Beli konji močvirja Camargue, Provansa

Na jugu Provanse se tik ob morju in delti reke Rone razprostira Camargue. Prava močvara, polna komarjev, plamencev in drugih divjih živih bitij. A verjetno najbolj znani prebivalci te ne ravno prijetne dežele so kamarški konji, ena izmed najstarejših pasem konj na svetu. Glede na napisano naj bi v divjini to deželo poseljevali že stoletja. In prav zaradi težkih pogojev, v katerih so živeli, veljajo za zelo trdožive, vztrajne in polne energije. V zadnjih stoletjih so s konji povezani “Le gardians” oziroma kamarški kavboji, ki konje uporabljajo tudi pri vzreji poznanih camarških bikov, ki jih uporabljajo tudi med francosko različico bikoborb. Z “Le Gardians” in njihovimi konji sem lansko poletje, med našim potepanjem po Provansi, preživel res lepo popoldne. Pokrajina, po kateri sem vandral, je bila res negostoljubna, polna komarjev, vročine in blata. In brez škornjev do pasu in konkretnega nanosa repelentov proti komarjem bi bilo vse skupaj misija nemogoče. Od tisith nekaj ur, preživetih s fanti in puncami verjetno nikoli ne bom pozabil trenutkov, ko je čreda konjev v polnem galopu po vodi dobesedno letela proti meni, se kakšen meter ali dva pred menoj rahlo razpršila in me obšla po moji levi in desni strani. 🙂 Po naročilu kavbojev moraš le obstati, se ne premikati in vse naj bi bilo OK. 🙂

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In the southern part of Provence, near the river Rhone lies Camargue. A real swamp, full of mosquitoes, flamingoes and other wild living beings. But probably the most famous inhabitants of this not-so-pleasant landscape are Camargue white horses, one of the oldest breed of horses in the world. They are living in this landscape for ages now and because of the difficult conditions in which they have lived, they are considered to be very resilient, persistent and full of energy. In the last centuries these horses have been associated with “Le gardians” or “Camargue cowboys”, who also use horses for the breeding of the famous Camargue bulls, that they use during the French version of bullfighting. During our trip around Provence last year I spent one afternoon with “Le Gardians” and their horses. The area where we wandered around was truly inhospitable, full of mosquitoes, mud and it was really hot. And without boots to the waist and massive use of mosquito repellent, the whole mission would be impossible. The afternoon was amazing, and I will probably never forget moments when a herd of horses literally flew towards me on the water and then just spread on my left and right side less then 2 meters away. 🙂 Just stand still and everything will be fine were the only words from the cowboys. 🙂