03 April 2009

The Pebble Sifter


The private beaches of Menton are along the Bay of Garavan.

This one is called La Pergola (there's a restaurant here too) and this man is sifting pebbles by throwing spadefuls of them at this contraption. Small pebbles are retained - the bigger ones chucked out further down the beach. I presume the uniformity is so that the beach chairs and tables, which will soon be in position for the season, will be on a reasonably even surface.

I had lunch here the other day and this was the entertainment.

15 comments:

  1. So the beach consists of mostly pebbles and is not the typical "SAND" beach?

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  2. That's right, Abe. All the beaches are pebbles except for the ones that have had sand imported. For instance, some of the Monaco beaches have imported sand and there is sand on other beaches in Menton - but always imported. In places, where the pebbles aren't so prominent, you do see sand at the water's edge.

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  3. I love Menton and its surroundings. Been recently to Villefranche and Monaco and walked a lot!

    (please note that, unfortunatelly, my post of April 1st was a joke for April Fools Day...)

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  4. Talk about paying attention to the little things. They go a long way to make people comfortable, I wonder if anyone even knows.

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  5. Sometimes Mother Nature needs a hand, or we humans think she does.

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  6. Perfection to satisfy the consumers.
    I didn't know they were doing that.
    I wonder why they don't import sand as well.
    Have a nice week-end, Jilly. Even if, watching the weather forecast, it won't be the best we can expect for spring season.

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  7. From your post, and some of the comments, I have learned things about beaches I didn't know. I wonder if here too beaches are "imported"...
    Very nice post and photos.

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  8. Such an interesting post. I wonder what it must be like, the life of a pebble sifter. I would like to visit with him and hear his story.

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  9. That looks like a lot of work.

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  10. Holy moly, what a thankless and neverending job. How do you ever know when you're done??? How was lunch??
    V

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  11. It's not right to have private beaches. Australians don't have to put up with that.

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  12. What a job! I'm not sure if this is a complete was of time or a great service!

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  13. I have not heard or seen anything like this.

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  14. Cushyo, people don't have to put up with private beaches, as there are lots of public beaches and they are good ones, although they get crowded. It's simply that if you choose to pay around 8 euros to go to a private beach, you get a sunbed, showers, you can order a glass of wine - often people consider it to be worth it and it's less crowded.

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  15. It's interesting what humans do to be entertained, isn't it? Groomed beaches, private beaches, etc.

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