MAY 2014

NOT THE BEST START!  
Thursday 8th May 2014, After more than a year of planning we had only 2 more days until we would head to the Eurotunnel. We plan on being away for just over 5 months on this trip as we are returning in October to get Herman MOT'd and spend a month with family and friends before heading off to Goa for 3 months. I don't think it has actually sunk in yet that we have given up our jobs and don't have to try and cram in everything into 2 weeks. I was busy putting the last few bits in the cupboards when I noticed the box around a tube of Harissa paste was soft and damp. My heart sunk, immediately getting a flashback to that awful time in November when we had discovered the leak in our other motorhome. I could see a small drop of water coming off the cable from the solar panel where it came in through the roof. Glynn got up on a ladder to look but it was impossible to see as the gap between the panel and the roof was too small to get your hand in and all that was visible was a large circle of sealant around where the cable would be. We wondered whether, when Glynn had cleaned the roof a few days earlier, some of the water from the hose had gone over the top of the sealant and this had been slowly dripping in where the cable came through. The following morning, Glynn's last day at work, he had to ask his boss for an hour off so we could run Herman to our local service centre. It wasn't like he could say no as Glynn was leaving anyway that day!! He was fine about it and we shot over to Ardleigh to ask advice from Adam, our very knowledgeable service engineer. Without taking the panel off he couldn't see either and unfortunately he didn't have the time to do it that day so it would have meant cancelling our trip on the Eurotunnel the following day and waiting until the following week to try and get it looked at. He came up with an ingenious plan and gave us a long length of rubber trim which wedged perfectly between the panel and the roof. This would do as a temporary measure so that we could leave the following day as planned. As we weren't anticipating being in too much rain for the next few months and we were still hopeful that it was just where a puddle had formed from cleaning the roof we felt slightly more optimistic that our trip would go ahead as planned. We would need to remove the rubber once it stopped raining to allow an airflow under the panel.  Saturday 10th May 2014. We set off just after 10am and made good time to Folkestone as it was surprisingly quiet for what we expected on a Saturday. We were lucky enough to get on a train an hour ahead of our scheduled time. My one worry was how Glynn would get on with manoeuvring the much longer Herman on to the train but he did it with ease and 35 minutes later we were in France. We set off towards our first planned destination which was an overnight stop at a free Aire at Mesniéres-en-Bray. We had decided to keep toll roads to a minimum to avoid hefty charges now we were driving a tag axle and after an uneventful journey through some beautiful villages we arrived to find we had the Aire to ourselves. It had been raining on and off all day but had now stopped. We had wrapped a piece of paper towelling around the cable in the cupboard and when Glynn checked it was slightly damp indicating that some water was still slowly leaking in. Trying not to stress about it too much we went for a stroll and discovered a lovely castle in the village and after taking some photos we headed back as there was another big black cloud blowing in.

Chateau de Mesniéres en Bray

The wind was getting stronger and just as we got back the heavens opened again. Glynn had been given a lovely bottle of Taittinger Reserve Champagne by work colleagues so we cracked it open and raised a toast to our new adventure and also to a dear work colleague who had sadly recently passed away too young and so suddenly from cancer. It made us all the more aware that we were definitely doing the right thing in grabbing this opportunity now while we were young and fit enough to do it.  The motorhome has a perimeter alarm in addition to a normal alarm and when it was time to settle down Glynn set the perimeter alarm so that we would be alerted if anyone came close to the motorhome. It was around 2am that we were roused from a deep sleep by the perimeter alarm bleeping. Glynn jumped out of bed, forgetting where he was and head-butted the ceiling in his haste as the rear beds were raised above the garage area so were closer to the roof. I could hear him crashing into things and cursing in the dark and asked him what he was doing. "Trying to find a torch" was the reply.

All alone on the Aire!

 He found one and opened the door to look outside which in hindsight probably wasn't the ideal thing to do although with all the crashing, banging and cursing he had probably scared off any would be thief! It was still raining heavily and extremely windy and he couldn't really see anything. Satisfied that it was probably just a fox or something similar from the field surrounding the Aire we went back to sleep. The alarm went off again at 4.30am and again Glynn jumped out of bed and although this time he managed to avoid head butting the ceiling he stubbed his toe instead as he fumbled about in the dark. I lay in bed giggling while he cursed and again checked there was no one outside, although I am not sure what he would have done if there had been someone there! It was not the best night's sleep we'd had and it was almost a relief when it was morning. As we sat eating breakfast the alarm went off for the third time and as we were able to see that there was nothing outside we were reassured that the alarm had probably been activated by the extremely heavy rain. Glynn checked the cupboard and discovered more water had got in, this sent our stress levels up as we were now certain we needed to get it repaired and it wasn't just caused by a small collection of water from when he cleaned the roof. As the forecast was for rain on and off for the next 2 days we were a little anxious but it was with great excitement we set off for Mont St Michel where we planned on spending a week. It was exciting to think we were finally going to get there after our diversion last year meant we hadn't made it.  We arrived at Camping Haliotis at Pontorson which I had picked because of its excellent location, only 9km to Mont St Michel along a river

path. It was a stunning little site with a gorgeous pool area, large pitches and a lovely clean shower block. We had decided we would stay for a week and just relax while we got used to the idea that this was now our way of life. I emailed our dealer about the problem with the leak and he promptly authorised €100 towards the cost of having it resealed. Feeling reassured we then started phoning around trying to find a local dealer that could fix the leak. We eventually found a garage that could fit us in on the 21st May which was a lot better than one dealer who said he could fit us in June!! It meant travelling back the way we had come but we didn't mind the change of plan if it got the leak sorted.  The first couple of days at Pontorson were a mixture of rain and sun and there wasn't a long enough break in the weather for us to get the bikes out so we chilled, read books and looked at maps of places to visit.
  
MORE LEAKS.  
Tuesday 13th May 2014. As it was a damp start to the day Glynn was pottering around finding things to do while I was busy doing some forward planning on places to visit. While he was cleaning out the garage and rearranging everything he discovered there was water on the floor and his stress levels went up considerably. He removed the cover that protects the taps for the fresh and waste water drainage and found one of the end plugs had come loose. Breathing a sigh of relief that it appeared to be nothing serious he tightened it back up and carried on. A short while later he noticed water dripping from underneath the other side of the van. This sent his stress levels even further. God knows what our fellow campers must have thought at two pairs of legs sticking out from under the motorhome as we poked about underneath trying to see where the leak was coming from.

We decided that it was most likely the escape route for the water that had leaked in the garage and felt somewhat relieved that it wasn't something else that had gone wrong. To alleviate our stress levels we decided to get the bikes out and we had a lovely ride along the river path to Mont St Michel.After a brief exploration we headed back before the rain returned, feeling much more relaxed than we had earlier.

EVEN MORE LEAKS!!  Wednesday 14th May 2014.

On the Mont

Wednesday is market day in the village so after breakfast we went for a walk to see what was on offer. There was a mixture of new and second hand goods as well as vegetable, cheese, fish and meat stalls. The cheese stall had large urns of fresh cream cheese so we bought a small tub to try and then got some vegetables before heading back. Amongst our purchases was an enormous cauliflower that had cost €1.00. One of Glynn's favourite curries is a Goan chicken Xacuti so I suggested we try substituting cauliflower for the chicken to see if it worked. With the weather still threatening rain we had a quiet afternoon reading and then I got on with cooking the curry. Glynn opened a nice bottle of Corbieres wine that had cost an "extortionate" €1.50 from the Carrefour supermarket just around the corner and we settled down to enjoy our meal. For years Glynn has played a scoring game with my cooking where he will rate my food. He tends to reserve 10/10 scores for my curries and has occasionally given me an 11!! An 8 is high praise from Glynn if a meal doesn't involve chillies of some kind as he favours spicy food (the spicier the better). After we had finished eating he declared the curry a 10/10 and admitted he was surprised by how tasty it was and felt it was as good as a chicken Xacuti. It was just as well as I had only used a quarter of it so he had a lot more variations of cauliflower to try over the next few days! When Glynn was putting away the dishes he discovered a small amount of water in the cutlery drawer below the sink. After removing the drawer and checking the waste pipe he discovered their was a hairline crack. We couldn't believe it, yet another leak to deal with! This was getting beyond a joke now and I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Glynn applied some sealant and added some duct tape for good measure so hopefully this would hold until we could get a new part. The following day the weather finally cleared and it was forecast to be 5 days of sunshine.

Mont St Michel

We set off for the Mont again and enjoyed a few hours exploring and taking photos before returning for a leisurely lunch followed by an afternoon of sunbathing. After the two 18km rides we had done we decided to step it up a bit. I was still having to take it slowly following the two carpel tunnel operations I had late last year as it was a bit painful having my weight on my hands and this was the first proper cycling I had done since October last year.

We decided to do a longer ride the following day and when I checked my Garmin bike computer it showed there was a nice little town called Cherruiex 15kms away. We set off the following morning but just 6kms in to the ride Glynn (the king of punctures) got a puncture in his rear wheel. I

The puncture king!

helpfully took photos of his misfortune while he changed the inner tube! We set off again but re-programmed the Garmin to follow the road rather than cycle paths as this would hopefully minimise the chances of Glynn getting another puncture. We seemed to be cycling for ages and eventually 27kms later we arrived at Cherruiex! It was a lovely little village with a gorgeous beach and we sat on a bench to eat our packed lunch. I guessed the 15kms was as the crow flies rather than

Cherrieux beach

following the road! After a leisurely stroll along the beach we decided to head back. I programmed the Garmin and again it showed only 15kms via cycle paths so we set off. Only 5kms later Glynn got a slow puncture in his front wheel. He was concerned at using our last spare inner tube in case I got a puncture so he opted to pump it up instead. Because the Garmin had taken us along some paths that could only be described as rough and down a couple of dead ends, which resulted in Glynn cycling down someone's drive, we again opted to follow the roads. After 4 further

Another puncture

stops for Glynn to pump up the tyre (while I helpfully took further photographic evidence) we eventually arrived back with 54kms showing on the clock. Not bad considering we had set out expecting to do 30kms! We collapsed on to our loungers and chilled for a while before cooking dinner. Guess what was on the menu!! Yes more cauliflower, except this time I decided to make a macaroni and cauliflower cheese which Glynn had never had before. I also did a bolognese to go with it and Glynn rated it 8/10 which is high praise indeed when no spices are involved. I didn't want to push my luck with the cauliflower so decided we would steer clear of it for the next couple of days. 

Mont St Michel

I was keen to take some photos of the Mont at night so in spite of all the cycling we had done we set off again just before sunset. It was such a clear night that even after the sun had set it still wasn't very dark so after 30 minutes of waiting I took a couple of photos of the Mont and decided to call it a night. We had foolishly forgotten to change out of our shorts and it was now getting quite chilly. We opted to head back via the road as we thought we would be able to cycle faster and this proved correct.

I set up a fast pace, which surprised me considered the distance we had covered already that day (perhaps there is more to cauliflower than meets the eye, it could be the next superfood, move over blueberries!!) and with Glynn chasing me we were back at the campsite in no time. We hit a top speed of 33kms compared with the more leisurely 24kms from the earlier rides, not bad for our mountain bikes. This final spurt sapped the last of our energy and after a glass of wine we were ready for bed. When I checked the Garmin we had totalled 65kms which is 40 miles and it felt good to be clocking up some miles again after my enforced break.

The lovely pool

We decided that the next day would involve nothing more taxing than sunbathing and washing our bikes and that is exactly how the next day panned out, with the added bonus for Glynn of watching the FA cup final. The rest of the week was spent in a similar vein, walking, sunbathing and swimming. We had originally planned on leaving Pontorson on the Sunday but as we now had to head back to Guilberville to get the leak repaired we had opted to spend an extra day by the pool.  

WHAT IS IT WITH US AND WATER!!  
Monday 19th May 2014. We set off lunchtime as we had decided to spend the night at La Colombe on a farm listed in the France Passion book and then the following 2 nights on the Aire at Guilberville. It was only about 40 minutes to La Colombe and as we came off the motorway we both noticed a noise coming from the engine and it wasn't the sort of noise that brings good news with it!! We pulled over in the village centre and lifted the bonnet. There was clearly something wrong and it was obvious we were going nowhere. I think I had gone beyond stressed at this point and just resigned myself to whatever happened next. Our insurance included breakdown and recovery so I called them and they promised to send someone as soon as they could. It was only 40 minutes later that a low-loader arrived.

How to save on diesel!!

The mechanic listened to the engine, shook his head and explained in his best English that he needed to transport us to a garage at Avranches. He loaded Herman on to his truck and we set off. Both Glynn and I were nervous as he drove off as we expected him to strap our motorhome to his truck but all that he'd used was a block behind the front wheel. Glynn asked him if it was safe and he laughed and said yes. Each time he took a bend at fairly high speed we both nervously watched out of the window expecting to see Herman flying sideways in to a field! It was with some relief that we arrived at the garage a short time later. The mechanic at the Fiat garage was an English lad that had lived in France for 20 years so it was easy to explain what had happened. He was clearly knowledgeable and it took him all of 2 minutes to confirm our water pump had packed up. This was a shock as we had paid to have a brand new water pump fitted when it was having a new timing belt as part of its pre sales service so it had done less than 1000 miles. Luckily he had a new pump in stock and said he could start it first thing the next day and that we could park in their car park for the night. They even provided us with electric hook-up, now that's what I call good service. If he had started it straight away we wouldn't have been able to sleep in it so it was a great relief that we didn't have to go and find a hotel. It was also a great relief that it was something that could be fixed so quickly and we should still be able to make our appointment for Wednesday to get the leak from the roof fixed. I called our warranty company in the UK and after they received the emailed quote (estimated at €531.58!!) they confirmed they would cover the cost if I paid and then sent them the invoice when we returned to the UK. This was a relief and we started to feel a bit more relaxed about everything. After we were parked up and the garage had closed we cooked dinner. The garage was sandwiched between a motorway and a cemetery and we just hoped that the only noises we heard that night were from the motorway. Glynn set the perimeter alarm for peace of mind but because we were parked adjacent to another vehicle it kept flashing so we had to leave it off. It began to rain heavily again and I was nervous about the extension lead that the garage had put out to connect to our lead. Although Glynn had covered it with a bin bag the rain was so heavy that I had visions of Herman becoming live and electrocuting us so we decided to disconnect it. He set the main alarm and we polished off a bottle of wine before going to bed. It wasn't the greatest nights sleep between the noise of the rain and the motorway but at least the cemetery was quiet!!   

Tuesday 20th May 2014. It wasn't the best day weather wise to while away a few hours with frequent showers that fell throughout the day. We spent as much time as possible exploring the town but it wasn't very big and we soon ran out of places to explore. It was with great relief at 3.30pm when they told us it was done. When we went to pay the final bill was €592.85, this included €33 for 3 new wiper blades which we had agreed for them to fit but also a half hour fee for a test drive that had only been 5 miles when I checked the milometer, cheeky beggars!!

Our view at La Colombe 

We were grateful that most of this would be covered under warranty however on reading the policy we were covered for trips of up to 90 days but it wasn't clear from the wording if this meant that any breakdowns that occurred after 90 days wouldn't be covered or whether our current bill also wouldn't be covered if we didn't return with 90 days. As we planned on being away for over 5 months this was something we needed to look in to ASAP!! Now to try again to get to the farm at Colombe!

La Colombe

Wednesday 21st May 2014. After a quiet night on the lovely farm at Colombe we drove to Guilberville where we spent the morning exploring the village and relaxing before our appointment at 2pm at the garage.

Guilberville Aire

The Aire was perfectly located on the edge of the village next to the small industrial area which accommodated the Garage. This was ideal as we would need to be stationary for a few hours after the new sealant was applied to the solar panel. When we got to the garage I asked for an approximate cost and the guy advised me they charged €75 per hour and he expected it would take their mechanic between 1 and 2 hours. We'd had a problem with the habitation door keep making a very loud squeaking noise and Glynn had oiled it twice. When I opened the habitation door to show them where the leak was coming in the roof the door squeaked again. I indicated in sign language if they could oiI it as the lady didn't speak English and she indicated that it was no problem. Imagine my shock 2 hours later when they presented the final bill. We were charged 2 hours for sorting the leak when it had taken them 1.5 hours. I guess they only charge in whole hours!! We had also been charged an hours labour for removing the door, oiling the hinges and refitting it!! If I ever decide I need a new profession I know what line of work it's going to be in! With other sundry charges the total bill was €259.56. Although their comprehension of English was good enough to understand what we needed fixed, this comprehension clearly didn't stretch to understanding my challenge of the bill! I was absolutely livid and felt exploited but with little choice I paid the bill and we drove very slowly back to the Aire to wait for the sealant to set overnight. Over the course of the last 10 days we'd had so much worry and stress with the various incidents (all of which seemed to involve water) that I was hoping we had now had our quota and were due for some good weather and stress free times. At this point I realised I had left our ACSI ID card at the campsite at Pontorson so before heading south the following day we would need to head back along the now familiar motorway ,that we seemed to be spending most of our time traversing, to collect it. Glynn then confessed that whilst emptying the toilet cassette on our last day at the camp site he had rested the plug on the edge of the toilet waste unit and it had fell in. As we had a plug on our spare toilet cassette it wasn't a big problem and we fell about laughing and prayed that this was the last of our misfortune for the foreseeable future although I did query why he hadn't put his hand in and retrieved it!! We checked the weather forecast to help us decide where to head and it seemed that water was going to continue to dominate our lives for a while as the few brief days of glorious sunshine we'd had was unlikely to reappear for another week as the forecast was rain, rain and more rain. Well at least it might give Glynn a chance to even up the score on Trivial Pursuit!! 

Sunday 25th May 2014. 

At last the rain seemed to have run out of energy! We had spent Thursday night on another France Passion site at Beauvoir sur Mer. It was an organic farm and the owner gave us a tour, explaining the principles of their farming.

Hairy donkeys

It was quite sad to think of the poor chickens being slaughtered after ninety days and the pigs being slaughtered at one year old but that's nature I guess. The pigs were quite cute and loved having their heads scratched. The following morning we cycled to the coast which was only 3 kms away and then the heavens opened so we had to shelter before making a hasty return in between rain clouds.

Lovely pigs wanting their heads scratched

We had been hoping to cycle the causeway to Noirmoutier-en-L'Île however the tide was too high. We decided to head to a campsite at L'Houmeau, because of its easy cycling distance to La Rochelle and Il de Ré, where we planned on spending a week. As it transpired we only stayed two nights as, although the location was excellent, the shower facilities were not! The first evening we went for a lovely 5km walk in between the showers and as the forecast was for heavy rain the following morning we decided we would spend it catching up on the washing. When the sun finally broke free just after lunchtime we set off to Il de Ré. It was very windy and the ride over the bridge to the island was an energy

Cycle path on Il de Ré

sapping experience! I tried to get close to Glynn to ride in his slipstream but the wind had other ideas and was attacking me from the side. The island was beautiful and we spent an enjoyable two hours exploring. We stopped for an ice-cream at La Flotte and sat in the harbour watching the crowds enjoying the sunshine before heading back. The return journey was accomplished in half the time with the assistance of a tail wind and we clocked up 41kms in total and not a puncture in sight!!

The harbour at La Flotte

The following morning we planned on stopping at La Rochelle to explore the centre before heading to Il d'Oleron however our sat nav had other ideas! Motorhomes are banned from parking in the centre so we were going to stop at an Aire and cycle in however the sat nav got it wrong, trying to send us down a road that didn't exist so we carried on and stopped at a lovely Aire at Soubise, just on the outskirts of Rochefort. For now La Rochelle would have to remain on our "places to visit" list. The weather forecast, which originally indicated rain for the next week, was now showing a mixture of sun and clouds so it looked like we could be in for a good week of cycling.

The last working Transbordeur bridge in france

We went for a quick 20km ride of the local area and discovered the only remaining working transbordeur bridge in France. This traversed the river allowing access from where we were to the centre of Rochefort. As it was late afternoon we decided we wait until the next day to take the trip and headed back so that Glynn could watch the Grand Prix. There was a family of ducks in residence that wandered along the row of motorhomes and back throughout

Food please!!

our stay, making their presence heard and clearly looking for offerings. They were definitely partial to Tuc biscuits! 

Tuesday 27th May 2014

Yesterday we explored Rochefort centre and I have to say the best bit for me was crossing the river on the transbordeur as the town did little to excite me. As I have previously stated I am not a city girl and the only thing that's likely to appeal to me is interesting architecture. We did find a couple of interesting buildings and a replica tall ship that was being built in the harbour and after a coffee and muffin (as you do!!) we headed back and spent a relaxing evening watching “Britain's Got Talent”. Today we set off for Il D'Oleron where we planned on spending the next few days. Our first stop was another France Passion site; a vineyard and producer of cognac! Now those of you that know me will understand Glynn's trepidation as I am partial to a nice cognac.

Harbour at Saint-Denis

After parking up we decided to make the most of the sun and immediately set off on our bikes. Although our initial impression was that the island seemed much more commercial and less pretty than Il De Rey once we cycled to the lovely coastal villages it was like being transported to the Mediterranean. Lots of lovely whitewashed buildings and a beautiful blue sea with golden sandy beaches. We checked out our next destination, an Aire just outside Saint-Denis D'Oleron and decided it would be a good base for a couple of nights. It was formally a campsite so it was very large and unlike most Aires it had a shower block.

The beach at Saint-Denis

We cycled to the town and beside the harbour at Saint-Denis was a beautiful half-moon of beach that seemed to be completely sheltered from the wind so we decided we would bring a picnic back the following day and spend some time chilling. After a lovely couple of hours cycling and exploring we returned to the farm for lunch. Over 30kms cycled and not a puncture in sight!! After we had eaten we went in to the farm shop for some wine and cognac tasting!! The red wine we tried was not to my taste but needless to say the cognac was so we wandered back with me clutching my new purchase. Luckily for Glynn I opted for the €22.80 bottle rather than the €196 bottle!!

TESTING MY BLOOD PRESSURE

Thursday 29^th May 2014

We spent the last 2 days at the delightful Aire just outside Saint-Denis D'Oleron. When we arrived yesterday morning Glynn decided to test my blood pressure by nearly mowing down a tree. I was helping him reverse on to our pitch but he appeared to be taking no notice and was heading at a strange angle towards a small tree. I shouted at him to stop but he didn't hear me and it was only when I shouted even louder and banged on the side of Herman that he finally stopped, literally just 6 inches from the tree. I asked him what he was playing at and he grinned sheepishly and confessed that he hadn't actually been looking as he watching two guys chatting nearby! Unfortunately the noise managed to draw the attention of every one in the vicinity (they were probably thinking crazy English couple) and Glynn had a rapt audience as I directed him back into our space. Needless to say he concentrated fully this time and did a perfect reverse on to our pitch. While I put the kettle on he got the bikes out and no surprise he had a flat tyre again. Out of respect I didn't take photos of his plight (actually it was more to do with the fact that I was busy at the time) and after he repaired it we took a picnic and cycled back to the sheltered beach at Saint-Denis where we spent a lovely hour or two just chilling.

Chassiron lighthouse

When we left the beach we cycled to Chassiron to see the lighthouse before returning to spend the afternoon relaxing back at camp. After dinner we tried to watch “Britain's Got Talent” but we were now too far south and we were unable to get a clear reception so we opted for another game of Trivial Pursuit. I very quickly got five of my triangles and as per usual I was left with just the sport question to get. “Which former Welsh soccer player has an English rose tattooed on his arm and the FA Cup on his leg”? Surely only someone who has been up close and personal would know this!! “Who became the first Athletics World Championship gold medal winner of Aboriginal descent when she won the 400m in 1997”? What!! Who thinks of these questions for goodness sake!! Annoyingly sport mad Glynn knew the answers to almost every one that I got wrong, to be fair I couldn't even begin to guess at some of the answers the questions were so obscure. In no time he had caught me up and soon had all six triangles. I finally got a sport question right and we both had two or three attempts at landing on the centre square and answering the final question. He is a spoilsport and wouldn't let me read all the questions before deciding which one to give him, insisting I picked the colour first. when he next landed in the centre I picked brown as he had recently got several brown questions wrong. Would you believe it but the blooming question was sport related!!! “Which former sport star's book “I Want To tell You” became a US best-seller the week after his 1995 trial began. Even I knew it was OJ Simpson so now we had won one game each. I think it might be time to update our question pack as we are still using the 20^th Anniversary edition cards.

The following morning dawned bright and sunny so we decided it was finally time to get the road bikes out and do some serious cycling. I am always a bit nervous when we first go out on the road bikes as it takes me a while to get used to the cleats. There has been more than one occasion when I have pulled up at a junction and forgotten to unclip from my pedals with painful results, evident by the permanent scar on my right knee. Whether it was the lack of traffic or an indication of how relaxed I was but the ride went well and we were soon doing a good pace. I even clocked that we were speeding at one point as we were going through a village with a 30km speed limit and we were doing 32kms. I felt confident and was enjoying the ride when Glynn noticed some big black clouds closing in. Reluctantly we decided we ought to head back and rode hard to try and beat the rain. We got back just in time to put the bikes away before it rained which meant we only got to do 23kms instead of the bigger ride we had planned but it was no problem as we would have lots of opportunity for more rides. It was only half an hour later that the rain blew over and we spent the rest of the day doing odd jobs and relaxing on the loungers enjoying the sun.

French bagpipes!!

As we sat relaxing the silence was suddenly broken by the sound of bagpipes. It seemed at odds with the location and up to that point we had been the only British van on the Aire. I wandered over to see if there was a fellow Brit nearby and was greeted by the sight of a Frenchman sitting outside his motorhome playing bagpipes. Not something you see every day.

When we had arrived the day before the Aire had been 75% full but with a steady stream of vehicles arriving all day it was now full. We realised it was a French bank holiday weekend and not knowing how busy sites would get we decided to call our next planned campsite at Les Mathes near Royen and book a place for 4 nights over the weekend so that we didn't have the worry of turning up and finding they were full. It became quite entertaining as more and more motorhomes continued to arrive trying to squeeze in to every available space and there were now in excess of 150 motorhomes on site. One van tried to squeeze in the gap between us and our neighbour and what ensued was a very heated argument with lots of shouting and gesticulating which culminated in the new van moving off to find somewhere else to park. I should probably point out that the shouting and gesticulating was from our neighbour and not from Glynn!! I was relieved that in the morning we would be heading to a campsite for a few days.
 

Friday 30^th May 2014

We left at 10am and it was noticeably busier on the roads, indicative of the bank holiday traffic. It was only a forty minute drive to our next stop so by lunchtime we were safely parked up and ready to get out on the bikes again. The campsite was called La Palombiére at Les Mathes and was a stunning site set in woodland.

Our pitch at La Polombiére

It was only 4kms from the beautiful beaches of the Cote Sauvage and the area was filled with cycle paths. We set off as soon as we'd had lunch and cycled to the beach and then followed the cycle path to La Palmyre. There was a lovely Aire right beside the beach at €8 per night so we decided that we would spend the weekend at the campsite and get all the washing done and then move on to the Aire for a night or two. After a lovely hour spent sunbathing on the beach we headed back to camp to cook dinner and relax. As we could no longer get a TV reception we decided to play Trivial Pursuit again. It wasn't long before we both had all six triangles and were desperately trying to land on the centre square and answer the last question correctly. For more than half an hour we tried and failed to land on the centre square and answer the crucial question correctly. Glynn finally landed on the centre square again and I opted for the brown category. “Who had a wife called Sarah and a son called Julian but is better remembered for his black and white cat” You are kidding me!! I am about to lose a game of Trivial Pursuit because of Postman Pat!! That makes it 2-1 to Glynn.

Saturday 31^st May 2014

Saturday is market day at La Tremblade which was only about 9kms from our campsite so after breakfast we set off in search of another bargain cauliflower! Unfortunately the market seemed much bigger and more expensive than the market at Pontorson so we came away with just a small sieve for the bargain price of €2. We stopped at a supermarket on the way back to get a cauliflower and then headed back to make a packed lunch to take to the beach.

We had now been away for 3 weeks but it still didn't feel any different to a normal holiday at this stage, the main difference we noticed was that there was less urgency about trying to cram everything in and less panic when it rained as we knew there would be lots more sunny days to be enjoyed. It had been a slightly more stressful start to our big adventure than planned but we seemed to be back on track and fingers crossed the biggest dilemma we would face in the future would be which road to take. In spite of the rain during the early part of our travels we had still managed to clock up 334kms on our bikes and we had seen some amazing places. Our plan for June is to head down the coast slowly via Bordeaux and the Dune Pilat making our way to Biarritz and then maybe dipping in to northern Spain before we meet friends in the Pyrenees at the beginning of July. Hopefully we will be able to get a few more miles in on the road bikes too.