Les Salins de Camargue

It's said that the Roman engineer Peccius was the first to organize the salt production efforts in the Camargue. The natural salt marshes and higher-than-normal natural salt content make the region an obvious place to harvest sea salt. In Aigues-Mortes, 500,000 tons of salt are distributed annually. While some of the process occurs naturally, capturing the quantities of salt demanded by market requires an engineered process.

First the salt is collected into vast evaporation pools. More than 45 million cubic meters of sea water must be pumped during the month of march. Throughout the spring, the evaporation process increases the concentration of salt 9-fold to 260 grams per liter. By mid-summer a thick cake begins to form on the surface of the water. The concentrated brine can grow to 20 cm thick, 9 cm of which is harvested as sea salt. The top of the cake takes on a bright red hue due to the presence of a special kind of algae which turns brighter as the salt concentration increases. Some of the algae and waste sediment can be collected and used as fertilizer, while lower quality salt is sold for road de-icing.

In September, the salt is harvested. Quality control measures ensure that the product is 99.5% pure sodium-chloride. Some salt is shipped on flat bottom barges along the shallow canals to the port, while another portion is loaded onto rail cars and sent in land. Several special bridges and conveyor systems are placed in service specifically for the once-a-year collection.

Three major brands are harvested in the Camargue, including Le Saunier de Camargue and La Baleine. Ironically, they are all owned by the same parent company. Many of these brands are widely available in the US.

Having harvested salt from these marshes for over a thousand years, the Camargue salt farmers have struck a symbiotic balance with nature. While many industrial processes pose a threat to the local ecosystem, salt farming in the Aigue-Mortes salt marsh has actually demanded preservation of the indigenous wetlands. Of course, the salt companies probably exaggerate the extent of this success. Nevertheless, it is a model living sustainably with nature.

Le Grau de Roi

On his way out to sea from Aigues Mortes, Saint Louis would have first had to navigate a narrow inland channel, called a grau. Along the way, his view would probably have been similar to the one that modern visitors enjoy. Riverside reeds provide a habitat for feeding flamingos. Camargue bulls graze on dry plains between the marshes. Farmers store their sea-salt harvest in tall mounds. With the exception of some sprawling harbor communities near the city, local managers have done a good job of preserving the unique natural habitat.

Finally the waterway, cuts through le Grau de Roi, so named in honor of Saint Louis’ first passage, and spills into the Mediterranean. Today, the city is a major tourist destination. The canal through town is lined with restaurants, offering the day’s freshest catch. Further inland, the city streets provide a menagerie of traditional tourist trinkets and apparel. The rows of Slushie machines reminded me of Bourbon street.

An expansive sandy beach stretches for miles along the coast. However, except for the ocean channels dug to allow the fishing fleet to exit to the sea, the water level is low. At low tide, it’s possible to walk all the way out to the breakwaters, several hundred meters out from the boardwalk. Developers have seized on the opportunity to build along the beach and erected all sorts of odd pyramid and wave-form shaped time-share buildings.

Fortunately, we visited on an off-season weekend. This allowed us to stay in an excellent high-end hotel (3 Logis lamps!). But, most importantly, it meant that the traffic and crowds were manageable. Given the vast numbers of condos, I could not imagine visiting in season.