We spent the extended holiday weekend in the area where most of town and village names sounded like they were taken from Asterix. The area, called la Dombes, is an undulating plateau in the department of Ain consisting of 1200 ponds or rainwater pools  that are man-made, most of them as early as in the 15th century or even earlier, because at that time fish-breeding was considered by landowners a safer source of income than farming. The area of pools has since halved, but they are still used to breed carp and pike. Pools are also periodically dried to free ground to agricultural use.

Because of the terrain — practically flat — the area is ideal for hiking. On the other hand, because of the nature of the region — very humid — the trails can be very wet or muddy.

Pérouges But before we headed to the ponds we visited the nearby medieval village of Pérouges. When we got there it was late afternoon, just before the sunset, and the town was packed with tourists. People were lining up to buy local specialties, sweet galettes, which actually have nothing to do with what is commonly known as galette in France, which is either a savory crêpe made of buckwheat or a fruit pie. The streets paved with pebbles, rather than cobblestones, were extremely difficult to walk  — I wish the tourist office warns anyone planning to visit the town in heels.

Circuit of 11 ponds  Our first hike (13.75K in 3h 20mins) started from Saint-Nizier-le-Désert, about ten kilometers from our lodging in Chalamont. This hike passed a variety of landscapes typical to Dombes, such as forest, fields, and groves, and the ponds were well visible from the trail. We are not much of birdwatchers, but for someone who is the ponds are a heaven. We were impressed both by the number of birds and the variety of species from ducks to waders, from herons to egrets, and from swans to hawks. We also saw a couple of muskrats in one pond, and of course a lot of fish jumping.

Pond of Vavres This was quite a different hike (8.50K in 1h 55mins): it was foggy — the sun came out a little bit when we were returning to the car (the last picture) — and we visited only one pond. The day was — or at least felt — much colder than the previous one. Maybe it was the humid air with a moderate wind …  We only met a couple of joggers on our way, but just like the previous day, we heard frequent distant gunshots, and regretted not having orange vests with us.

La Madone of Mas Rillier  in Miribel

On our way home we visited the highest religious statue in France, erected in 1941, and the custom-made belltower with 50 bells, constructed in 1947, in Miribel, just north of Lyon. Together they are classified as a historical monument of France.