Aboard the Edmond Dantes

This day started with a stroke of good luck. I wanted to take the ferry to the Isle d´If, which holds the famous Chateau D´If, prison to Alexandre Dumas´ Edmond Dantes (pre-Counthood), and some non-fictional characters to boot. Judging from the map, I thought the ferry to the island would depart about a mile down the coast from my hotel. Considering how much I´ve been walking this trip (the only thing keeping my weight down), one more mile would be easy. Before I set off for a poorly-researched destination, I thought I´d check out the actual Vieux Port, a few blocks from the hotel, and where all the boats are. Right at the head of the port was a huge ticket booth for ferries to the Chateua. Only 5 euro one way for a timeless story, definitely worth it, especially since I didn´t have to walk all that way. I was quite pleased when I saw that the name of my ferry was the "Edmond Dantes". I think all the other ferries were named after other characters from the novel, but I felt like I got the best one. It´s like when you get to be Batman when you´re playing Superheroes. The other boats were like playing Robin.
Twenty minutes later, I alit on a tiny limestone island with one large prison. And a gift shop of course. The prison was a series of cells, some would rate more stars than others, with some rooms displaying history of the Isle, and the novel that made it famous. One cell connected to another, with a tunnel ressembling where Edmond Dantes met his mentor in "The Count of Monte Cristo". It made me want to read the book (or watch the movie) right away, and from the very top of the prison, there was an amazing view. I brought a sandwich from my favorite boulangerie and ate it on the limestone wall overlooking the glassy sea.

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