French Riviera

France, specifically the French Riviera has been so much more than we could have imagined......
Sunny, sweet sails and breathtaking beauty as we have travelled from St Tropez to Cannes, Nice and on to Monaco. After our "Dream come True" time in St Tropez, we sailed into Cannes right in the middle of a Classic Sailboat Regatta and amazingly enough secured a berth for the night. Seeing the old beautiful boats under full sail and at the dock was quite a treat. We were berthed 100 yards from the auditorium of the Cannes Film Festival and right in the heart of all the "happenings". We walked along the beach and along the very upscale shopping streets enjoying our surroundings as well as our Hagen Das icecream. Meandering through the old town area and up the cobblestone twisting streets we had a romantic French dinner outside, complete with rose petals adorning the floor as well as our table. It reminded us of the rose petals scattered at our feet during our wedding.

Once again we craved the sweet solitude of a tranquil anchorage and found it between two islands off the coast near Cannes---Ile Ste-Marguerite and Ile St-Honorat. On Ile Ste-Marguerite there is a 17th century fort which is famous for imprisoning the "Man in the Iron Mask." His identity has never been established and the mask was really made of velvet, but the mystery and theories are still intriguing.
On the other island, Ile St-Honorat there remains a fortified tower built in 1073 and a monastery founded in the 4th century. It is a green beautiful island and was wonderful to walk and explore. We came upon a little stone chapel in the woods and thought it was a great photo-op until we saw about 10 robed monks in deep meditation within. It is still an active Cisterian monastery. We climbed the old stone stairs of the tower and tasted some wine made on the island before returning to EcstaSea.


We spent a number of timeless days anchored between these two beautiful islands in blue, clear waters as we celebrated the Full Moon on Yemaya. It was Harvest Moon and she rose pinkish-gold out of the sea.................













Enjoyed a few days at the harbor in Nice, relishing the good food, sights and sounds before moving on to Monaco.