Čez morje in živo blato vse do Mont Saint Michel, Francija

Otok Mont Saint Michel, ki leži dober kilometer od obale, velja za eno izmed najbolj ikoničnih turističnih lokacij v Franciji. In to čisto upravičeno. Ko smo prvič stopili  iz busa, ki nas je odložil tik pred samim otokom, smo skoraj družno v en glas dodali le “uau”. 🙂 A ker ga vsako leto obišče več kot dva milijona ljudi, hitro dobiš občutek (predvsem med obiskom njegovih uličic), da je množični obisk na žalost terjal svoj davek. Najbolj smešne so mi bile trume azijskih turistov, ki so zvečer kar v več desetmetrski vrsti čakale na očitno tisto pravo lokacijo, kjer lahko narediš “tisto pravo” fotografijo. 🙂 No, temu je sledil še večerni stampedo, ko so taisti turisti dobesedno podivjali in skoraj poteptali soimenjakinjo, ki je med prerivanjem za prostor na busu, izgubila svoj čevelj. Vem, težka so potovanja, ko si moraš v tednu dni ogledati skoraj pol Evrope. 🙁 Med planiranjem potepanja po Normandiji in Bretanji pa mi je hitro padla v oko tura, pri kateri sem bil prepričan, da bomo vsaj malo ubežali turističnemu kaosu Mont Saint Michel-a. Stephane Gueno, simpatičen lokalec (najdete ga tukaj), nam je v dobrih treh urah prikazal zaliv otoka Mont Saint Michel v luči, ki jo bomo težko pozabili. Pohodna tura do otoka Tombelaine, ki je dolga dobrih 6 km, je bila kljub vremenu, ki se je spreminjal na vsakih 10 minut, naravnost nepozabna. Najprej prečenje pravih “morskih” rek z neverjetno močnimi tokovi, potem “igračkanje” z živim peskom, pa neverjetne kulise z otokom Mont Saint Michel v ozadju… Noro lepo in vredno vsakega evra. Priporočam.

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The island of Mont Saint Michel, that lies about a kilometer from the coast, is considered one of the most iconic tourist sites in France. When we first stepped out of the bus, that dropped us just in front of the island, we all just added “uau”. 🙂 But since there are more than 2 million visitors per year, you can quickly get a feeling that its becoming a small Disneyland. For me it was unforgettable to see all those tourists from Asia, who were waiting at the end of the day in queues couple of ten meters long for a spot, from where its possible to take that perfect photo. Or when I witnessed the same evening a real stampedo of same tourist, where they almost trampled a lady, who lost her shoe while fighting for her place on the bus. I know, its really hard to visit half of Europe in a week. 🙁 When I was gathering info about Normandy and Bretagne I quickly found a tour, where I was sure we are going to leave all this crowds behind us. Stephane Gueno, a friendly local guide (find him here), took us on a 6 km long walking tour to the island of Tombelaine and back, where we experienced some unforgettable things. First crossing all those sea rivers with really fast flow, then  “playing” with quick sand, enjoying amazing views towards the island of Mont Saint Michel… It was an amazing tour worth every euro and  we really recommend it.