Intervenants : Christophe Caillaud, capitaine du Jules Verne Sébastien Guillet, visiteur du phare de Cordouan originaire de Loire Atlantique Nelly Nouger, visiteuse du phare de Cordouan originaire du Limousin Coralie Chaperon, visiteuse du phare de Cordouan originaire de Charente-Maritime Lionel Bridier, visiteur originaire de région parisienne - Sébastien Delage, gardien du phare de Cordouan France, visiteuse du phare de Cordouan Isabelle Caillaud, visiteuse du phare de Cordouan originaire de Nouvelle Aquitaine Reportage de Pascal Foucaud et Pascal Simon
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We have just boarded the Port of Pleasant-sur-Royale.
Let's go for three quarters of an hour of sailing.
A little trip for a large-scale adventure.
The discovery of one of the jewels of the UNESCO World Heritage Site,
the Cordouan lighthouse.
Today we have really good weather.
It's really the ideal day to go and visit the lighthouse.
Eleven kilometers wide,
he stands proud for 400 years.
Like all exceptional works,
he fascinates and demands a few efforts
before letting himself be approached.
Sébastien, what pushed you to come and board this morning?
To discover a historical monument
which is still an important part of our history,
so interesting to visit.
Is it the little obligatory passage when you come to Royan,
this visit to the Cordouan lighthouse?
Yes, I think so, but you have to be careful
and take a little advantage of it,
because it is very demanded
and there is not much space on the boats
and with the tide, that's it.
The tide, an essential parameter.
With its flows and recesses,
this tempo of the ocean has gathered tons of sediment.
Time has done its work
until it has formed a giant sand bank.
This is why this funny amphibious boat
also makes the trip to the back of the ship.
More than ever, the visit is worth it.
I can't wait to get there
and I am very surprised by the landing
between the mermaid and this boat.
I can't wait, my heart is pounding.
Everyone disembarks from the boat on wheels.
It remains a few hundred meters to walk
before reaching the goal.
Thank you very much.
Arriving in front, it is magnificent,
very beautiful structure, it is really beautiful.
It is really a lighthouse.
With the lighthouse of La Coubre,
the lighthouse of Ternay-Grassin-Palais
and the lighthouse of Huberdon,
it will mark us two passes.
Today, the guide is him, Sébastien.
Intangible on the monument,
he shares his passion without counting with the public.
And here, the public is not missing.
It represents about 30,000 visitors
during the season,
during the six months of summer season.
And we work on a cycle
from one week to two weeks.
So we will do one week at the lighthouse,
one week on land, or two weeks at the lighthouse
and two weeks on land.
Basically, we are six months of the year at the lighthouse.
During these 301 steps,
the monument is gradually released.
Like all ascents,
it delivers its visitors
once at the top,
at 67 meters 50 in height,
by offering a panorama
like no other.
Magnificent, it's incredible.
It's quite impressive
to see so many works,
stone sizes, things like that,
lost in the middle of the sea.
For me, it was a dream.
It's been more than 10 years since I wanted to come
and I realize my dream today.
I am happy.
This time again,
the Cordouan lighthouse
kept all its promises.
And on the way back,
its admirers already know
that they will come back here,
where the heart of the Gironde estuary is,
to live again
this timeless journey.
