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The angel at the gate to the lakes
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Port Barcarès is connected to the Salses lake. Coasters whose draughts and heights allow you to enter, it is time to enjoy a cruise in this splendid inland sea.
It is difficult not to locate the entrance to Port Barcarès from far away 5.5 miles to the east of Canet en Roussillon. You would think that everything has been done so that you do not miss it: small two-storey houses are huddled around a very remarkable water towel; the large buildings of the modern resort; the Lydia, a small Greek liner which was run aground intentionally on the sandy beach halfway from Port Leucate. Please note however that this liner does not indicate the entrance to the port! It is more an original way of inviting you to come and enjoy the site, have a meal and meet some “one-armed bandits”.
El Barcares in Catalan means the boat shelter. In the past, Le Barcarès was the port for the boats from the village of Saint Laurent de la Salanque, located further inland. It was, between the Agly estuary and the Grau Saint Ange which is connected to the Salse (or Leucate) lake, an extension of the village where the fishermen used to live in quite insalubrious conditions. Despite the efforts to decontaminate the coastal area since the Templars, all the stretch of land between the sea and the lakes remained very inhospitable until the 20th century.
BOAT PORT OR PORT ST ANGE?
The port infrastructures at the mouth of the Agly which had been begun by the Templars have been abandoned for a long time now. Interest shifted towards the north of the hamlet of Barcarès, to Grau Saint Ange. Port Saint Ange is an excellent shelter and a major navigation crossroads: it connects with Port Leucate via the Salses lake. But be careful: maximum heights of 3 metres when you leave the first basin (or ask for the bridge to be raised in the drift), of 7.5 metres at the opening into the lake and of 16 met
res when you enter the Leucate port.
This gate to the lakes opens out onto lagoons which are an absolute must for the peaceful beauty of these natural protected spaces. Sailors whose mast is too high but who nevertheless want to see for themselves what it looks like will have to pass through Port Leucate.
The southern jetty extends enough to facilitate the entrance into a small outer harbour which has pontoons parallel to the small northern jetty. This increases the number of berths during the summer and transforms it a little into a channel towards a second pass. This is quite narrow due to the level surface of a boat launching ramp on the left and the harbour master’s office and a mooring pontoon on the right. The north basin like the south one are open to all: at the bottom a swing bridge leads to the Tourette basin, which is the “true” Port Barcarès on the Salses lake. The buildings protect you from the Tramontane wind… and from the lively evening activities.
BEGAN FROM NOTHING
Let’s forget about them for a while and try and imagine a desert of sand and marshes which was partially inhabited by fishermen. Despite stiff competition from the swarms of mosquitoes, the fashion for sea bathing which was “good for your health” and which began during th
e Second Empire launched the development of the small town of Barcarès well before the Racine Mission started to preoccupy itself with it. The magnificent sand bar, between the sea and the lagoon, is awaiting a decontamination and development project. In 1926 they envisaged excavating… a new Venice! The idea suddenly reappeared during the 1960s steered by the Agency for the development of the Coastline and the architect, Georges Candilis, who wanted to build a pilot resort here centred around marinas facing the sea with particular landing stages and “vaporetti” (Venice waterbuses) to get around. The idea will be used on the French Riviera with the Marines de Cogolin and Port Grimaud. Another architectural approach was used in Port Barcarès. Nevertheless, the Coudalère marina on the lake is a reminder of the original idea. You will see it when you cross the pass to visit the world of lakes.
