Tuesday, June 24, 2008
There’s no such thing as a free beach
We paid a visit to one of our favourite beaches yesterday and received two shocks. The beach is one of a collection of little jewels at Punta di Spanu, close to the busy Marine de Sant’ Ambroggio in the Balagne, but probably undiscovered by most who stay there.
The first shock was to find that the little restaurant there, Le Rocher, had closed. We often used to look at the menu there but it seemed a bit pricey to us, and, not being big midday eaters anyway, we usually passed it by. We did however visit for the occasional drink - it’s very pleasant in the shade of the little trees and it’s nice to get out of the glare of the sun for a while. Maybe if more people like us had patronised Le Rocher, it would have been open for us yesterday.
The second shock was to see the state of the beach. We’re used to seeing the beach in beautiful condition, but this time, it looked awful. The ubiquitous hottentot fig plants have been allowed to invade the sand, fighting for supremacy with bog-grass and wild bamboo, and the beach itself, somewhat reduced, is scored by gulleys from storm-water run-off and cluttered with driftwood piles, plastic detritus and bits of rotting sea-grass. There was just about enough space for a few families to sit down and to swim, but for how much longer?
It got me thinking. These beach-front establishments such as Le Rocher (and the Mata Hari (Arinella) and Pain du Sucre (Ste. Restitude) further south) play a hugely important part in keeping these lovely beaches clean. I guess we should support them a bit more if we are to keep these idyllic places as we like them.
The first shock was to find that the little restaurant there, Le Rocher, had closed. We often used to look at the menu there but it seemed a bit pricey to us, and, not being big midday eaters anyway, we usually passed it by. We did however visit for the occasional drink - it’s very pleasant in the shade of the little trees and it’s nice to get out of the glare of the sun for a while. Maybe if more people like us had patronised Le Rocher, it would have been open for us yesterday.
The second shock was to see the state of the beach. We’re used to seeing the beach in beautiful condition, but this time, it looked awful. The ubiquitous hottentot fig plants have been allowed to invade the sand, fighting for supremacy with bog-grass and wild bamboo, and the beach itself, somewhat reduced, is scored by gulleys from storm-water run-off and cluttered with driftwood piles, plastic detritus and bits of rotting sea-grass. There was just about enough space for a few families to sit down and to swim, but for how much longer?
It got me thinking. These beach-front establishments such as Le Rocher (and the Mata Hari (Arinella) and Pain du Sucre (Ste. Restitude) further south) play a hugely important part in keeping these lovely beaches clean. I guess we should support them a bit more if we are to keep these idyllic places as we like them.
# posted by Derekthered @ 2:37 PM 
