After our short stay in Niort we headed for Bordeaux and after a brief stop there for lunch, made our way to the coast. Instead of sightseeing we headed straight to the Aire to have a quiet afternoon of lazing about.
The ticket machine at the Aire we had chosen near Lacanau would not accept any of our cards and there was, annoyingly, no cash option. I did however fish a stuck piece of paper out of the machine and realised it was the voucher for two nights stay bought 2 hours earlier at a pricey €11 a night. Obviously the previous user hadn't taken it and, as it contained the access code to the boom gate, they must have left without entering. We hesitated for a while and even drove off in search of somewhere else however found no where adequate to stay. Not wanting to see a paid night's accommodation go to waste and seeing as we couldn't pay ourselves, we headed back, punched in the number and to our delight, the boom gate opened. We're hoping nothing comes back to bite us for that one...
The vegetation in this area is drastically different to anything we've seen yet and reminds me a lot of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. Sandy roads, pine forests everywhere, blue sky and a hot sun. We had a relaxing afternoon reading, napping and watching a movie. No blog writing, photo sorting or trip planning in sight.
The next morning we awoke fresh and ready for a new day. It's amazing how much a short break can revitalise you. We made our way around the Arcachon Basin past farmsteads and towns with the cutest little houses and ended up at Dune de Pilat, Europe's largest sand dune. Moving at 4.5 meters inland a year it is 3kms long and has already swallowed a road junction, hotel and large parts of a protected forest.
We donned suncreen, hats and sunglasses and set off to climb to the top of it's peak which is a massive 114m above sea level. Quite an amazing sight right next to the ocean. The first section up is aided by 200 stairs but the rest is a tough climb on very soft and dry sand. The view from the top is spectacular. On one side is the magnificent blue of the Atlantic Ocean and the sandy shoals at the mouth of the Arcachon Basin. On the other side, the deepest darkest green of the pine forest. In between there is the sparkling of tonnes and tonnes of golden sand. We sat at the top for quite a while taking it all in.
Heading down is quite different with no stairs to assist you. Instead you practically ski down with your feet completely disappearing with each step as they get swallowed by the sand. At the bottom we enjoyed icees, browsing through the shops and emptying our shoes. The tourists sure would do a fair bit to slow the dune with the amount of sand that came out of our shoes!
It was 5pm but we decided to head on to our planned destination in Luzech. This is a magnificent time to travel, especially in this region. Between 6 and 8 the setting sun casts a golden glow across the countryside which is a wonderful sight while driving past corn fields, vineyards and sunflower fields. And it isn't dark till after 9.
Luzech is a little town near Cahors, right on the Lot River. This magnificent watercourse winds its way through the area in spectacular style. Matt and his family spent two weeks at a farmstead near Cahors called La Fage when he was here in 2004 and had such a wonderful time suggested we stop here for a while. As such, last night we spent our third night in Luzech. This allowed us to spend the last two days casually exploring this stunning area.
On Tuesday we drove along the banks of the river east to Cahors. The scenery here is breathtaking and every bend elicited more oohs and ahhhs from me. I don't know what it is about vineyards and old towns, but I go googaa over them. Needless to say we have many photos of rolling fields with vines, old farmsteads and adorable streets with stone buildings, flower boxes and wooden shutters.
Cahors had all this and more. We lazed about in the 32 degree heat over lunch (which we can now fully order and pay for in French), wandered about the Pont Valentre (an old Roman bridge across the river) and visited an old fountain Matt collected water from in 2004.
Jealous of passing motorhomes with bikes on their bike rack, we took the opportunity of being in a big enough town to finally purchase two bikes. Now that we are past the biggest sightseeing places in the UK and Paris, we'll have more time to explore smaller places and what better way than on a bike.
"Bonjour, je voudrais deux vellos sil vous plait" I stated confidently to the man in Intersport. He then fired off in rapid French to which I replied "Je ne parl pa Francaise." He said he was shocked I didn't speak French because he understood me. He kindly spoke to us in English after that and helped us pick bikes and spent time checking over them to ensure they were OK.
When we were going through the cash register I noticed the bikes scanned through at €30 more than they should have, despite being on sale. Keen to save the €60, I gestured and muttered random words in French that I had seen on the sale sticker. After 2 phone calls we couldn't understand (although I started to get worried when I heard a word like 'security'), and the check out guy continuing to speak French at me, I wrote down the price the sale sign had stated and was successful. I was immensely pleased with myself. Those situations are awkward enough at home let alone when neither person can understand each other. And yes, now we have bikes :) We headed home for a relaxing evening in our Aire right on the river.
Wednesday was another relaxing day with even more vineyards and cuter towns as we drove to Montcuq, via La Fage.
Matt spend two weeks there in 2004 and has some very fond memories of it, so he was keen to have a peep.
La Fage is a small farmhouse located about 500 meters up a winding driveway from the road between Bagat-en-Quercy and Sauzet (for those of you following on Google Maps). The farmhouse is available as holiday accommodation for people visiting the region.
It can't be seen from the main road, and there's nowhere to park nearby, so we entered the driveway. Keep in mind, this house is for use by holiday-makers, so there may or may not be anyone there.
After 200 meters, Matt became concerned that we wouldn't be able to turn around in the driveway and he'd be forced to reverse the 6 metre van with no rear-vision mirror all the way out, possibly with angry tenants chasing us. We found a spot where we could turn around and hid the motorhome (kind of like hiding an elephant, but we sort of managed it) and proceeded on foot.
Another 200 meters up we found the house. Matt thought it looked exactly the same as it did 7 years ago, and took a bunch of pictures before we hightailed it back to the motorhome. After sneaking our 3 tonne house off private property (only a 6 point turn required) we were on our way to Montcuq.
We arrived there during siesta where all the shops, bar the restaurants and cafes, shut down from 12:30 to 3pm. It gives the town a very eerie feeling.
We then wound our way to Chateux de Bonaguil, west along the Lot from Luzech, and wandered around the massive castle ruins built high up on a giant rock. A little more driving through indescribable countryside, and we were back at Luzech in time for happy hour.
Sent from my iPhone
This is fab guys, so glad you went to lafage. Nenu wants t know whether you remember drving up and down the driveway? Did you collect water from the magic wells? Did caix have a canoe hire place on the river bank? Did you get puncture repair kit and pump with the bikes? Nenu says the description of the sand dume was worth publishing Rachel. So valuable that you have 'rest days' ... It'll keep you going. Had much phone fun with you last night.
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