To Sète: Three dreams

October 2, 2023

We booked a stay in Sète hoping for a sighting of flamingos by the sea and a good bowl of Bouillabaisse. Today there's a third wish to add to the list, to be reunited with our bags.

There's been no news from KLM about our delayed baggage so I decide to shake the trees. I follow Verizon's instructions for making a call to the baggage office in Amsterdam with no success. The hotel receptionist cheerfully takes on the challenge but she isn't able to connect with them either.

Eventually I succeed in reaching an exceedingly polite KLM customer service person on WhatsApp. She directs me to a baggage tracking website that reports our bags have been found, so that's something. There's no indication of where they are or whether they'll be on the plane to Montpellier today. My WhatsApp friend promises to keep me updated. We might as well get on with our day.

The next item is sending the bike cases on to Madrid via Mail Boxes Etc. The cost turns out to be just about as much as it was to send them here from Krakow when they were quite heavy. We will have to revisit our bike packaging game for the next trip.

A one-hour tram ticket got us to Mail Boxes Etc and back. Score!

Before we get started on the ride I take a test run down the corridor. Everything works thanks to my expert mechanic and travel companion, so we load up and set off for Sète.

Good to be back in the saddle on my own wheels. I wonder how it will feel after a day riding in my travel pants.

My day pack is very full with the addition of the travel bag I'll use on trains. Hopefully the two bungees will keep it on the rack. It's too hot and heavy to carry on my back.

We don't get far before one of the bungees pops off and wraps around my cassette. No damage, fortunately

I have the route on my phone which is stuffed in my pocket, and one bluetooth earbud giving me audible directions. They don't help much in the Byzantine center of the city with all the turns on streets that fan out every which way. Fortunately we have only to go about a mile before we reach the bike path by the Lez river that will take us south to the sea.

The bike paths jump around from one side of the street to another. Pro tip: go where the locals go on their scooters and bikes.

We make more navigation mistakes as the path winds around obstacles and over bridges. It's still a bit hard to follow the directions in my ear, but at least they alert me that something is coming up. There are frequent stops to pull out the phone and find our way.

The next 10 miles are on a causeway on the edge of the Mediterranean Sea. It's flat, partly paved, and the gravel parts are easy. We're riding through the Étang de Vic, a protected natural area of more than 2000 hectares. The beach here is one of the last natural and wild beaches in the Hérault department and there are hundreds of flamingos in the lagoons.

The centuries-old Maguelone Gate marks the entrance to the Maguelone peninsula.

Several bridges on the causeway cross the water

Flamingos! Check off birds on our list of dreams for the day.

More flamingos, just white blobs in the picture. I really could have used the zoom camera today. It's in the luggage, wandering around France somewhere.

As close as we get to the birds today. We can see them well live, way better than the phone camera. They are funny to watch, wading through the lagoon with their heads in the water.

Lots of cyclists pass us, many on ebikes although this couple's bikes were human-powered

Last year we passed through this beautiful area by train on our way to Arles. So glad we got to come back and ride through it.

As we get closer to Sete the navigation gets tricky again with lots of turns. We take a break to check the baggage tracking, which shows no change. The KLM agent on WhatsApp doesn't know anything either. I wonder if we'll have to stay longer in Sete, or try to change the bag delivery to our next stop in Beziers. We're getting mighty sick of riding in our sweaty travel clothes. Barry's noticing the lack of padding on his seat. Surprisingly my seat doesn't feel too bad.

At 3 pm, just before we get to our apartment, I get an email notice that our bags are on a plane to Montpellier. Hooray! Ten minutes later there's another message that they have landed. We might actually get them today. Neither of these updates show up on the baggage tracking website and the KLM Whatsapp agent still doesn't know anything.

We check in to the apartment and decide to hang out and nap for awhile, in hopes that the bags will show up soon. It's just a half-hour drive to get here from the airport.

A pigeon across the alley from the apartment guards the door

You don't need much to claim a terrace on an apartment listing. This one is tiny, but it's something.

By 7:30 pm there's no more news and hunger drives us down to the wharf for dinner at Les Goelands (The Gulls.) Reviews say their Bouillabaise is excellent. The dish originated in Marseille, 170 km east of Sete and we're in a seaport so it seems like this could be a place to find the real deal. Our French-speaking server gets very excited when I order Bouillabaise, as are the two women at the next table. I wonder how unusual this is.

A little while later she brings out a plate with three whole fish, each about 10 inches long, uncooked. I'm confused, wondering if she's going to set it down in front of me. She chatters on in French for awhile, shows it to the neighbors, then whisks it away and I understand she wanted to show off the fresh fish. It's another occassion when I wish I had better French. Barry has ordered a steak, a triumph of hope over experience in France, but at least there's no mystery for him.

Another 15 minutes go by and she's back with the fish, now cooked, on a platter. This time she shows it to the neighbors first and they nod with approval. The head waiter comes over, pulls out a knife, and proceeds to filet the fish tableside. It's quite a show. Once he's done, they gather up the whole works and disappear again.

For the final presentation they bring forth a tureen of hot broth with the bowl of fish and parsleyed potatoes and put it all together with a flourish. On the side are toasted croutons and a small bowl of spicy orange sauce. Google identifies it as rouille, meant to be spread on the croutons, but I think it tastes great stirred into the broth. The final product is delicious, although not what I expected. I've made Julia Child's recipe which has shellfish in addition to the whole fish, plus tomatoes and leeks. But I came for the authentic French Mediterranean dish and am very happy with the experience.

Barry's steak is very well done. We asked for bien cuit, a term I learned from Steve Miller last year after an encounter with raw breast of duck in Sarlat. This must be tres bien cuit. He saws away at it and comments that he might think about ordering something else in France.

While we're about our dinner, a text comes in on Barry's phone from the baggage delivery driver. He says once the package is delivered to Louvian he will arrive in Sete. Great news! We find Louvian on the map in Belgium so aren't sure what to think about the timing, but decide we better skip dessert and head back to the apartment.

While Barry waits for the delivery, I walk up to the market around 9:00 to find some ice cream and here comes our man trucking down the alley with our bags. Hooray! Our trip is back on track.

Birds, Bouillabaisse and Baggage. All my dreams have come true.

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Today: 26 miles, 768' ascent

For the tour: 169 miles, 8398' ascent

Today's ride: 26 miles (42 km)
Total: 169 miles (272 km)

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Comment on this entry	Comment	5

Scott AndersonSuch a relief your luggage arrived! Have you ended up carrying along more than you would otherwise, like clothing you would have shipped in the suitcase but needed it to ride in today?
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7 months ago

Janice BranhamNot really, there were a few small things I might have jettisoned but they don't make much difference
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7 months ago

Rachael AndersonIsn’t Sete a beautiful place to cycle around! I’m so glad you finally got your bags.
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7 months ago

Ginny and Pete DarbyThe best laid plans …. After all of your careful preparations, what a hiccup to lose the bags. Sheesh! Glad you finally got them! Eager to read more of your adventure.
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7 months ago

Janice BranhamTo Ginny and Pete DarbyI tried hard not to play the What-if head game and just enjoy the day's ride. So glad we didn't have to figure out another pivot.
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7 months ago