France, The island of Ouessant

I was invited on a trekking weekend trip to la Île d'Ouessant. Somehow an uruguayan like me ended up in the island farther to the west of france, in the french department of finistère, the end of the earth, as once they thought it to be, beyond that only sea.

Beforehand I had no expectations, I knew it was an island we where going to, and that we would walk like there's no tomorrow (I guess that's trekking) but nothing else. I found myself in the charming company of around 20 or 30 french of an average age of 50, myself being 26 at the time. The whole experience turned out to be very different, but in a positive kind of way. The adventure started travelling to the port in Brest where you take the boat to reach the island.

After almost an hour of travelling by boat on a rather uncalm sea we arrived to the island. I was completly wet, drenched in salty water, as I decided to stay outside the boat to appreciate better the landscape and every now and then a wave crashing to the boat rained over me. It may sound silly but I don't regret it.

The rather small demi desserted island has some romantic mystic to it. The place is a grassland with almost no population, surrounded by lighthouses planted every now and then. They told me that the most powerfull lighthouse in the world "lives" there.

We walked around 20 kilometers per day, around the perimeter of the island. I found the place the perfect spot to retire on a book reading and mind resting holiday since it's as calm as it gets, the presence of the sea is everywhere providing that feeling of solitude and calmfulness that a sea horizon and the sound of the waves can provide, and you are sourrounded by that.




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