Today, the Caledonian Star made its first ever call at the French port of Haliguen. Taking a coach through the beautiful towns and coastlines of Brittany, we came to the standing stones of Carnac. Older than Stonehenge by two thousand years, this site has approximately four thousand granite monoliths set out in linear and rectangular patterns. We do not know why Neolithic people spent four hundred years laboring to arrange these stones, though Expedition Leader and historian David Barnes suggested that it is much more likely that the layout related to spiritual matters or perhaps celestial cycles involving agriculture, than to extraterrestrials.
Belle-Ile was our afternoon destination. Using Zodiacs to enter the charming harbor of La Palais, we had time to enjoy the narrow streets of town and the Vauban fortress built to protect both the island and the mainland, less than ten miles away. Not the first to enjoy the quiet of this island, we followed in the footsteps of such diverse notables as Sarah Bernhardt, Monet, Flaubert, Proust and Monet. Of course, many of us took the time for a cup of tasty French coffee and some local baked delicacies, and more than one bag of local goods found its way back to the ship.
