We were woken well before the alarm (the numbers must have got lost in translation somewhere) by a phone call at 5:10am …….”yes we can fly this morning and we will pick you up at the campsite gate at 6:20am”. So having kept Eileen in a ready state to leave early, we didn’t need to, and there was time for us to have a quick shower before being whisked off in Renata’s car, back to the Chateau de Montrecour.
As the church bells tolled at 7am, we finally lifted off. It was a different balloon from the one last night, a smaller basket, but with the same beautiful painting of a kingfisher on the side.
We floated so gently over the chateau and followed the mist down the Dordogne Valley. As we neared the Chateau des Milandes (a former home of Josephine Baker) we rose up to 1,200 metres and caught an airstream moving in the opposite direction.
We were now floating up the valley, over Beynac-et-Cazenac and towards the Chateau de Castelnaud. The Chateau de Marqueyssac on the opposite side of the Dordogne, was still in the mist which drifted around below us. Patrick took us right over Eileen sitting so far below in the campsite and then we drifted directly over the Chateau de Beynac.
As 8am approached we headed back to where we had taken off, but the breeze didn’t get us quite far enough and we landed, oh so smoothly, in a field nearby. Renata and Bernard arrived in cars and as Patrick kept the balloon hovering just above the ground, they held the basket and walked us through the long wet grass, pulling us nearer to the road. Then when we were back on solid ground and had all helped to pack the balloon and the basket on to their trailer, we passed around coffee, tea, fresh apple juice and croissants. It was a most wonderful experience and far better than our original planned treat of a night in a posh hotel (we would have missed Eileen). We both thought we might be a bit scared, but we weren’t and it was just magical being up there looking down on castles that we had previously been looking up at.
Back at the campsite we did some cleaning, washing, research, had lunch and then hopped on our bikes and cycled over to the Chateau de Marqueyssac. The ride there wasn’t too hard, but the approach up the hill, had us both walking and pushing our bikes. We spent hours walking around a lot of the 6kms of walking trails, admiring some of the 150,000 boxwoods, which are pruned by hand twice a year by five gardeners. As well as the chateau, there are sculptures, an aviary, waterfalls, hidden seats, a chapel, rotunda, rock gardens, stunning cliffs, huts and towers and some fantastic views from promontories that enable you to see every chateau in the area.
Funniest sight for today: a man pushing a small dog in a pushchair around the gardens. There was a sign on the back of the pushchair saying ‘ chien gentil maitre lunatique’ . We’ve tried translating it, but we’re not sure if the man is the mad one, or if it’s the dog in the pushchair that is mad…..? Translations gratefully received.
Before leaving we had ice creams, cassis flavour for moi and it was Rodney who had the chocolate one today!
We cycled so fast back down the hill to the river, that even in sixth gear, there was no point in peddling; I reckon we hit 40 miles per hour! As we approached the Dordogne River we could see a chateau in every direction, Beynac, Castelnaud, Marqueyssac, Fayrac and all the beautiful villages surrounding each of them; this really is a most amazing area to immerse yourself in.
We stopped in Castelnaud and walked up more winding, steep paths to the castle walls. Thirsty from the ride, the walk and the heat we drank three cold drinks between us. The beer and the wine are cheaper than soft drinks, but we really needed water and frais eau, rather than any alcohol at that point (especially me). When we got back to the campsite we dived in to the, rather chilly, pool to cool off. It had the desired effect because the clouds came over and everything cooled down. Despite all the calories we have burned today, we just weren’t hungry for anything more than a nice bowl of soup, some chocolate and grapes. And after such an early start today, we now need an early night, so bonne nuit.