A Little Piece of Paradise, Protected

I'm getting back into trail running again. I wasn't planning on making it a focus this year, what with Ironman and such, but I've discovered trail networks around Narbonne that cannot be ignored. Plus, I continue to have a surplus of energy beyond the requirements of my training program which are currently being channeled into things like obsessively pruning my (now harshly over-pruned) potted plants and herbs on the terrace. So I got up early this morning to beat the heat and headed out for a 3-hour run. My camera came along, too.

The canal leading out of Narbonne towards the salt flats:


Climbing up into the hills that look down across the flats towards the sea:


Looking back towards Narbonne:

First glimpses of the Med in the distance:

And finally arriving at the waterfront:

I'm not sure how it's managed to escape my attention until now, but I recently found out that I live in the middle of a protected (protégé) region of France. You would think the ubiquitous signs like the above would have been my first clue; or perhaps the large green hatched area marked on regional road maps might have given it away. It goes a long way to explaining a number of things I haven't been able to figure out, like where there is no waterfront development along the coastline here, why there is no industry other than wine-making, or why Narbonne has no multistory buildings and no sprawling residential suburbs. All of which leads to my new favourite French expression, straight from the lips of a local:

'Un petit paradis protégé'

A little piece of protected paradise.