Summer holiday 2004
le Cap D´Agde − France


Monday, 12th July

Some sun, a blue sky with only a few clouds and a bit of wind, and already it feels quite warm. Next is a French bread, a few croissants and a Dutch newspaper. This is our morning meal, French bread and Dutch news. Around 10:30 we decide to go for a walk. This time we don´t go to the port but to the shopping area around the "Plage du Mole" beach.

First we go to the diving school of O2Mer. I have to cancel my diving trip that is planned for Wednesday. I am still not able to properly clear my ears since the last trip. My inner ear tubes are closed most of the time, and if that is the case, then you can´t go diving. This is a real disappointment to me! I had been looking forward to take a dive so much. But this is the way it is. It is most likely due to the see wind I am told. Not being able to clear your ears properly is quite unpleasant. It causes you to hear watery sounds and muffles your hearing. Not to mention the fact that my ears keep closing and popping open all the time.

Having dealt with the diving issue, we now go shopping. Window-shopping to be precise! We gradually stroll towards the port checking out the little shops. On the way we stop and buy some more of the freshly made Paella. Arrived at the port we wander along the promenade and come across the quay were the glass-bottom boat moors. I do feel like a taking a boat trip, and so do the boys. But we have to wait till two o´clock in the afternoon. We finish our walk and we return to the apartment were we hang around till about three-thirty in the afternoon.

It is time! Three-thirty it is. BOAT TRIP ! The three of us set out for the port where we hang around the quay until it is opened and we can board the boat. It is a large catamaran like vessel. Both the hulls are accessible to the public and are furnished with large plate-glass windows that offer a look at the underwater world. At this moment both the hulls are not open to the public yet. Only at the destination, which is the fort Brescou in front of the harbour entrance, the public will be granted access. We find a nice place to sit on the top deck and enjoy the warm sun and the cool wind while waiting for departure. When we take of and sail through the port towards the sea I am impressed by the sheer size of this port. At our right we pass by a group of small sailing boats that are manned by young student sailors. These are being trained in the art of sailing.

Finely were out on the Mediterranean and we head for this old fortress. Initially I was somewhat concerned about getting seasick, but the surf proves to be not that bad. Out here in the open, the wind is quit strong and in the sky above us screaming seagulls are circling around the boat. In the water we leave behind a trail of white foam that leads back to the port entrance.

After about ten minutes we reach our destination and the transparent hulls are opened to the public. Everyone is now trying to squeeze into these warm and cramped areas in order to get a glimpse of the seafloor and the aquatic life. Well, I can see something but not that much. The vision is quite limited due to all the sediments that still cloud the water. The river l´Herault, remember! Occasionally I can see a small fish swim by, but there are no spectacular things to be seen at this moment. Maybe we see something more on some other occasion. I leave the hull and it´s suffocating warmth and go top-side to have a closer look at the fort Brescou, and maybe take a few interesting photographs. After having circled around the fort for a while the people are instructed to come out of the hulls after which these are closed again. The boat turns and then sails parallel to the coast towards the "la Roquille" beach. Here it turns around and returns to it´s quay at the port. This is definitely a nice, interesting trip and worth taking.

For tonight the animation team has organised a children´s disco. This is a disco made by the children and performed by the children for the children. Lots of them have responded to the request to sing a song or dance on stage. They are mostly very young children. Unlike adults or teenagers these kids do not seem to be bothered and/or limited by inhibitions. On this occasion the audience is a lot bigger then last week. Clearly a great number of people have arrived during the weekend. I notice that a lot more kids in the age of ten to twenty are present this time. The animation team opens the evening with a humorous performance of there own. Then the children take their turns. Halfway the evening refreshments are handed out, and when these are finished the show continuous again. The last kid ends its performance around nine-thirty.

And that is the moment where all the teenagers have been waiting for. It is now that Charlie´s opens its door´s. The nightclub disco for the older kids that is supervised by the animation team is now opening its doors and of course you need to be seen there. Obviously the boys want to attend as well. We return to the apartment, have a drink and wait until the aforementioned party-crew returns at about eleven. We then have a little midnight snack and turn in for the night.