There's still a strong wind, but it's clear. The thermometer climbs to 29 degrees, but the wind makes it easy to do. Today we drive for an hour towards Narbonne. There you have the Parc naturel régional de la Narbonnaise and Méditerranée.

We arrive in the town of Saint-Pierre-de-la-Mer, a small town on the Mediterranean Sea. The bustle of the seaside resort tells us little, but the crater lake 'Gouffre de l'oeil doux'.

The lake is about 14 m deep and contains brackish water. The steep rocks are made of limestone. The lake is only accessible on foot. You have to leave your car in a parking lot by the road. Up to the point on the picture above is almost 1 km walking. We walked further on the rocks and also made the descent to the water. It is forbidden to swim and dive. There have been several fatal accidents in the past.

The road varies from easy (to the top viewpoint) to rough (along the top edge down).

After this walk it is already around noon. We decide to find a nice place to have a picnic. We'll find this at Etang Mateille. We park our car in a car park along the road, take our seats and picnic and find a spot at one of the many lagoons. Although there is a holiday park nearby, there is practically no one at this spot.

Only a surfer tries to fight the wind.

We're gonna sit there for a long time. It's blissful with the sun and the wind.

From here we drive to Gruissan, where we drive past the lagoons of Etang de Bages to Peyrac de Mer. We pass a lot of beautiful places.

Gruissan, where you can walk along the water. There is also a harbour. There are a lot of fishing boats and nets.

A little further along the lagoons, there are even rice fields.

Just past La Nautique you have a viewpoint over the bay.

In Bages we walk through the village to find a nice terrace.

A little further there is a road between the lagoons. Swaders and seagulls are looking for food.

We finish our trip in Peyrac de Mer, where you can walk along wooden hiking trails across the water.

The original plan was to ride a bike here. You can rent bikes and get to places that are not accessible by car. There are cycle routes through the lagoons. However, there was such a strong wind that we saw off anyway.

#frankrijk #reisverhalen #reisverslag #narbonne #etang #lagunes #middellandsezee

Also in this neighbourhood:

Summer in France - day 4: Carcassonne

Summer in France - day 3: Puichéric - exploring.