La Hirondelle 50

 

 Perched upon the gunwale, a fisherman runs his long lines from hand to hand. Scrutinising every inch. Reading glasses firmly on the bridge of his nose; sunglasses dangling precariously beneath.

Long spines of hard granite radiate seaward, all around the coasts of Yeu. Each finger a natural breakwater, sheltering a handful of boats able to take the ground.

Or providing a lee from which to launch a tender, to reach a larger vessel.

To the south, pinewoods offer their shade, above long swathes of talc-soft shimmering sand. Which are lightly dusted, with pockets of swimmers, sunbathers and paddle boarders.

To the north, the vegetation is windswept and low. The shoreline more rugged.

Its rock harbours more exposed. Nonetheless, each is crowded with its complement of craft, bobbing in the Biscay swell.

Above one such cove, stands the Dolmen de la Planche-a-Puare. Built in the style of those on Scilly and in Carnac; during the era of the pan European,  Neolithic, standing stone civilisation. (See La Hirondelle 34  &  La Hirondelle 35 )

Like the Scillonian Dolmen, it is prominently sited, high upon a headland.

Either, providing an inspiring view to an infinite horizon; Or, providing a clear signal to passing seafarers.

Its message emphasised, by a blazing white vein of quartz. Which bursts, like an outsize and gaping shark’s maw, through the undergrowth of the adjacent headland. In a burst of reflected light.