STOP
PRESS : It is with great sorrow that we
have to report on the evening of May 17th 2012 the loss at sea of
the Good Ship Bounty. In the middle of
a financial storm of unusual proportions and with no help of rescue this plucky
little ship sank slowly beneath the waves.
Thankfully no lives were lost, but both regular passengers and crew will
now have to seek out another port of call – Message Ends.
A perfect view across the marina.
And in the beginning:
While most of Europe sinks deeper
and deeper into recession – the naturist
village and leisure complex at Cap d’ Agde in Southern France - often referred
to as “The Naked City” - is doing the
exact opposite. In fact it would be true
to say that “they have never had it so good”, as the latest financial figures available from the mix of , shops ,
bars, restaurants and letting agencies on this 200 acre plus site indicate that 2013 is set to be their best
year yet. But as we shall soon see , not
everyone here is making their fortune !.
Always one of the first places to
get its annual makeover in springtime is an odd shaped piece of ground nestling
between Port Nature villas, the sea
and the man made waterway leading to the marina. About half an acre of
beautifully landscaped lawns with lovely examples of mature plants and trees
it’s an ideal spot to sunbathe or take a pleasant al fresco lunch as a change
from the beach or pool. It’s always a
quiet place whatever the time of year and we often use it to take the odd
photograph as it’s unlikely to intrude on anyone’s privacy.
Many years ago now I discovered a little restaurant only a short walk away from this
tranquil spot , a bit of a run down place then on the
edge of Port Soleil that didn’t even
have a proper name with a few tables outside where you could sit and eat
looking out over the bustling harbour. In
those days it was very popular with the holiday reps , delivery drivers and
village work force , as far more important than the decor was the fact that you
could get a three course lunch with wine for about the equivalent of four or
five pounds.
So I got a bit of a surprise when
a few years later I walked over one fine morning to get a quick cup of coffee,
to see that big changes had been made – hanging outside was a brand new
illuminated sign and the terrace had been more than doubled in size. Over the passing years the improvements
continued until by 2008 THE BOUNTY,
with music and dancing until late, became one of the leading eating places in
the whole village.
We soon became regulars customers
especially on Fridays the most popular nights for dancing, as it then attracted
lots of local people as well as regular holiday makers, giving it a feeling of real
France. A young couple probably still in
their late teens or maybe very early twenties were also Friday regulars and who
as it happened despite their youth were experts in dancing the traditional
tango – and boy could they dance !!!. I
have seen a lot of tango’s in a lot of places, but never anything quite as exhilarating,
awe-inspiring, exciting and arousing as this exceptional young couple.
Both small in stature with slim
supple bodies and dark complexion they were probably of Spanish ancestry as are many people in this
part of the Languedoc. The girl was a
real beauty both in figure and face and always wore the same carefully cleaned
and pressed costume - a tiny black flared
skirt which barely covered her neat little bottom, a completely see thru white blouse,
black stiletto heel shoes – and absolutely nothing else. The black trousers
worn by her boyfriend were so tight they had to be made of some kind of
elastic, and a white shirt undone to the waist and shiny patent leather shoes
made up the rest of his ensemble. They
made a fantastic sight and once they got right into the swing of things the
rest of us went back to our seats and left them to it.
Greedy Pigs
They didn’t stay too late – they probably
had some work or study to catch up on- but their ‘pas de deux’ or whatever the tango equivalent is called
when the music stops and the girl is bent right over backwards at waist level
over the mans knee , had to be seen to be believed. It was erotic cabaret at the highest possible
level -and 100 percent amateur. 
This whole area has become an
incredibly popular place and today huge
multi –million euro textile holiday developments of every kind line this
pleasantly attractive coastline - from Montpelier to the Spanish border. As well as the many different kinds of
sporting and leisure activities on offer during the day, the international
popularity of the area has generated a diverse variety of top quality
entertainment and nightlife.
Queen Salome
Some of the more risqué
entertainers have permanent homes in the Naturist Village or take temporary
summer accommodation here. Some have even remained here after retiring from the
fray. They are an interesting lot often
turning up in the bars and restaurants late at night after they have finished
their regular gig somewhere outside the village. Salome
and her Serpents – aka the Egyptian
Queen – a regular performer in the textile night clubs could often be seen in
the restaurant le Bounty enjoying a glass
of champagne after putting on an impromptu show for any diners/dancers that
were still around in the late hours.
There were already several changes
taking place , new building works and the like when we arrived in the late
spring of 2012 , but the biggest surprise of all was to discover the unexpected
and we gathered quite sudden, closure of
The Bounty.
According to Alano ( as he
sometimes calls himself ), after spending a few years as a young man in the
French Foreign Legion , he ended up on the Pacific Island of Tahiti living a
hedonistic life on the beach with a beautiful native woman. Eventually becoming bored with the sameness
of island life he returned to France with the intention of starting his own
restaurant and ended up here in the Languedoc.
He eventually found a property to suit his purpose and called it after
the famous ship that had brought Captain Cook to the place that still held fond
memories for him. True or False – who
knows.
Welcome aboard
There were never signs of any
recent floggings taking place in the French Bounty well at least not while we ate
there, but looking at the mixture of old sailors hats over the bar, the
outsized carved wooden phallus screwed to it and the pair of giant noisy
colourful parrots in huge steel cages in the windows the tale was just about
believable. – and now The Bounty -
always a bit of an enigma is no more- for the time being at least but I’m
pretty sure that Cap d’Agde has not seen the last of Monsieur Alain or The Bounty.
copyright
M.Golding. 2013
