Where white horses roam and pink flamingos flock surprises of the Camargue

We set off from Port Napoléon—the place we bought Novera—without knowing much about the area. Our first surprise? Flamingos. Everywhere.

Later, I discovered this is actually one of Europe’s largest gatherings of them. At the time, though, it just felt wonderfully surreal—pink flashes across the water as we began our journey.

The second surprise came with our first sail. We’d picked what we thought was a sleepy seaside marina—perfect distance, right direction, nice and easy for our first outing.

Sleepy it was not. We arrived over Easter weekend to the sound of trumpets and a full band playing joyfully in a bullring. Yes, a bullring. Not something I expected to stumble across in southern France—more Spain.

Then came a procession of magnificent white horses, led through the streets by what can only be described as cowboys, all heading toward the arena. At this point, “wow” didn’t quite cover it.

A little digging later revealed there’s much more to this vibrant place than first meets the eye. Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, where we’d landed, is steeped in history and tradition. It’s famous for its white horses, black bulls, and pink flamingos—and has even been recognised by UNESCO.

The town takes its name from the three Marys—Mary Magdalene, Mary Salome, and Mary Jacobe—who, according to legend, arrived here by boat around AD 40 after being expelled from Jerusalem. With them was Sarah, their servant, who later became the patron saint of the Roma community. Each May, pilgrims gather here in her honour, and her statue—draped in layers of colourful garments—rests in the crypt of the old Romanesque church.

Back above ground, the town is buzzing in a very different way. The streets are full of fabulous fashion, and the scent from the leather shops is incredible. Think proper cowboy style—Stetsons, boots, shirts straight out of Yellowstone, Tim couldn’t resist and is now the proud owner of both a great shirt not too cowboy by great pattern and a rather lovely hat he tried the Stetson style but he’s from Yorkshire so the Panama was a better fit.

While Our sail here was beautiful—calm waters, dolphins leaping alongside us, even the occasional tuna breaking the surface. It hasn’t all been perfect, though. Our ongoing tummy troubles decided to join us again. After an excited first night, eating and enjoying a cocktail day two was… considerably quieter, spent mostly onboard feeling sorry for ourselves.

Thankfully, a good night’s sleep and a diet of mostly bananas and tomato cup a soups, has worked wonders. Today we’re both back on form and enjoyed a gentle wander through town. Hopeful we have finally said goodbye to a tummy bug that has plagued us both over the last three weeks repeatedly.

So Tomorrow’s plan is to set we off early to find an anchorage on the way to Sète, our next stop. It’ll be our first time anchoring with Novera—equal parts excitement and nerves—but we’re looking forward to a bit of peace, quiet, and a proper taste of self-sufficient life afloat.

A few video clips and photos