Sometimes things do not go as you hope. My friends and I wanted to visit La Camargue in southern France, lured by the prospect of wild bulls and horses roaming the marshy expanse, framed by thick flocks of flamingos standing in the water, and learning about the culture and history of the gypsies who live in the area. We had understood that it best to join an organized Jeep Safari tour, rather than try to explore the unmarked roads in the vast region. So, we booked a half day tour in advance before we left the USA. It was dreadful. So dreadful that I felt compelled to weigh in on Trip Advisor, which I had used to help me select the tour. Here is what I posted on Trip Advisor, plus some photos.
"Dreadful. Advertised as an English tour, it was not; and the guide was ineffective. Before booking, I had telephoned from the USA to make sure they had one of their English tours available. I was told there was only one time slot available so we chose this company over the other option. Our guide met us at the gathering spot and said that she does not speak much English but she will try. She confirmed our booking for 5 and added 3 more people (who were French), filling the jeep. The tour is conducted in a jeep that holds 8 plus driver, with an open top in the back. The driver's and front passenger cab has a roof. Four people plus the driver face forward. I sat in the back, where 4 unpadded jump seats face sideways. It is uncomfortable for such a long, jostling ride.
Without even saying her name to introduce herself or describing the plan, she started driving. After a few minutes down a highway, she pulled over to the shoulder alongside an area bordering the water where a handful of flamingoes were standing in the water a short distance away. She twisted around in her seat and held up a book with a photo of a bird (which those of us in the back could not see) and tried to talk over the din of passing traffic. She described a bit about flamingos and their coloring, as well as what they eat. She spoke in French and then in English. Not everyone in my group speaks French (hence our request for an English tour), but I do. She gave considerably more information in French. Throughout the tour, she offered less and less of the information translated into English until occasionally at the end, the commentary was only in French.
When she pulled over to talk, she would usually stop in a sunny spot, even though there were sometimes shady spots nearby. Her own seat was comfortably protected by the shade of the jeep's roof, but the passengers were open to the baking sun while she talked. And with the trucks rattling by, it was sometimes hard to hear or understand what she was saying.
After one hour and forty minutes of bumpy ride punctuated by hot stops, she pulled into a winery and let us get out. So, thankfully, as a perverse turn of events, we were grateful to be led to the company's captive wine and souvenir shop. For one full hour, we were liberated from the jeep and got to stand up and have some air and some personal space. The one hour wine tasting sales pitch was actually quite pleasant. The remainder of the 3 1/2 hour trip was the ride back to the starting point.Very poor tour. Inconsiderate. Not as promised. Too long and uncomfortable. Recommendation: stay away."
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| View of the Wild Horses, from the vantage point of the Shoulder of the Highway |
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| Wild Bulls Roaming inside a Fenced-in Pen |
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| Driver/Guide pulled over on the Side of the Road, Shaded by the Cab while her Customers Bake |
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| One Hour Stop to Try to Get Customers to Buy Wine and Other Items |
....and a postscript not in the Trip Advisor review. As the tour was just finishing, we passed by a canal which the guide zipped by without slowing down. She mentioned that the local people live on boats there, as their full time homes. "They even have mailboxes" is all she said about the indigenous (probably impoverished) folks whose boat/homes looked to me like slum housing - based on the quick glimpse I grabbed whizzing by. All the tour guide did was spur the question of what kind of lives of people actually live in the Camargue region.
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| Houseboat Housing for Indigenous People |
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| Guide: "They even have mailboxes". |
