2505 Saintes Maries de la Mer

Camargue house

Our journey from Nimes was by train to Arles and then bus from a very obscure pick up point. Once out of Arles we drove through kilometres of rice fields and as we drew closer to our destination, kilometres of horse ranches. The bus driver let us off at a point out of town despite my asking to go to a particular bus stop called Le Raseteur. Anyway, by trial and error, we found our hotel and it wasn't too onerous although it was TRES TRES CHAUD. It was lucky I asked for a map of Stes Maries de la Mer from the Tourist Office in Nimes.

By chance we are on the ground floor at our hotel: the buildings here are only one or two stories anyway. I was really surprised how small the town is as it is described as the capital of the Camargue.

We had a rest and then went out to find the Tourist Office to find out about the festival events then found a cafe to have an Orangina and read our info. We had only just got comfortable when a flamenco group sitting in the cafe across the pedestrian mall, started up. There was such an air of excitement all over. We decided to go for a walk to try to find a typical Camargue house preferably with a horse nicely posed in front for a photo. Well, as usual, my dream photo didn't eventuate but I did get a house and a horse. On the way back to the hotel we investigated the Etangs in case there were any flamingoes there and there were, but they were far distant, probably because of all the caravans parked alongside the Etang. Mon Dieu there are caravans everywhere!!!

The next day, we went to the cathedral around 10 am and it was all happening: bands eveywhere. Our favourite was Karpatz, a group from Romania, I think, but there were many bands involving a violin, an accordion and a double bass as well as flamenco guitars and clapping/dancing crowds.

Jan and Steve arrived and we met them in time to wait for the first Pelerinage (processions) to Sante Sara. The procession was led by Gardians on Camargue horses and singing groups of Gypsies from many parts of the world. For the Gypsies this ceremony is all about belonging. Jan's grandmother was a Gypsy so she felt quite emotional during the ceremony. As a non-Gypsy, I could feel the special warmth. The numbers lining the route and along the beach where the procession took the statue of Sante Sara to the sea, were unbelievable: I couldn't imagine how they all could fit in this small town. As well as the Gardians on horses there were some American Indians. Our tour guide in La Grau de Roi told us that American Indians were brought to the Camargue in the hope that they would have a better life than in America. I think she said it was in the 20th century. The experiment failed apparently and they returned to America. I suppose the riders in the ceremony may have come over especially or perhaps they are descendants.


(From http://sacredsites.com/europe/france/saintes_marie_de_la_mer.html) Dating from the mid-12th century, the fortified Romanesque church enshrines three wooden statues, themselves of lesser age, that hint at the early Christian sanctity of the site. According to one local legend, after the resurrection of Christ, Mary Magdalene, Marie-Salome, Marie-Jacobe, Lazarus and several other disciples were forced, in 45 AD, to flee the Holy Land by boat. Following a perilous journey across the Mediterranean Sea, the boat eventually landed near the present day village of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, where the passengers went ashore. What next happened to the passengers is not specified in the legend but two of them, Marie-Salome and Marie-Jacobe, became, in time, objects of veneration to the local people. The church, however, enshrines three images, the additional one being of Sara-la-Kali, whose origin and identity are quite mysterious. The gypsies that throng to worship her each May believe Sara to have been a powerful local queen who welcomed the tired travelers from the Holy Land, while other sources suggest she may have been an ancient pagan goddess or a black Egyptian woman who was the servant of Christ's mother Mary. Whatever the explanation, the three female statues are the subject of the fascinating Pelerinage des Gitans, or 'Pilgrimage of the Gypsies', held each year on May 24 and 25.

During the Christianisation of France, there must have been many thrown to the lions in Roman Arenas like the one we saw in Nimes until about 400 AD.

On the 25th, there was another procession but this time of the two Maries. Sainte Marie-Jacobe and Sainte Marie-Salome. The crowd was noticeably smaller, there being much less than a third of the crowd of the day before since these Saints are not so important to the Gypsies. This time the procession was lead by the Gardians on horses and then citizens dressed in local traditional costume. On the beach we could get really close to the ceremony this time.



There were only five traditional Gypsy caravans in town. Everyone else was travelling in modern vans. When we were on our tour of the Camargue about a week ago, we saw one of the old caravans probably on its way to this place, being pulled by a cart horse and most of the family walking beside the wagon.

Stayed at Le Castelet for AU $242.98 for 3 nights.