Years ago, when I was still living, working, and scraping by in the United States, I created a Pinterest board of exotic locales that I wanted to someday visit. Amongst the pins of modern architectural wonders, exotic monuments from the past, and sublime biomes of the world was an image of a tidal island with the medieval abbey in Normandy, France. I was enchanted by the idea of the site being accessible and inaccessible depending on the ebb and flow of the tide and wanted to someday walk the cobblestone streets and the walls of the garrison. As I was planning out my itinerary for my summer Eurotrip, I knew that if I was visiting France, I was going to make it a priority to visit Mont Saint Michel.
After riding the train from Luxembourg City to Paris, I checked myself into my Airbnb. I had been traveling for six weeks by this point, so my travel patience was starting to wear thin. My eyes weren’t as wide as they were at the start of my travels, and I wasn’t as enthused about doing more exploration. Europe was starting to get hot and crowded!
When I started my travels in late May, the weather was temperate, and the tourist season wasn’t in full swing. When I arrived in France, it was mid-July. The temperature was in the high 80s to low 90s. And, while I am used to high temperatures in Doha, I am also used to air conditioning—which seems to be a novel concept throughout most of Europe. Even fans seem to be used sparingly. It wasn’t uncommon for me to enter a store or restaurant during my travels, and the inside was warmer than the outside temperature and filled with dead air. Besides, it was becoming hotter towards the end of my trip, and I was starting to encounter more Americans, especially young twentysomethings as I made my way to Paris. The idea of queuing up in the sweltering heat to enter the Louvre while a bunch of Americans chattered about Europe this, America that did not interest me. As a result, I did not do much exploration of Paris.
Instead, I boarded a train the next day and headed to Mont Saint Michel. It was a couple hour train ride from Paris with a bus ride from the Pontorson to the bridge outside of Mont Saint Michel. Despite it being hot and there being numerous tourists, I was immediately enchanted by the sight of Mont Saint Michel—its cathedral tower raised in the sky like the point of a sword, walls of its fortress encircling the small mount, the lowlands around the abbey where the ocean waters would flow and recede, and the long walkway bridge that connected the self-contained settlement to the shore. What a curious creation. Mont Saint Michel is more like the outlandish setting of a fantasy novel made real.
Because of my fascination with the site, I was going to spend two days exploring Mont Saint Michel: the first night I would sleep on the island, and the second night I would sleep at an Airbnb in a nearby village. I wanted to have time to savor the destination. For so long, it was merely a pin on my Pinterest travel board; something to imagine off in the distant future when my life would be better and I had the time and means to travel. Now, it was tangible and before me, a castle in the air materialized. I wanted to explore and photograph Mont Saint Michel at all times of the day: morning, afternoon, evening, and night. This was my chance to document the dream made real.
After checking into my hotel room, I took a short nap and began my exploration. It was less hot when I woke up, and some of the tourists started to drain from Mont Saint Michel. Additionally, if I waited until late afternoon to explore it, the light for photographing it would get better and better the closer to sunset, which was around 10pm.
As I was wandering around the site, I came across a photography gallery, so I entered. In the gallery were photographs of Mont Saint Michel from all different angles, all different times of the day, all different seasons of the year. You take all of these? I asked the gallery purveyor. “Why, yes!” he responded. I spent some time admiring his collection of photographs.
“You a photographer?” He asked me. I try to be. I responded. “This is a good place to spend a lifetime working on your craft.” He noted.
Indeed, it seemed to be.
Not all people set a far-off goal to a specific locale in the world and work towards fulfilling it. Responsibilities get in the way; the money never happens; or people lose interest as they get older than their daydreams at the start of their life. For me, I had the chance to visit a castle that I envisioned as a younger man. Though I might have had more energy as that younger man to visit Mont Saint Michel, the man that I am now is better equipped and more appreciative of the journey.
The following are my photographs from my two days at Mont Saint Michel. Not a lifetime, but enough time for some memorable shots.
opusculum 