Le Mont-Saint-Michel

On Saturday, Global Navigators explored Le Mont-Saint-Michel. We began with a guided tour through the bay, where our guide explained the history of the abbey, local folklore, and how to get out of quicksand. That's right- quicksand! The bay around Le Mont-Saint-Michel has patches of sables mouvants, or quicksand. Students discovered that, contrary to the quicksand in movies, quicksand does not actually suck humans all the way under because we aren't dense enough. If you get stuck in quicksand, you should wriggle your legs around slowly and use your knee to help you get out. Students enjoyed playing in the quicksand and seeing how far up the quicksand would go.

Following the tour, students had free time to explore the shops and restaurants. We then concluded the day with a tour of the abbey, which was one of the most important places of medieval pilgrimage. Benedictine monks started building an abbey there in the 10th century, and Mont-Saint-Michel is now visited by more than 3 million people each year.