Lord of The Rings and The Call Of The Sea

pontivy
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Sunday, October 7.

I awake to the sounds of bike riders, hikers and dog walkers. The isolation of my mill is also a place for recreation, and there is a big map of the locale mounted on a board outside my gates. I take a little hike and get a feel for the lay of the land. The only disruption is two fellows on motorized three wheelers making lots of noise and spewing smoky smelly exhaust. Probably Americans…

people love to get outside here. They walk with family, walk their dog, ride their bike

rohans chateau, what does this look like to you? A maiden?
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Today I have decided to head for the south shore of Morbihan (sounds like Lord of the Rings, doesn’t it?). There is a loop through the countryside that heads for Hennebont and Carnac, where there are alignments of standing stones. There are a lot of Neolithic and Celtic “dolmen” (sacrificial tables),” menhirs” (standing stones) and “cairns” ( burial chambers) scattered throughout Brittany. As I said earlier, it is very rural here, and dotted with farms and charming villages, but as I drive I see signs of modern progress too. Electric lines and tall towers dot the skyline, modern strip malls line the major roads and exchanges, big bridges are built across the gorges and valleys on the way to the shores. I take as many back roads as possible and aim for Pontivy.

painted fireplace, rohan chateau
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It’s Sunday, and most of Pontivy is closed. This is the first time I see a major change in architecture, with half timbered houses and wood columns supporting overhanging second stories. In the oldest part of town there is a castle, of the family Rohan, but it is just so-so. It looks like it is used for community social meetings and art displays. It was partially destroyed during WW II, and I have to remind myself of the idea that I am very close to Normandy, and this area was occupied by the Germans. The castle has been restored, but it isn’t special. Anne de Bretagne used to visit here often and had hunting lodges here. I peek in the windows of the shops, but everything is shut tight. I take pictures of darling children’s shoes, and interesting interior décor. Seafood is the main thing on the menu here, so I have lunch at a little bistro…a cassoulet of fruit de mer (fruits of the sea), and a bowl of andouille sausage in a mustard sauce on a bed of mashed potatoes.

thru the door, see the chapel?
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I follow the Blavet River past St. Nicodeme, a gothic/renaissance church with several fountains out front, St-Nicholas-des-Eaux, an adoreable town with pedal boats and riverside cafés, and St. Gildas Chapel, which is built right into the rocky cliff and sits on a quiet pastoral lake. People love to get outside here; they walk with their families, they walk their dogs, they ride their bikes. You almost never see an old person in a wheelchair; they walk with a cane, slowly but surely. I specifically drive to the outskirts of Baud to see the statue of Venus of Quinipily. Thought to be a Roman leftover, it is a pagan statue that worships the planet AND the sacred woman/goddess (yes, yes, we are). Intermittently thrown into the river over the centuries, depending on how pious/christian the local ruler was, it was eventually fished out by a local Duke, and placed in his own private garden. Carved out of a single granite stone, it stands 20 meters high, reining over a magnificent garden of blue, deep pink and burgundy hydrangeas, spikes of purple salvia and yellow coreopsis daisies. There is a lowland pond basin covered in heathery bushes, walled spaces and peaceful gravel pathways. The whole garden is built on a slope, with the water artfully draining into a huge stone bath at the feet of Venus.

looking down a graceful stairway
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I had intended to make it to the port of Hennebont or the town of Vannes, but I have doodled all day and it is getting dark. Brittany is bigger and more spread out than I thought, and I’m worried about finding my mill in the dark of night. I turn around and head for home. It’s still warm outside, about 70 degrees, but I haven’t seen the sun for days. I find the mill, barely, and settle in for the night. I’m disappointed I didn’t get to see the ocean yet. The sea is calling to me. I have to go there tomorrow.