Surfers and Sardines

The sounds of waves roaring into shore and the energy of the ocean always beckons me, regardless of the weather.  Good thing, as the sun disappeared for most of my beach trip after the first evening, while Paris strangely basked in the sun.

Rain and blustery, howling winds awakened us the following morning.  That never stopped the surfers, nor of course, the huge schools of silvery sardines that hug the coast.  I was determined to not let it dampen my joy, either.

I had needed an ocean feast for over a year, having been unmercifully beached by bony blues last year that left me with a painful limp till surgery last December.

Armed with a shiny new metal hip, I was ready for the sun and sand.   Traveling is self-care for your mental and physical well-being.   It refreshes our energy store and opens our horizons to discover new things and cultures.

After scouring up and down the French Atlantic, coast, I netted an apartment with a spectacular view from the balcony.

That was the major selling point for settling on Saint Gilles Croix de Vie, an ancient Phoenician fishing village with a great beach; famous for its sardines.

First-night dinner out at the nearby restaurant Grain de Sable proved worthy of getting there in strong gusts of wind that nearly blew us down. They did a wonderful job on the tataki of swordfish with yuzu sauce and a ragout of encornets, small local calamari, in saffron cream.  The grolleau gris white wine went perfectly with both.

Angry white-capped waves, stirred up by storms, that rolled in daily, teased surfers in trying to catch the proverbial big wave.    This wasn’t southern California nor Hawaii, but the mid-North Atlantic coast.  Nevertheless, from Biarritz up, surfing is very popular.

I was surprised that there were two surfing schools.  Morning and afternoon, youngsters and up, outfitted in wetsuits, rhythmically bounced up and down in the incoming waves.

Just trying to stay upright on slippery boards is challenging enough in little waves.  Getting to a standing position on a big one is a courageous act of defiance, risking being tossed over like a limp fish to be swallowed up by a towering, crashing wave.

If you have ever tried surfing, you know the fear of never surfacing again, buried under tons of swirling water pressing you down pancake style.

Armchair surfing is fun and more than enough for me.  Ditto for surf gliding.  Char à voile or sail carting, I think I could try, maybe.  Maybe not, if they can easily turn over, dragging you along the sand.

Shell hunting along the wave edge of the beach can be adventuresome, avoiding being surprised by large breaking waves sneaking up, or stepping on these colourful blobs.  They weren’t jellyfish, nor had I seen them before.

Unbeknownst to me, that weekend was a sardine festival, one of two the village celebrates each year.

Saint Gilles is considered a top place for sardines, fresh and canned.  Believe it or not, there are even aficionados of canned sardines, who seek out vintage years.

A sailing raincoat, bought before leaving, ended up being a daily necessity.  An umbrella was useless against strong wind-blown rain.  Walking to the sardine festival in steady rain was slalom walking at best, to avoid huge pools of water.

The festival was held at the criée, where fishing vessels unload and sort out their catch to sell.  We had missed the sardine parade but caught sight of the Confréries, dressed to the hilt in stately colourful robes befitting royalty.

These ancient associations are popular everywhere in France.  Remnants of medieval guilds, they still proudly promote specialities and wines of each region of France, including one for sardines.

Local wines feature a raisin particular to the Vendee region, the grolleau.   Grolleau noir makes light red wines and grolleau gris aromatic roses and whites, enjoyed enough to bring home a bottle.

Children were busy navigating their sardine tins in a wading pool, a creative thing never seen before.

Troops of folk dancers were a delight to watch, singing and dancing to songs sung by sardine fishermen unloading their catch.

Here is a video of some of the performers enjoying the gaiety and camaraderie; singing traditional songs while eating and drinking wines of the region.

 

Dancing in wooden sabots must not be too comfortable, but made for loudly heard steps.   Swirling seagulls above were spying boxes of freshly caught sardines being sold off the boat below.

La Vendée is the name of the mid-Atlantic coastal region of France.  Fellow native Louisianans might take note that many young women south of Saint Gilles were sent from a Rochelle to Louisiana by King Louis XIV to repopulate the French colony there.

The air was thick with unmistakable smells of sardines being grilled by confrérie members.  These were tiny ones, served as basic as they come, garnished with only a baguette.

Sardines are one of the most popular summer dishes for family grilling in France.  My favourite way of cooking them is Sicilian style.   Stuffed with garlicky herbed breadcrumbs, orange zest and raisins, they are rolled up and lightly grilled.  I serve them sandwiched between orange slices, in a pool of orange and pomegranate sauce.    Delice!!!

The south of France prefers fried batter-dipped beignets of sardines, stuffed with herbs and goat cheese.  Along the French Catalan coast, I have enjoyed a carpaccio of raw marinated ones.

Sardines are available practically year-round in France, though more in spring and summer when the smaller ones are abundant off the Atlantic and Mediterranean coast.

The wide variety of fresh fish in France is superb but expensive.    Fresh sardines, full of omega three’s, make for an affordable fish dinner.

Only the larger ones will your fishmonger clean, but the small ones I can do quickly.  The backbone is easy to pluck out, leaving you with two open filets to stuff.

Saint Gilles’s other claim to fame is that it is the headquarters of Bénéteau Boats and Yachts.  Benjamin Bénéteau, a native son, started his boating business in Saint Gilles where his family still runs this prestigious world-class boat manufacturer.

I wondered if one could get a better deal if bought directly from there, though certainly not in the market for one!

Ironically, this fishing village is renowned for the most reasonable humble fish in the world and yet, one of the most expensive boats and yachts.

Well, I came home to sunny Paris with neither.