The Pont du Diable on the Herault River is a beautiful bridge built by Benedict monks back in the first half of the 11th century.
On our way to the Clamouse cave we passed by the astonishing Devil’s Bridge, saw the man-made pool created for swimmers and noticed the flocks of people enjoying the sun. A huge line-up to rent canoes caught my eye and I saw cliff jumpers throwing themselves into the green water below. We stopped in paradise on the way back from our cave exploration.
Difficult to park, we crossed the bridge to the public parking lot, which happened to be full. We carried on to a growers field to a make shift overflow parking lot with a man collecting four€/car.
Screw that, we made our way back to the road to try our luck. Told the kids we were so sorry, we were ready to give up to make our way home. With both kids crying, Alfonz suddenly tuned left into a residential neighbourhood and found a free spot right next to the main road. Hamori luck!
I told the kids, just grab your towels and we can stay a short while, as I do not know if we parked legally. The hike down the steep hill to the rocky shore was a breeze, even with the swim bag and camera in hand. The area around the lake, or river dam was treed offering guests shade from the hot sun.
The bridge is 65 m long, 4 m wide and 16 m high, constructed in roman art deco with two larger arches and two smaller arches, designed to hold against a river flood.
Saint-Jean-de-Fos is a historic village of 1500 people, with B&B’s, a restaurant, a bakery and a few pottery and art stores. It is charming and perched high above the river’s dam where tourists and locals visit to cool off in the summer heat.
The roman style bridge is declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in conjunction with the Saint James’ Way to Santiago de Compostella in western Spain.
We found a spot next to the water, set up our towels and counted hundreds of visitors around us. No sooner did we settle in for a swim, the boys decided to scout the area, and make a loop around the other side to cross the river back to us.
Angelina and I watched cliff jumpers and noticed three teenaged boys on the bridge. Then, the next moment we saw them all jump at once! OMG, I hope they are ok. Angelina and I stood up, with dozens of others to make sure they came up. One, two, and three they were unharmed.
Canoes full of beautiful young girls captured by boys and splashed in the gorge under the bridge. They played this game all day, and didn’t tire. Oh to be young again. What a fabulous place to grow up, in the French countryside, swimming in the green-pooled waters in such a historical location. WOW!
Angelina and I spent the next few hours swimming and talking, while the boys hung out in the rapids. After a while, we realized how hungry we were and made our way to back to Capestang.
