This is the second time in so many years that this solitary Brit has made it to the Auberge Keurmariguen for around a couple of weeks - and enjoyed every minute. There are those overseas holidays where the visitor seems simply to observe their surroundings. It is like a goldfish bowl, where one wonders who is inside and who is outside. The Auberge is at the other extreme. To go outside is to be really involved with the locals, they may well greet you. One cannot but recognise the details of their lives and so to look again at one’s own. One perhaps leaves a bit changed; can that be bad? There are the local fishermen, over a dozen boats. They leave at dawn and return a few hours later with, I guess, up to 20 kilo each, all sold by mid-afternoon (not surprisingly, the fish at the Auberge is superb). Adjacent is a boat-builder. I watched him build, in about a week, virtually single-handed but working dawn to dusk, a standard wooden fishing boat. He used many tools, rasp, hammer, saw, but the dominant one was an adze. He must have been using virtually the same technique as did the Vikings. I guess that sea water corrodes the nails used, making regular rebuilds essential; having finished one, he moved on to the next. Not a museum, not a re-enactment, but for real. Living history, what a freebie! Then, the personal touch. I have visited several, lived in a few, African countries. Something West African that I like is palm wine (sweet sap of a palm, which starts fermenting as it is collected). I asked Stéphanie; she seemed a bit surprised, perhaps the first such request, but, a few days later, I had a litre. Could one ask for more?
The Auberge is great place, in a unique environment, highly recommended. I plan to return.