailing we could check into La Rochelle marina in France. It is one of the biggest marinas with around 5000 boats. We stopped in La Rochelle because of all the boatshops here, it should be possible to find many things we needed.

Even if it was a huge marina with many boats it was very quiet there.

There were many boatshops, but we didn`t find much we needed. So while I did the laundry, Astor took a bikeride to town.

We should have had time to visit the town, but as always we had to follow the wind, and we expected a guest further north in France in just a few days.

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When we finished the laundry we decided to sail out of the marina and anchor a little bit outside in a bay. The marina in La Rochelle costs us around 60 EUR so we couldn`t afford to stay more than one night.

The next morning we sailed further north. Due to the wind direction it was not many places to anchor so we sailed all the way up Belle-Ile-en-Mer, arrived there around 3 AM, pritty tired… Had some hours of sleep and the next day we sailed to Vannes. Vannes is located up in a river in a huge bay with many small islands, so it is very sheltered. But it is a big difference between low tide and high tide, and you need to know if the stream is in the right direction. There is a bridge at the entrance of the river and that bridge will be open only when it is high tide. Call the marina in Vannes and they will tell you the opening hours. They will also meet you at the entrance in a tender.

Once we were inside the bay it was quiet and so many nice places.

Vannes

First we had to moor alongside another boat. It is not a big marina since it is in a river, but I guess they almost always will find a place for you.

My sister came to visit us here and she arrived with the train from Le Mans, the city were I visited a friend back in 1993!! After she arrived we walked to the city center (the marina is very close to city center) to have dinner. What a beautiful city!! It was not very nice weather so not much photos from the city this evening.

We went to a small restaurant where we got a table outside. The menu looked good and when we got the food it looked good. But the taste was not the best.

We got these egg cups from my sister. They were perfect for the boat!

The next morning it was still cloudy, but it was market in the city so we had to check it out.

We got surprised when we came to the market, because it was so many people!! It was not possible to take any good photos. And we didn`t bought much, it was lines everywhere.

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Look at these amazing houses!

The marina and our boat seen from the other side of the river.

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While Astor was waiting for the boat next to us to leave, my sister and I took the bus to the huge supermarket outside the city.

I believe this was the biggest supermarket we have been to on this journey, and perfect for two sisters who hasn`t been shopping together before… We went crazy… We realized when we had paid that we needed a taxi on the way back…

After shopping it was time for sightseeing in Vannes!

Ellisif and me

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So many nice buildings all over the city!

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Cathedral Saint Pierre

Beautiful glas paintings.

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Sunday it was beautiful weather and we were ready to see more of Vannes. Along the marina there were still a market.

The garden in front of Chateau de l`Hermine.

My sister

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Jardin des Remparts

A beautiful garden, still a lot of flowers in August!

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Flowergirls!

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I am not sure what this is good for…

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The garden in front of Chateau de l`Hermine. It was not possible to go inside the garden.

Chateau de l`Hermine.

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And then it was time to leave Vannes for some days. But we are coming back here when Ellisif is going back home.

A video from our day in Vannes.

We didn`t sail long, just stayed inside the bay, Golfe du Morbihan. We anchored first on the east side of Ile-aux-Moines. As you can see it is big differense between low and high tide! The next the morning we took the dinghy ashore to check out the island.

There is a costal track around the island and we wanted to walk at least the half way and into to main village.

And we found blackberries, everywhere!

It was a beautiful track along the coastline.

Low tide!

I don`t know what this is. It was only one…

When it is lowtide you can easily see the seafarm.

Beautiful houses.

It is still summer and the temperature is good!

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We haven`t seen many horses on our journey…

A huge playground for kids!

Good trail everywhere.

So relaxing walking around in these sorroundings!

We continue around and come closer to the village. So many people were bicycling here. There is a ferry coming from the mainland, and it is possible to bring a bike or rent it on the island.

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The square in the village. We stopped here for pancakes and fries. We didn`t bring any food because it shouldn`t be a long hike!

A really cozy place to visit, but too many people!

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A restaurant in a boat! (not floating on low tide)

So many people were waiting for the ferry to cross the sound.

We think the captain has done this many times before, but it was really fascinating to see the boat in this strong stream. Check out the video and watch the sailboat try to sail against the stream!

We continue our hike on the western side of the island. Some people were brave enough to have a swim!

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This was a reall beautiful island and it was nice walking around. It was a bit crowdy some places but we are all tourists…

The next day we sailed to the next island, Ile-d`Arz, and anchored on the east side of the island. We took the dinghy ashore to explore the island.

Some beautiful cross at the church.

A much more quiet island with less people/tourists. A couple of small restaurants.

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It didn`t took us long time to see this island and we went back to the boat.

Early next morning we sailed up the river to Vannes again. We did some grocery and said goodbye for now to Ellisif. We sailed out again in the afternoon and anchored in the bay before we sailed further north the next morning.

Bènodet

We went to the marina in Benodet, because the weatherforcast said it should be a lot of wind the next days.

A beautiful place to stay. It is in the beginning of a river. A little bit further up in the river you will find the city Quimper, and we had a plan to go there, but we didn`t manage to go there.

A big marina, but very quiet to stay there.

We took a walk around Benodet.

Still big difference between low and high tide.

It was a bit windy so not much people along the beach.

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On the seaside of Benodet it was some huge sand dunes when it is low tide.

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A video from Benodet:

From Benodet we sailed further north and when we came to the northern part of France we decided to sail over to England through the night instead of anchoring for the night. On the westcoast of France we got company of a group of dolphins!

In the next post we are in England!