Isle Aux Moines

After a very enjoyable sail and motor around the Golfe du Morbihan on Wenesday 5 September, we finally chose a spot at the southern end of the Ile aux Moines, Anse de Penhap, in which to drop the anchor. We had not been ashore on the islands in the Golfe as most are private and so we decided to run around the whole island the following morning.

There is one main track/road that runs from the northern to the southern tips of the island so finding our way around was easy. The views were great and, as you would expect, the island is full of beautiful Breton stone cottages; many looked closed up now that the main French holiday period is over. However, there was obviously still a busy tourist trade of day-visitors as we saw the ferry drop around 50 ramblers off at the quay at Pointe des Rechauds. As we trotted along the lanes it was nice to say hello to the locals. My eye was caught by an elderly gentleman, who had clearly been shopping for the ‘daily essentials’ (a baguette, a cake and a bottle of wine), all of which were strapped to the back of his bike which he was wheeling back home.

We took a breather from our run to look at some of the mysterious megaliths that are a feature across the whole of Southern Brittany. Dating from around 4000 BC, no one really knows why so many of these stones were moved and aligned as they are. The site at Ile aux Moines was unusual in that the stones are in a semi-circle (they are normally arranged in long straight lines).

With the island sightseeing done and the sun blazing as the forecast had promised, we motored away from Ile aux Moines planning to leave the Golfe du Morbihan and anchor off one of the islands off the Quiberon peninsula.