Camaret is a lovely Breton village with a history dating back at least until proto-Celtic settlement in 2500BC. There are a group of standing stones here which were only found in the 18th century. They are arranged in Lagatjar pattern which is said to be replicating the appearance of the Pleiades star cluster, in the constellation of Taurus. Possibly also thought to be called the Eye of the Chicken.
In historic times Camaret has been a fishing port but this industry seems to be in decline today. Supplanting it is of course tourism by land but perhaps more importantly by sea. Vast numbers of yachts visit this harbour for short or longer periods. There are fabulous walks on the wild Atlantic coast, which is included in the Grand Randonee 34 route. This is one of the many long distance treks in France and is very popular. We did some sections out to Pointe Toulinguet with its historic semaphore station and then on to Pointe de Pen-Hir and the rugged Tas de Pois rocks. The coastline is intimidating and subject to wild weather coupled with strong tidal flows. Brest and many other ports along this coast were used as naval bases by the Third Reich in WWII. Fortified submarine pens protected the U-boats in between their forays into the Atlantic to torpedo convoys from the US. This infrequently mentioned conflict resulted in the deaths of 45,000 sailors on the Allied side and 30,000 submariners on the German side. The average age of the latter was 20. Today, bunkers remain from that era and one has been converted into a small museum about the Atlantic conflict. Interestingly we had failed to determine the significance, on the marine chart, of the hundreds or thousands of marked shipwrecks along this coast. These are likely relating to Allied attacks on the German naval forces.
I suppose our concern is that Britain and Europe are forgetting the raison d'etre for the EU was to prevent the rise of nationalism and further wars after the centuries of bloodshed on the continent.
For the crew of Diomedea we treated ourselves to an excellent meal at the Hotel de la France including local apple cider and whiskey, the latter being quite fashionable in Brittany.