Photograph: © SAF — Coastal Care
Excerpts;
On the horizon, a low, white crescent shimmered in the sunshine: the perfect image of a desert island, save for a disappointing shortage of palm trees. “There you have it,” said Pierre Becker, chairman of the Sauveteurs de Mer (lifeboatmen) of Royan, a seaside resort at the mouth of the Gironde estuary (and the place where Nicolas Sarkozy made sandcastles each summer when he was a child). “Some people spend loads of money to travel thousands of miles to the Pacific Islands. We have our own Tahiti, just off shore.”
Some sceptics suggest that “L’île Mystérieuse” (mysterious island), as it is known locally, is no mystery at all. It is a sandbank. Local environmentalists and politicians insist that it is a fully accredited island. It has existed for at least 18 months and does not vanish at high tide…
Read Full Article, Independent UK
Une île surgit dans l’estuaire de la Gironde, Reuters
A deux kilomètres du phare de Cordouan, des sédiments se sont accumulés sur 4 hectares, formant un territoire encore ignoré des cartes. Un phénomène extrêmement rare…
