Time seems to flying, we have already been away for over 3 weeks! This week we have moved on from the surfing beaches of Bicarrosse to the Islands off the west coast of France.
The Dune Du Pilat
One of the things on our bucket list on this trip was to visit the Dune du Pilat near Arcachon. It is the tallest sand dune in Europe and is constantly growing and encroaching on the forest, burying everything in its path. It reportedly is advancing at a rate of between one and five metres a year. It was an awesome sight and a hugely popular tourist attraction. It was hard work getting to the top, seemingly taking 2 steps forward and one step back as the sand is so soft. Fortunately there is a stair section to get up the steepest bit. We realised how fortunate we were with our timing when we got to the top and there was a French school trip with about 100 reception aged kids playing in the sand with their buckets at the top. Imagine following them up the steep climb! It was very cute seeing the neat rows of tiny shoes waiting at the bottom. The views from the top across the miles of golden sand were spectacular, both out to sea and across to the forests.
We were struck with how much the forest fires last summer had destroyed parts of the area. We drove past several campsites that had been burnt to the ground and were still being rebuilt and hundreds of acres of burnt out forest that were still being cleared. You don’t realise how fragile the environment is.
French Island Life – Il de Oleron
Having already visited the Il de Re a few times we decided we would venture further afield and see what the Il de Oleron was like. The weather was still not with us for our first day there so we took advantage of a duvet day, reading and catching up with some blog writing. It is also the rule when travelling in Nelson that on a wet day in the van, lunch is always super noodles – always curry flavour! By the end of the solid day of rain, Richard was getting stir crazy while I was in my element. Luckily it dried up by late afternoon and we set of on a cycle ride to explore the fishing port of La Cotiniere.
The cycle paths on the island are clearly signed and easy to follow. On our second day there, the sun came out and we decided to cycle to the far north of the island and the Phare de Chassiron lighthouse. It was a long trek (over 55km in total) but the light house was quite magnificent and the gardens surrounding it were very pretty.
Another great find was the artist huts at Baudissiere, a very bohemian collection of brightly painted reclaimed oyster huts that housed a variety of artists studios and retail outlets.
The Huttopia campsite on Oleron was right by a rocky beach from which we took in one of the most fabulous sunsets of our trip so far. It was a really quiet site, tucked away in the woodlands and we had the whole place practically to ourselves for the 3 nights.
French Island Life – The Il de Re
We have visited the Il de Re a couple of times and were very excited to return. Our first visit nearly 20 years ago was on a Eurocamp holiday with our very young children. We had such happy memories of that trip, eating ice creams on the harbour walls and spending hours on the beach. I also remember how hot and busy it was as we could only travel in the peak season summer holidays. Our second trip was when we first got Nelson 5 years ago and visited at Easter, the weather on this occasion was varied and the island was just waking up after a long winter.
On this trip we only intended to stay for a few nights but the island has worked its charm on us and we have already extended our stay to a week. We chose to stay at another Camping Huttopia site that we booked through our ASCI card at €19 a night. It is in the centre of the island and a short cycle ride to the picturesque town of Flotte which was voted the most beautiful town in France in 2021, and I can see why.
We have literally cycled for miles between the villages and beaches, not having to move the van at all in the last 4 days. There is a fabulous atmosphere on the island and a varied collection of tourists. The campsites are all getting full and there is a clamour for the spare pitches in the afternoons. We were fortunate that the site that we had targeted had a space for us. I will do a separate blog on the Island mid week as there is just so much to write about. We have easily fallen into a pattern of cycling in the morning exploring before retiring to the pool in the shade for the afternoon.
The highlight of our week was a cycle into St Martin de Re on Friday evening and sitting in a lovely restaurant overlooking the harbour sharing a nice cold bottle of Rose. It is quite fascinating people watching. St Martin attracts such a variety of tourists, from the French Parisienne high society out dressed up elegantly for dinner to the dutch and English campers more casually attired. Being an island famed for its oysters, the restaurants are all very heavily fish based, so I am not feeling the pull of eating out, to me it looks like platters from an 'I’m a celebrity get me out of here' bush tucker trial!!
Renewed love of cycling
I have always been a keen cyclist, but for various reasons we have not really been out on the bikes for the past 18 months. The Cycle paths on the island have made it so easy to get out and about and get some miles back on the saddle. On the Il de Oleron, we decided to head out to the lighthouse on the north of the island which was a 55km round trip. It was a fab day out and we were surprised how fit we felt (it helps that the island is flat!) so far we have cycled nearly 250km so hopefully will have some bike fitness when we get back to the Dales. Then I will really have to work hard, the only way out of any of the villages is up!
The sun has arrived
It’s fair to say the weather for the first half of our trip dictated where we travelled to as the forecast in the mountains of the Picos and Pyrenees was just WET everyday. We managed to keep one step ahead of the rain and actually the clouds kept the heat to a nice temperature. This week the sun has arrived and wow have we noticed the difference! However we have managed to keep cool with many stop offs on our cycle rides for a quick dip in the sea.
Early retirement goals update
Keeping with our mantra that we are not on holiday, we are merely using our early retirement time to travel and explore new places, we have tried hard to keep to our early retirement goals and routines. We are smashing it at the moment! We have pretty much kept to our weekly budget of €140 (£120) for food and drinks. We are not including campsite fees. We are living on Grilled meats on the bbq and fresh salads most days and eatings plenty of fresh fruit. We are heavily active, cycling and hiking for miles every day. I have read 3 books so far and am really enjoying just chilling out and switching off. We are slowly filling our summer with visits from friends and family and are so excited to show people our new home. I have published the blog every week and we have released 2 YouTube vlogs a week. Maybe we should just stay on the road forever!!
We have just under 2 weeks left and no idea where we are off to next, we just know our ultimate destination is Caen to catch the ferry home a week on Thursday!
Have a great week
Jackie and Richard
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