Olfactory walk in the Camargue

Nature is a great source of inspiration for me both on a photographic and olfactory level.

Last weekend, as part of the Fête de la Nature, I had the pleasure of co-hosting, in Aigues-Mortes (France), in the Camargue, an olfactory walk in the company of Véronique de Montety, nature facilitator at the Maison du Grand Site de France de la Marette.

A large audience was present at this multi-sensory event, named among the Favorites of the 17th edition of the Fête de la Nature.

After a preliminary visit with Véronique de Montety to define the different stages of this unique walk, I selected the olfactory ingredients that best evoked this remarkable and protected natural space.

This outing offered an unusual visit to this environment where marshes, salt meadows and roubine, a small irrigation canal typical of the Camargue, coexist and make it unique.

Each stop was an opportunity to smell natural ingredients, evocative of the salt present in the marsh, of the breeding of horses and bulls in the salt meadow, of the reeds which run along the irrigation canal, of the desert heat near the belvedere where one can observe earth cracked by the lack of water.

The last stop, with its peacefully beautiful panorama facing the ramparts of Aigues-Mortes (France), offered an olfactory journey evocative of serenity.

Smelling strips impregnated with essential oils of Sea fennel, Guava Leaves, Himalayan Spikenard, True Calamus, Crocodile Grass and Incense resinoid were distributed to each participant during this olfactory walk.

A nice experience where nature and olfaction met for a moment.