Blog 06: La Rochelle - August 2017

Here, at last, is my account of our time in La Rochelle. If some of the photographs look lovely and warm and sunny, that’s because they were taken last summer! But I’m finishing off this blog instalment on a very wet, grey day in April 2018 – it’s a welcome excuse to shelter from the weather and have a rest from cleaning the decks!

But even last summer we woke up on our first morning in La Rochelle to grey, drizzly, very British weather!

The only splash of colour in Les Minimes marina was provided by the wildflowers growing on the harbour wall.

It was a good day for catching up with boat jobs, laundry and so on, but later it did clear up a bit so we went over on the waterbus to the town of La Rochelle and just wandered through the streets to absorb the atmosphere. La Rochelle is famous for its street arcades – all the main shopping streets have medieval stone arcades lining them, and originally merchants displayed their goods under the arches. Nowadays the arcades hide the gaudy shop signs – and you keep dry if shopping in the rain!

Arcades around the Place de Verdun – some of them date from the 13^th century.

This rather grand building turned out to be a city supermarket!

Many of the half-timbered houses date from the 15^th and 16^th centuries.

These figures are part of an art installation hanging in various places around the town.

This is one of the original gates to the town, also adorned with hanging figures.

We found a less touristy little square in the St Nicholas area …

… and enjoyed a drink and delicious salmon terrine in L’Imprevu – a bar in a little hidden courtyard just off the square. We liked it so much we have been here 3 times now and are beginning to be recognised!

The entrance to the old port of La Rochelle is guarded by two medieval towers – these little sailing dinghies provided a bright splash of colour on a rather dull evening – this is the view from the waterbus on the way back to the boat.

This is the lovely, sandy beach near Les Minimes marina.

And the forest of masts at Les Minimes at sunset – the marina has more than 1000 berths!

The Three Sisters of La Rochelle

The three medieval towers are known as the Three Sisters and look distinctive on the skyline. You can visit all three towers.

The Chaîne (on the left) and Saint Nicholas Towers, both built in the 14^th century, together form a majestic gateway to the Old Port of La Rochelle and protect the entrance to the harbour. Originally a huge chain was stretched across at night to effectively close the port.

Saint Nicholas Tower was used as both a residence and for defence purposes. In the Middle Ages a Captain and his family and would have lived here with soldiers and servants – the Captain took an oath never to leave the tower during the year in which he was in charge of it. The tower has an interesting ‘double spiral’ staircase, where two twisting staircases intertwine with each other in the same space without ever meeting or joining, thus avoiding residents and soldiers bumping into each other!

The Chaîne Tower was originally the residence of the harbourmaster who levied the taxes due from ships using the port and controlled the chain which closed it on the order of the Mayor.

The Lanterne Tower is the oldest and, for me, the most interesting. It was built at the end of the 12^th century, but was transformed in the 15^th century into an important navigation mark and lighthouse by the addition of a massive spire and a lantern, which originally contained just an open bonfire. It is 55m high and is visible from everywhere in the Antioche Sound, forming part of the coastguard system.

This is the lantern itself, which has now been glazed with stained glass.

With walls three metres thick, the Lanterne Tower, was used as a military and then a general prison for several hundred years and there are more than 600 graffiti carved into the stone walls by the prisoners.

Some are such detailed and accurate representations of their ships that naval archaeologists have studied the graffiti to inform their research.

Some are engravings of the everyday lives of the prisoners when they were home, and some are rather poignant ‘in memoriams’ to fellow prisoners who had tried, but failed, to escape. There was quite a nostalgic atmosphere in this tower.

One wall carving is of a railway engine which is recognisable enough for the actual engine to be identified.

The towers all have great views and it was a perfect viewing day!

This is a view of the Old Port and city of La Rochelle from the Chaîne Tower.

The Aquarium

No visit to La Rochelle is complete without a visit to the huge Aquarium – it must be worth visiting judging by the length of the queue, but I went on a hot day when everyone else must have gone to the beach!! It was lovely and cool inside the aquarium which houses an amazing array of wonderful and strange fish and sea creatures. Even if you’ve been to lots of aquariums before, there are still things here to surprise and interest you.

This Green Moray can grow to over 2 metres long.

The Stars and Stripes Puffer can absorb a large quantity of water and swell to discourage predators. They have very sharp teeth which are capable of cutting off a finger!

Some of the brightly coloured coral and beautiful tropical fish in the aquarium.

Japanese Giant Spider Crabs have a leg span of up to 3.5 metres from claw to claw, including 37cm for the body itself, and weigh 20 kg.

Maritime Museum

The Maritime Museum consists of displays housed within old cargo sheds, a selection of wooden sailing boats, a tug, two trawlers and an Ocean Weather Ship. I found this former Weather Ship the most interesting – it was stationed in a precise position within a 10 nautical square mile area of the Atlantic Ocean in order to take meteorological readings and make weather observations in the days before satellite equipment and automatic computerised buoys took over. Operational between 1958 and 1985, one of these meteorological vessels had to be on station at all times. As well as scientists, meteorologists and the ship’s crew, there was a doctor and nurse on board and an operating theatre; they looked after the crew but also provided emergency medical assistance to other ships, particularly fishing boats.

It may have been a museum, but Charles recognised quite a lot of the equipment on display from his days in the Royal Navy Hydrographic Service!!

This is the view from the Maritime Museum along the Bassin des Chalutiers with some of the vintage wooden yachts moored on the right.

Later I called in on Kristina and Atle and their furry crew, Momo. I managed to arrive at exactly the right moment to join a very enjoyable drinks party on board – perfect timing!

We enjoyed a guided tour of their spacious and very comfortable boat, Summer Star, in the Bassin des Chalutiers right in the heart of La Rochelle.

And another day Kristina and Atle cycled round to the marina at Les Minimes for coffee and croissants on board Astraia.

After a while we moved the boat from Les Minimes marina to the Bassin des Yachts in the Old Port.

Astraia is the boat on the right-hand side of this photo – we are right in the centre of town, close to shops, restaurants and cafes and all the buzz of La Rochelle at holiday time. Surprisingly the holiday-makers are quite well-behaved and it’s not too noisy, so we enjoyed the lively atmosphere of the city centre.