Frioul islands

One of the days in dry dock we were offered to join a small group of officers going to the Château d'If, one of the settings of Alexandre Dumas' novel The Count of Monte Cristo. Of course, we wanted to join them. We asked for a day off, cleaned the cameras and charged the batteries. Unfortunately in the morning we were informed that the wind and the waves were too heavy so the tour was postponed till further notice. But as we already had a day off we decided to still go the city and try going somewhere else.

The boardwalk – Quai des Belges – was busy with fishermen selling their morning catch but we made our way through the crowd to the ticketing kiosks. The staff confirmed: the safety was at risk due to sea conditions and there was no chance to see If island. It seemed weird as the sea looked smooth as a mirror but what could we do? Luckily we noticed that the trips to Frioul islands were still ongoing. We did not have a slightest idea about these islands (and – to tell the truth –out of ignorance were even mixing it up with Friul region in Italy) but nevertheless decided to go.

The tickets were 10 euro round trip. On the days when island of If is accessible you can see both for 15 euro.

Tip: write down or photograph the ferry timetable before you leave Marseille. The timetable is not posted anywhere on the island (at least we did not find it) and not knowing when the ferry arrives makes it quite uncomfortable. Had we known we had to wait for more than an hour we would have gotten a carafe of wine at one of the restaurants!

The boat was departing in 10 minutes so very soon we were already sailing towards the exit of Marseille harbor guarded by two forts on both sides.

Marseille harbour

One of the forts

Marseille harbor is very safe for the boats as it is well protected from the winds. So as soon as we sailed out of the harbor we realized why it was not possible to see The Château d'If: the waves were indeed strong. As we passed by the islet we looked at the famous prison only from the outside. 

The Château d'If with Marseille in the background 

  At first we were even disappointed as the islet seemed very close to the shore, approximately at 4 km from Marseille:

View to If & Marseille from Frioul islands

And even though we read that the isolated location and dangerous offshore currents of the Château d'If made it an ideal escape-proof prison, very much like the island of Alcatraz in California was in more modern times – it still did not convince us. It seemed too easy to swim to the shore – especially in warm Mediterranean waters. Later on we found out that even though in the book, Dantès made a daring escape from the castle, becoming the first person ever to do so and survive, in reality, no one is known to have done this. Even though at times the prison was densely populated, for example during the religious wars between Catholics and Protestants over 3,500 Huguenots (French Protestants) were sent to If.

Another interesting fact about this prison is that rich and poor existed even there:

As was common practice in those days, prisoners were treated differently according to their class and wealth. The poorest were literally placed at the bottom, being confined to a windowless dungeon under the castle. The wealthiest were much better off, living comparatively comfortably in their own private cells (or pistoles) higher up, with windows, a garderobe and a fireplace. However, they were expected to pay for this privilege, effectively forcing them to fund their own incarceration. ©Wikpedia 

But soon we forgot about the Château as the harbor of Frioul was coming to sight:

The Frioul archipelago consists of 4 islands: the island of If, islet of Tiboulen (that only houses marine signalization system), Pomègues and Ratonneau - the latter two being the biggest ones: Pomègues is 2,7 km long, and rises up to 89m above the sea level, Ratonneau is 2,5 km long, with maximum height of 86m.

The two islands are connected by mole.

The island had been the property of French Defense Ministry up until 1975 when Maire Gaston Defferre obtained authorization to transform neglected military base into yacht port (as French call it port de plaisance – pleasure port) with a small settlement, several business and firefighter’s station. Ferry service was also established at that time. So do not expect to see any architectural or historical monuments here: the architecture here is represented by betony cubicles only painted in joyful colors. 

Boardwalk

The only architectural monument on the island

It was lunch time so before exploring the islands we decided to grab a snack. Our original plan was to buy a bottle of wine and some snacks from the local shop and have a picnic on the hills. But to our disappointment the shop with “Produits alimentaire” sign on it was closed, most probably for the entire winter season. Then we understood why locals on the ferry had food baskets with them… So if you are planning a picnic on the rocks make sure to stock up in Marseille.

Nevertheless the boardwalk was full of small restaurants and as we were looking for a food store we walked almost to the end of it and settled in second to the last restaurant.

We ordered a 1 liter carafe (pichet) of white wine and of course seafood: Erkki opted for Petites fritures – small fried fishes:

Petites frites. Please note the shrimp was NOT a part of the dish and was stolen from Frioulian Plate!

As we were in Frioul I decided to try Frioulian Plate – Assiette Friouilase – that looked very attractive on the picture…

Advert of Frioulian plate

…and did not disappoint when seen in reality:

Frioulian plate

It consisted of shrimp, octopus, two different kinds of fish, mussels and squid served on green salad with fried potatoes and aïoli, a sauce made from raw garlic, lemon juice, eggs and olive oil – sort of home made garlic mayo. This plate could easily be shared between two eaters and cost only 13 euro.

After the lunch we decided to walk the mole Berry built in 1822 (named after the Duke of Berry). This mole transformed a small harbor that had been used since Roman times into a real port.

 As we walked the island we were astonished by its lunar landscape so different from lush green hills of Provence that were only a few kilometers away:

Frioul lunar landscape

There are several reasons for it: first of all the archipelago is mostly limestone and the unusual shapes are created by elements during the erosion process:

An example of unusual shapes blown by strong winds

Geological processes create unusual textures

Secondly it is very dry: the islands get less rain than the neighbor Marseille. Combined with violent winds this weather does not allow anything but Aleppo Pine (pine native to the Mediterranean region) grow here.

An example of island vegetation

In addition to these factors the island landscape was seriously affected by humans erecting defensive buildings since ancient époques till recent times. Te modern forts defining today’s landscape were built between 1860 and 1900. With limestone being the main construction material the forts look like they literally grow from the rocks:

Another factor that affected the Frioul landscape are the massive bombings of the area by the Allies trying to get access to the city during World War II. Until now aerial photos show lunar-like bomb craters, especially on Ratonneau island.

Man-made defensive structures

Aside from defensive function, the island was also used to quarantine foreign sailors, particularly those with cases of cholera and Leprosy since the plague epidemic in the XVII century. In the 1920th as Marseille received Armenian refugees the authorities established quarantine facilities on the island: 

Former sanitary facility is now used by youth cultural center

Former quarantine facility with fish farm in the background

 The old quarantine port is now used for fish farm – probably the only production on the archipelago. 

Fish feeding

 

As there is no police, school or clinics on the islands, private motor vehicles are banned so the inhabitants must take care of his daily needs on their own. Therefore only about a hundred people constitute permanent population of Frioul and leave here year round, that includes seamen living on their boats.

The islands are not being developed into a fully functional commune (the smallest administrative unit in France) as their future is vague. There are businessmen trying to transform them into exclusive private paradise for billionaires and there are ecologists dreaming of keeping archipelago a nature reserve and restrict human activities here. Obviously these two camps have exactly opposite views and while they dispute the islands are not advancing in either direction.

Millionaire's getaway or nature reserve?

Millionaire's getaway or nature reserve?

 

Something we did not know during the visit is that in 1997 Jean-Claude Mayo, the owner of Brégantin fort on Ratonneau island, together with a group of friends decided to establish La République libre du Frioul – Free Republic of Frioul. It was established for the fun of it as “in our society we never have the right to have fun”. The president, appointed for life is Egregore the Virtual while Jean-Claude Mayo is the Minister Conveyor of the Word (convoyeur du verbe). The small republic emits its own money called polymoney (polymonnaie) that obviously has value only within the republic. Had we known we would have brought some for our collection… Well, maybe next time?