Ars-en-Ré, a village of stone and water.
Small white houses with water-green shutters, cobbled alleyways hemmed with hollyhocks... you're in Ars en Ré.
Listed as one of the "most beautiful villages in France", it offers you its picturesque calm, and its bay, a magnificent 800-hectare stretch of water, which is transformed, at low tide, into a playground for those who love fishing on foot.
In short, the serenity of Ars-en-Ré makes a stay here almost out of the ordinary!
Ars-en-Ré and the devil...
But can we really speak of calm and serenity when we know that there are legends about the port, including one whose main character is none other than the devil!
You can try telling this story in your sea-washed, ochre-coated smock, with your cap pulled down over your eyes and your pipe in your mouth, in a café, to pass yourself off as a local!
Just listen...
That day, Mathieu, a sailor seasoned by all the seas of the globe, and not one to shy away from a challenge, was caught by the low tide like a rookie seaman!
It has to be said that the channel at the exit of the Baie du Fiers was becoming increasingly silted up.
In short, he was beached, and not proud of it! All that remained was to take the boat and head home, a little sheepishly, until the next tide came in.
By nightfall, he was back home, grumbling and in a bad mood! But then, he wasn't going to accept wasting his time like that...
At this point in the story, it's worth noting that Mathieu was also operating one of the Nouron locks, those semicircular spaces surrounded by thick drystone walls, built on the shores, and in which the water, and the fish, remain after high tide.
So, after dinner, he pulls on a heavy sweater under his oilskin, puts on his boots, grabs his lantern, slings his fishing gear over his shoulder, and off he goes. The Bonnes-Femmes alley, the sandy Mouétroune path, despite the dark, moonless night, he had no hesitation.
When he reaches the Nouron lock, he hears nothing but the muffled roar of the Antioche breakers in the distance. He thinks he's going fishing alone.
But when he reached the highest part of the walls, he could make out a black silhouette sitting on the stones. He moves closer, and turns on his lantern to get a better look, but every time he moves the light closer, it goes out, then comes back on by itself when he moves it back. It's a strange, inexplicable phenomenon that makes him shudder...
"Why didn't you turn on your lantern?" he asks the figure. Indeed, it's this slightly reddish lantern that attracts the fish in front of the fisherman, enabling him to cast his hawk effectively.
In response, he hears a sort of growl, then "Look at me". And, immediately, the figure's eyes begin to glow brightly, red as two embers.
"Come on", said the devil, for it was he, "turn off your lantern and follow me".
And his whole body began to radiate, more and more brightly, a frightening red light.
They're now standing side by side on the wall, in the best spot for fishing. At their feet, the black water is agitated by the multitude of fish attracted by this light.
Very unusual... the fishing devil of Ars-en-Ré
"Well, what are you waiting for? Fish!"
Frozen with fright, he throws his hawk. Then he brings it back swarming with fish. He throws it again, and brings it back again. And again... and again...
Greedy, he thinks he won't give away any of his catch.
A liar, he thinks he won't tell anyone who hasn't sinned all by himself.
A cheat, he thinks he'll be careful not to declare this catch a miracle.
A slacker, he thinks he's getting pretty tired... pretty tired... pretty tired...
"Tell me, I think I'll stop here... I'm quite tired..."
"It's not very late, and there are still a lot of fish swimming around out there. Are you sure you can't go on for a while?"
"No, I don't feel like continuing... I'm too tired..."
"As you wish..."
And, immediately, there's not a ripple on the water, as if all the fish had disappeared.
"Well, now count all the fish you've caught".
Inwardly, Mathieu grumbles at this bizarre request. But, when you have the devil in front of you... then, he counts... " Fifty, fifty-one... sixty-four, sixty-five... eighty-eight, eighty-nine... that's it, that's the last one. There are eighty-nine".
A hoarse laugh...
"Well, you see, this number, which you stopped at, represents exactly the number of years that your life will last...".
And immediately, the red glow fades, and the figure disappears...
Many years later, Mathieu died suddenly, on his birthday. He had just completed his 89th year...
Travelers, if you're passing through Ars-en-Ré, be sure to avoid night fishing at the stone locks built on the shoreline... you might meet the wrong people!
Ars-en-Ré Welcome Office
25 Place Carnot,
17590 Ars-en-Ré
Tel.: 05 46 09 00 55
