12/7 – Cannes and Ste. Marguerite Island

Another gorgeous day today. Yes, chilly, but lovely cloudless blue skies. We are tendering into Cannes, so we definitely pull the H card and use David, our concierge to take us down to the tender. This works superbly as we are on one of the first tenders, and the first people on that tender. Unfortunately though, the current is so strong that it is bashing the tender up against the pontoon. It is making some really horribly loud noises, then we notice all the crew is watching the side of the tender. You know that can’t be good. And it is not. We are all taken off that tender because of a “technical difficulty” (read: the hull is cracked! At least that’s what we’re thinking) and put onto another tender which finally does make its way to shore.

Our plan today is to catch a ferry over to Ste. Marguerite, a mainly nature preserve with 20km of forest trails we want to hike, and the Royal Fort, where a prison was built specifically for the Man in the Iron Mask – a prisoner in the late 17^th century whose name and identity were hidden from the world.

The ferry to the island is docked literally next to the tender dock. Unfortunately though, because of the tender mishap, we miss the first ferry by minutes and have to wait almost an hour for the 10am ferry to the island. Pooh. Well, it is still early enough and there is enough time for a cappuccino! So off we go to the promenade around the marina in search of an open restaurant.

We are successful – and even find a table in the sun – to drink our cappuccino and waste time until the ferry arrives. Back on the dock at the appointed time, we hop on the catamaran ferry with a handful of others for the 15 minute ride to Ste. Marguerite. Our plan was to hike around the island for an hour or two, then visit the fortress. But we are sort of pressed with the timing because there is no ferry at 1:15. We either need to take the 12:15 or the 2:15. While we’d like to hike longer, 4 hours on the island sounds like a bit much, particularly since both restaurants have closed for the season. Thus, we change on the fly and head up to the fortress first.

The island is beautiful, and while it is a cold day, it is brilliantly sunny and lovely for a long walk and exploration. We hike uphill to the Fort and can wander the grounds for free. It stands at the highest point of the island, overlooking the bay and the city of Cannes. We’ve got stellar views all the way out to the snowcapped Southern Alps mountain range. And of course wide angle views of the Getaway anchored in the bay.

The fort was built in the 1600’s, but the whole island has been occupied for over 2,000 years beginning with Roman settlements. Inside the fort museum, we visit the cells of the purpose built prison – dating back to 1687 when King Louis XIV ordered the construction of the prison to hold the Iron Mask. No one knows the identity of the Iron Mask – there have been many stories, maybe he was the King’s disgraced twin brother, maybe he was a prisoner named Eustache Dauger who was arrested in 1669 and was taken with his jailer to a series of prisons, including this one. Who knows? But the story is a great one – and the idea that prison would be built just for one prisoner is pretty amazing.

Plus, the cells are fairly luxurious as prisons go – 2 large cells with latrines and fireplaces. Four additional cells were built later to house other “secret” prisoners. We wander through all the cells, marveling at the construction and the idea of the whole thing. In the “newer” additional cells, an artist has painted murals on the walls depicting the detention of the Man in the Iron Mask, as well as the forced exile of 3000+ men, women and children detained in the fort during the French conquest of Algeria.

Then we move to the second part of the museum which is a surprising collection of Roman artifacts found from a shipwreck thought to be as old as 15-10 BC. Mostly clay and glass vessels used to store goods and foods, these things are amazing. Along with grains and ancient nuts and other foodstuff found, it is really an interesting display of ancient maritime trading. There is also this really cool life size display that shows how the vessels are packed and stored in the ship’s hold. Unexpectedly interesting!

Once done with the museum, we take the path around the fort and then crisscross our way back to the dock area. The paths are wide and tree-lined, mostly comprised of sand or gravel. This so reminds us of the Arboretum – and also Sanibel because of the natural habitat and the brackish sea smell all over the island.

We’ve still got a little time before the 1:15 ferry, so we wander around to the salt pond of Bateguier, which definitely reminds us of Sanibel! There is even a view point observation point made of wood with plaque explaining all the bird life here. Very neat. We’d love to be able to walk all the way around the pond, but we are a little worried it will take too long and we can’t miss the 1:15, so we reverse our course and head back to the dock to wait for the boat.

Super simple and super fun! We’re back on the Croisette (the promenade around the harbor in Cannes) by 1:30 and ready for lunch. We are trying to get away from the worst of the tourist area – but in the end, don’t want to waste time wandering all over looking for somewhere to eat in the sun. So – we go the touristy route…and find Le Rendezvous! No! We figure we can’t go wrong – and plop down at a high top table on the promenade.

The meal is excellent – a huge bowl of Moule frites for Ed and Artichoke carpaccio for me. Beer and wine superb as well – how can it not be? And while we really enjoyed it, it still can’t compare to our Haw Creek Rendezvous!

Afterward we wander through the Christmas market in the middle of the square, looking at all the food we could have had for lunch there instead! LOL. Oh well, what can you do? Stop for a beer and a wine! So we did that, with Ed choosing a Christmas beer (which had an odd but pleasant spicy taste) and me a typical white wine. Nice hanging out watching everyone stroll by.

Then it was back to the tender dock and back to our home away from home. Sailaway was gorgeous, and amazing sunset and then it was dinner and tv night (no shows interested us tonight – we are counting ourselves lucky we saw all the shows we wanted to last cruise!)