Ceret - sea and Fortress of Salses

Right after breakfast we drove to Argeles Sur Mer and then just worked our way North up the coast. For most of the first half hour or so it was a series of marinas full of expensive boats, huge camp sites with water parks and mini golf and high rise apartments on coarse sandy beaches. There were however also palm trees and promenades and some nice residential areas back from the beach. Then we got into areas where the sand dunes separate the road and parking lots from the beach and development is mostly low rise and well cared for.
We stopped at an Etang (a lagoon behind the sand dunes) to see if there were any flamingos in evidence.

Canigou across the Etang. You can see how windy it was, even the lagoon had
white caps on it. Few birds to be seen though we believe we saw a couple of larks.

Fishing nets drying. We could see some out in the lagoon, strung between poles.

Driving on, most places were closed but eventually we found a restaurant, beside a beach parking lot which was open and obviously quite popular. We had a salad (dinner plate size, lettuce, tomato, ham, cheese and egg), 2 grilled pork kebabs with fries and more salad, a pichet of red wine to share, Mum and I had crème catalan and dad had fromage blanc (which he said tasted like greek yoghurt sprinkled with sugar) and we all had coffee. This cost 13.5 Euro (about $20) each! No wonder it was popular.

I walked down to the beach with the gusts of wind buffeting me. The spray was being picked off
the top of the white caps.

Further around the etang, a couple of flamingos in a sheltered bay. Maturity and
a shellfish diet turn them pink.

Although Salses is about 50 kilometres North of the current Spanish border, decisively in France now, when it was built, in about 1500, it was at the Spanish border and was built by the Spanish. It was an experimental design by a military architect. He had it built in a dip with low but very thick walls. He believed this would better withstand an attack and would make defence, using cannons, easier. It is quite different from earlier fortifications with allowance made to ventilate the fumes from cannon fire and defences within the walls to deal with a breach.

Across the bridge, across the moat and through the main entrance.

When we arrived Mum and I had 2 choices: take the French tour through the rooms and the ramparts with just 15 minutes in the main courtyard or wander around the main courtyard on our own. We chose the tour in French and were very glad we did. The guide spoke clearly and enunciated the most important words from each sentence with emphasis. This allowed me to understand about 50% of what she said and make some assumptions for the rest. She answered our questions in English and every now and then would give a quick English explanation.

The main courtyard had a cistern in the centre and was flanked by stables and
barracks for the soldiers.

The keep housed the officers, governor and facilities such as the food stores, bakery,
kitchens and water system fed by underground springs (still bubbling up
 and into the channels provided)

An original iron door with iron mined from Canigou. The guide said that iron ore was
mined from Canigou from as far back as Roman times and it had to be stopped or the
mountain would be gone.

The officers mess had a huge fireplace, 2 dumb waiters, some tables in alcoves
for the higher ranks and sinks with drainage. We saw the ramparts, ventilation systems to allow
gunpowder fumes to escape, the governors living quarters, a latrine.

After the tour we had 15 minutes to wander before closing time.

This massive space has still to be renovated but we could see original stone flooring, where
the floor joists would have been and doors and fireplaces for the 2nd and 3rd floors.

Fascinated by the play of late afternoon light through the arches.

Mum and I scurried across the courtyard as they were locking the doors

Waiting by the moat for us to leave.

The fortress was occupied for about 150 years  and then the Treaty of the Pyrenees made the
area French and the fortress redundant. Luckily it was too expensive to knock it down. It has been
used as a prison and a gun powder store. Declared a historic monument in 1886.

I couldn't resist the little national monument car, with little  national monuments
all over it.

Dad drove home and I navigated. I managed to take him though Perpignan at rush hour!