WINTER
GARDEN
One afternoon in
Arcachon, France we had a chance to visit Winter Garden, located on a high hill
overlooking the bay and its activities. There is an elevator to take visitors
up from ground level, but our biking guide decided we were going to hike the switch-back
path to the top. I guess he figured we’d use different muscles than when
peddling a bike!
We learned that the
city of Arcachon was established in 1840 and in 1867 a couple of brothers built
a railroad. The mild winter climate and clean air soon turned the area into a rest
spot for those with TB. The publicity after Napoleon’s visit in 1862 promoted
the area even more.
In 1863 the railroad
brothers built 23 villas which they rented. The villas were then broken into
apartments. By 1878 there were 96 villas for rent; that swelled to 244 villas
by 1900 and presently there are 188.
Winter Garden was
built to give the city visitors something to do. Built on 300acres it had a
large plush casino until 1977 when fire destroyed it. Instead of rebuilding the
casino, the area was planted with gardens and trees. The view of the bay and
city below was magnificent from the top.
The top of a tall
observatory located at the top of the hill can be reached by climbing a narrow spiral staircase in the
center of the tower. A pretty wobbly climb was worth the view of the bay and city
below.
Because of the steep
hill, streets are built sideways and resemble switch-back roads. This design
not only makes travel easier, it also lessens the wind. As we walked the area
the docent pointed out the first, second and third era villas. It was an interesting
morning with some challenging walking.
SAND DUNES
Enroute to Arcachon
we made a detour to visit Europe’s highest sand dunes. A paved walkway lined
with kiosks lead us to the dune where 151 steps took us to the top. Once
standing on top of the dune the view of the ocean beyond was spectacular and
definitely worth the climb! After some time enjoying the view we all chose to
walk back down, but many, mostly kids, had great fun rolling and tumbling down
the dune.
ARCACHON OYSTERS
Arcachon Bay is 155 square
kilometers and at low tide three-quarters of the bay is still covered with
shallow water. A research institute, located on the bay, works closely with
oyster farmers. The district owns the land and leases oyster farmers specific
plots, so each farmer knows his own territory. The environmentally rich bay
produces 15 tons of oysters a year per
farm.
Oyster farming started in the 1800s.
In the 1960s a virus attacked the oysters, so in 1968 a Japanese oyster was
introduced to replace the lost oysters.
Here the oysters reproduce which is not the case in either Normandy or
Brittany where farmers import Arcachon oysters as they grow well when
reintroduced into new areas. They just don’t reproduce.
An oyster filters 10 liters of water
an hour siphoning off food. They spawn
in summer and only 1-2% of the larvae survive. Oysters can change sex each
season if it is necessary to reproduce.
Red ceramic tiles are coated with a
limestone mixture and dried. When the time is right thousands of tiles, secured
together, are put in the water. The larvae attach to the tiles and 8-9 months
later the tiles are removed and the oysters scraped off and sorted by size.
They are placed in either plastic or steel mesh bags and returned to the bay
for another year. During that year the bags are turned every two weeks. At the
end of a year the oysters are again removed, sized and rebagged to return to
the bay for an additional nine months. It tales 3-4 years for any oyster to
grow to eating size. These oysters are sent all over France but are not
exported.
We enjoyed a detailed lecture and
were able to observe much of the oyster operation as well as talk to many of
the farmers. Who would have guessed it would be a most interesting visit!
No comments:
Post a Comment