It is with a small pang in the heart that we write these lines. Yes, we know that if our beautiful island closes, it is the better to come back. But still.
The dreaded moment has arrived. On October 31, 2021, the island of Bendor fell into a deep sleep from which it will only wake up in 5 years. 5 years of facelift, 5 years of planned complete transformation, 5 years of mystery finally lie ahead of us.
Please note, we are delighted that the attention is being focused on this beautiful island. Indeed, although being the most beautiful of all for us, she really needed a facelift! And the future looks bright for this island that Paul Ricard was so particularly fond of… and us too.
Bendor for me is the island I grew up on. My grandfather and my uncle were both sailors. They took care of taking people from Bandol, tourists and locals to this little paradise. My oldest memories go back to a long time ago! The time when the island still housed a small zoo in its heart. The time when the processions on August 15 took us straight to the top of the island in the middle of the night, from up there, we could see Bandol light up with a thousand lights. The time when we snapped up necklaces with little lollipop pendants, created by the island's glassblower.
Bendor is the smell of summer. When the Bandol beaches were full of vacationers, we headed straight for this piece of land, towards the rocks, located on the broad side. Towels spread out, we set off for a day away from everything and above all in complete harmony with the sea. The smell of the sea spray mixed with the salty notes of my tomato bread (my family's specialty) still reaches me.
Bendor is also about the great moments of life. Between weddings, birthdays and other events celebrated at Grand Large or even at Delos. The laughter, the tears, the smiles that we were able to share from generation to generation will remain in our memories thanks to family photos.
Finally Bendor, and here I speak on behalf of all the Bandolais teenagers, it was also the inaccessible stone in terms of price. We then hastened to join him in the most total illegality (we can say it now) by swimming across. Inflatable boat or filled waterproof bag, we were heading towards the beach of the island to go jump to the rock. A rock that seemed immense to me when I was younger, so high... And yet, every day of the summer you could be sure to find all the kids from Bandol, lining up to jump into the water from this mythical (mini) cliff.
Bendor is more than an island, it's a story. A story that every Bandolais has been able to experience on this little piece of land. A story which marked each of us and which means that today, as I write these lines, I realize how much it all meant to me, to us. And yes, we will see it again in a new light, and this island of Bendor, this real island, may disappear physically, but it will remain engraved deep in our hearts.
So Bendor, we wish you the best. We hope that these years of work will restore your original beauty. We hope to be able to come and set foot on your soil again to spend many moments with family, experiencing new emotions. See you in 5 years our dear island, take care of yourself.
To find out everything about the work, discover the site dedicated to this beautiful “Renaissance” project:
Also note that other islands are located near Bandol : Porquerolles the magnificent and the beautiful island of Embiez. To find out more about these, click here:
Finally to end this article, here are some photos that will soon become archives, from Bendor before its closure:
If you would like to share your photos of the island with us, so that we can publish them on this page, please do not hesitate to contact us at bandoltourisme@bandoltourisme.fr.
