I had a special day out recently with my bestest friend Golden Retriever Toffee.

We went to the small island  Sainte-Marguerite which is found half a mile off shore from the town of Cannes.  Although it is only 3km long (east to west) and 900m across, it is the largest of the Lérins Islands and full of super forest paths to explore.

View of one of the bays of the island looking back at Cannes and the mainland coastline.

There are no cars or roads on the island, so out of tourist season, us doggies can enjoy the place to ourselves. Our own forest and beach haven!

We set off early in the morning to pick up Toffee and his human Janice in time for the 09H15 boat from the old port in Cannes.  It is only a 10-15 minute boat ride over and doggies can travel free!  It was such a beautiful sunny morning with a very calm sea, so our humans were very pleased with themselves that they had chosen such a lovely day for our adventure!

Our boat:

Toffee and I had never been on a boat before so it was all very exciting when we stepped aboard. I must admit I wasn’t keen on some of the raspy noises when the boat engine got going, so I stayed standing to make sure everything was in order!  Toffee on the otherhand didn’t really care and laid down til we arrived!

Toffee on the boat:

I wanted to keep an eye on everything:

Once on the other side we started the walk around the island’s coastal path. With our noses either tilted up high or down to the ground and nostrils flaring, Toffee and I could really appreciate the full-bodied aroma of the island’s parfum; marine breeze top notes with fresh woody eucalyptus and pine coming through…oooo..aahhhh..and the after-smell of birds from the large enclosed nature reserve pond!

The island had everything required for a paradise doggie sniff and explore day!

The waters were so clear I could see my reflection.

Do you like my Dali pose?

Exploring the rocks:

My ocean girl pose:

Toffee ocean boy pose:

 The forest paths were easy to follow:

My forest girl pose:

The island is famous for its fortress prison (the Fort Royal), in which the so-called Man in the Iron Mask was held in the 17th century.

Just infront of the Fort Royal entrance:

Lots of humans like to go and see this but our humans preferred to walk around the outside of the fort instead….phew..its more fun outside!

There are some super views from here – can you see the snow capped mountains?

By mid afternoon we were all tired out and ready for the boat back to Cannes.  Whilst we were waiting we noticed that the plank boards used for walking onto the boat (little bridge planks) were left by the boat mooring.  So we all had some extra fun practise on them with yummy treats to perfect the art of ’embarking and disembarking’ the boat…(funny doggie word to use for getting on and off a boat…what’s ‘barking’ got to do with it?)

Practise time:

Once aboard with the boat preparing to set off, I didn’t notice the engine’s grinding, coughing and wheezing noises as much.  We had such a nice day, I was starting to think about dinner instead!

Disembarking:

We definitely have doggie sea legs and look forward to going again..perhaps we should visit the other island Saint-Honorat?

Thanks to Toffee and his human for making the day even more fun: