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Gold Beach,
Arromanches-les-Bains
Considering the
passage of more than six decades,
the caissons put
in place at Arromanches-les-Bains are still in remarkably
good shape.
 These
structures
formed the semicircular breakwater known as Port Winston, one of the
two Mulberry Harbors. In the decades
since the war ended, they’ve become a major feature of the ecosystem,
providing a habitat for fish
and shellfish. That in turn provides seafood dinners for many of the
local people, who were out in numbers when the photography shown here
was being done. To get the best view of caissons, plan your trip so as
to
arrive during a minus tide if possible, or at least the lowest tide of
the day.
Arromanches
360° is a
theater located on the
bluff which
overlooks Gold Beach from the east. The audience stands about
the
room holding
onto a bar whose usefulness becomes plain when the program starts. A
360° projection with historical footage of the
invasion of Normandy as well as well as modern images including shots
from a helicopter with banking turns that makes it feel as though the
whole room is tilting. It is one of the wildest rides one can
experience
while standing still.
The sun was setting
as people from the town calmly
climbed about the
structures in search of shellfish. It provided a quiet moment to bow
the head in memory of what happened here.
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Gold
Beach
Arromanches-les-Bains
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People from the commune of Arromanches-les-Bains collecting mussels on
the WWII caissons at low tide.