Idling Around The Île d’Oléron

So here we go, travelling from over here to over there.  Not sure yet where over there is, but at the end of this jaunt in Reggie I guess we’ll find out.

Wednesday 4^th May 2022

We had breakfast guests again and then the two of us set off on our new bicycles for the first serious ride.  My new E-bike has been named Apollo…..because that’s what is written on it….simples.  There are cycle routes all over the Île d’Oléron, so it’s a good place to get back in the saddle again after six years of non-peddling. I only used my leg power all the way from the campsite to Saint Pierre d’Oléron and I have to say that my new noseless saddle turned out to be a brilliant purchase. It’s way more comfy than a traditional saddle.

We wandered around the streets for a little while, then stopped for drinks in a café until the Charltons drove into town.  The four of us ate French quiches (first ones in France this trip) sitting in a pretty park, then we farewelled our chums and set off again on our bikes.  We cycled across vineyards back to the west coast at La Cotinière, still only using pedal power. The dark chocolate gelatos (first ones in France this trip) were really delicious and provided more fuel for the cycle back up the coast road to the campsite.  On this section of the trip, I did use warp factor 1 to help me fight the head wind and I left Rodney metres behind when I briefly hit warp factor 2.  I’m keeping warp factor 3 as back up for a hill one day. Back at the campsite Julia joined us at the indoor swimming pool for a while; the 27c water was a lovely temperature to wiggle around in after cycling approximately 18kms.

Kevin drove us back over to Saint Pierre d’Oléron in the evening for a very tasty fish and asparagus meal at the Auberge Saint Pierre.  It was rather chilly sitting outside this evening, but the fantastic, warm, chocolate souffle made up for the lack of warm clothing.  Tomorrow morning, we will pack the bikes back on the rack, roll in the awning and head further south without our old friends.

Thursday 5^th May

It took us a while to complete the whole ‘pack up and go’ procedure.  Not necessarily because we were out of practice; there’s just a lot to do when you’ve really settled in for a few days.  The awning was wet with condensation and as we rolled it in, the water was squeezed out and dripped all over the ground sheet.  I was very glad we had already stowed the table and chairs.  The toilet was emptied (did you really want to know that?!!! But it’s all part of the pack up procedure). After a final goodbye to Julia and Kevin, we drove out of Camping Le Suirot near L’ Îleau and drove down the coast road as far as Saint Trojan Les Bains.  We stretched our legs around the village and out on to the quay. A lot of the old, brightly coloured fisherman sheds had now become artists’ studios, or cafes and restaurants and absolutely every eatery had oysters and mussels on the menu, funny that, for a fishing village.

Before we left the campsite, the German man in the motorhome next to us, the Yorkshire man with two large black labradors and the lady on reception all told us the weather was ‘bad down south’. One of them even reported snow on the mountains in Spain!  But we weren’t going to stay where we were any longer.  We headed off the island and ‘down south’.

At Saintes we decided to save some time and joined the péage to Bordeaux.  Just north of the city, we threw in a quick pit stop at the pretty Aire de Christoly for the usual lunch, to which we added a bit of Brie today, Wendy.  When we got to the end of the péage I had the old fun of paying the toll. Yet again, just like in Eileen, Reggie was too short for the truck ticket slot and too tall for the car one.  With seatbelt released and a big stretch out of the window I managed (just) to pay the €16.30 using the truck one. Reggie managed to bypass Bordeaux very smoothly and we turned off west out to Cap Ferret.  We drove south, right down to the furthest point of the land spit, until we couldn’t drive any further.  Sadly the dunes were blocked to access, but the view across the Bassin d’ Arcachon to the enormous Grande Dune du Pilat (the highest dune in Europe) on the opposite side of the channel was lovely.

From there we retraced our route back north to the quite small Camping Le Cigale and set up our home on wheels for two nights. We spent the day doing a load of washing, catching up on emails, etc., then went for a bike ride into the village of Arés. We cycled to the water’s edge, along to the east, out to the north edge of town and then back to the campsite with tonight’s dinner.  While Rodney prepped Reggie for Saturday’s departure, I whipped up pork and mushrooms in a cream and pepper sauce served with carrots and new potatoes; our first proper home cooked meal this trip.