Tag Archives: Mimizan

The French Atlantic Coast at Mimizan

Ten months? How can ten months have passed since our last trip to the Atlantic seacoast in Mimizan, France?

We detoured away from the logical and time saving straight-down-the-middle path from North to South as we drove from Normandy to the Midi-Pyrenees and veered off for a last look at the ocean for awhile. The peaks of the Pyrenees were soon to be a daily part of our view and we both loved the dramatic crashing waves of the Atlantic seaside.

Arriving mid-afternoon, we went straight to the beach which was a mere block and a half walk from our hotel. The sky was glorious, the beach was almost deserted, and the waves were crashing beautifully onto the beach.

Plage Cormorans (Cormorans Beach) Entrance to the Atlantic seacoast at Mimizan, France

The weather was equally beautiful the following morning as Mark headed to the windy beachfront to have a quick Tai Chi session on the beach and say goodbye to the seaside for awhile.

***NOTE*** I have re-edited this article, removed the link to YouTube, and have reloaded all of the photos in a new slideshow that is larger, cleaner, and much more crisp! The quality of the digital images in the YouTube slideshow was very disappointing, so I think that I shall limit my usage of that site to the occasional video upload. I would rather not present work to the world that is almost right instead of genuinely good. So in that vein of maintaining quality control, I have spent the last 2 full days researching and testing various programs before I was happy with this one. Thanks for bearing with me during the fine-tuning process.

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Turning This One Over To Mark

Most of you who follow this site know that I have been a professional photographer and journalist for most of my life. But an emerging talent needs to be introduced.

I bought Mark a slightly more user-friendly version of a Nikon camera than my big, heavy pro cameras when we left Australia and I told him what my university instructors in the journalism department told me decades ago — a good photo is dependent on the skills of the photographer, not on the cost of the camera or lens. And then you need to practice, practice, practice. We’ve been spending time as we travel fine-tuning his technique, his stance, what to include or not include in a picture, general lighting questions, etc.

Mark taking photos inside canal at low tide in Mimizan, France

When we were at the seaside at Mimizan on the Atlantic coast of France last week, Mark wanted to climb inside a canal that was practically empty since the tide had gone out. I politely said no thank you since I didn’t wish to (1) fret about getting my own two cameras and a camera bag safely down there and (2) worry about when the tide would come back in and fill the canal. I was right on both counts because (1) I was coughing too hard from a developing chest cold to have fabbo balance whilst scrambling over rocks and (2) no sooner had Mark finished taking his pictures than the sea began to slide back into that canal as I kept repeating, “Mark, the water is rising at the end of the canal!!!”

Mark inside canal in Mimizan, France as tide begins to come back in!

Enough from me — enjoy some of Mark’s moody mossy shots.

Posts abloom beneath the waters of the canal in Mimizan, France

Base of the canal wall in Mimizan, France

Posts like standing stones beneath canal waters in Mimizan, France

Bumpy bottom of canal revealed at low tide in Mimizan, France

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By The Sea, By The Sea — But Where Are We?

The familiar elements were all there…

The surf shops were selling t-shirts, swimsuits, and surfboards with names that I knew — Rip Curl, Billabong, Cocoa Beach — and the stack of blow-up flotation rings waited for the wee folks to waft about on the waves.

Beach clothing and boards on sale at surf shop

Cocoa Beach shop

Stack of 'floaties' waiting for the children

The red flag was flying on the beach to warn of the unstable swimming conditions and young families were riding their bikes in formation.

Red flag at beach warning of swimming conditions

Family on bikes in Atlantic seaside town

But wait a minute — where were we??? Did that pink neon sign say La Croquandise??? And what does gaufres mean??? I found out later that it meant waffles! And being very European, we could have put some glacé (ice cream) on those waffles. Yum!

Food stall in Mimizan

We weren’t in a seaside town on the Atlantic Ocean in Florida no matter how familiar it all seemed. We were in a seaside town on the Atlantic Ocean in France — in Mimizan to be specific. The colour palette was more gray than blue since it was coldish and overcast on and off for our two days — definitely jeans and a fleece jacket time instead of shorts.

The architecture was even similar to Florida’s beachside communities — high-rise apartments hugging the intercoastal canals and generic concrete-rendered houses with red tile roofs. We found a basic and rather old-fashioned hotel a mere one block from the roaring ocean which we could hear through our sliding glass balcony doors.

Intercoastal apartments in Mimizan

Houses on canal in Mimizan, France

Le Plaisance Hotel in Mimizan, France

And speaking of the roaring ocean, our walks down there were rather brief because it was quite cold and windy!

The French coast of the Atlantic Ocean in Mimizan, France

Come back soon for more adventures as we wander and work our way around Europe!