France 2013, Day Twelve, Charente Maritime

Day twelve, Wed 15th May

Warm but not very sunny, so we picked today for our drive to La Rochelle.  After last years short visit to La Rochelle on our way back north, we said we would come back for a longer look around, next time we were in the area.

We drove to the car park next to the Aquarium de la Rochelle, where we had parked last time, it made sense to park somewhere we knew and somewhere close to the old town. This time I drove straight there and didn't get lost like last time.

We walked in a different way to last time and made our way around to the far side of the harbour, we had to pass the green lighthouse this way.

Dot checked out the boat trips but I was not keen on that, the sea wasn't very calm and the sun could not make it's mind up today, one minute it was shining, next it was overcast.

Through a gate in the town ramparts, we came to a large car park, I didn't expect that.   There was an information plaque, proudly announcing that the old fishermen's huts had been demolished to make way for the shiny new car park, sigh. We climbed up onto town ramparts at la Tour de la Chaine (the chain tower I assume), and set off along the wall towards the Tour de la Lanterne (it was once used as a lighthouse).

After the Tour de la Lanterne, we continued to follow the wall to La porte des Deux-Moulins, a gate and through it, a small part of the old fortification.  At the end of the wall, was a beach with a couple of cafés, we though about eating there but instead headed back in to the old town when it started to spit rain.

The rain didn't come on in the end,  so I went down into a shallow valley to take some photos of a bridge, not realising I was in part of the old fortifications, the ditch outside the ramparts.

Now sunny walking back into the centre we looked at the menus boards several restaurants but didn't go in any, the one we did fancy, an Indian, was closed.  Back at the harbour we got frites and mayo and sat in the sun eating them with a fantastic view of the towers.  After our chips, I spotted a view down a side street that I though would make a good photo.  So as dot wandered towards the shops, I started to take the shot, only as I was focusing on auto, there was a loud bang from inside the camera.  It stopped working (it still doesn't work), luckily I had a spare camera with me and Dot also had hers, so from now all the photos are from a different cameras.

We went through the Grosse Horloge (an old city gate), to where all of the shops are.  I had a few problems getting the replacement camera to work and get it set up properly and was messing with it as we walked the many shopping streets.  We went into a small supermarket for some water and surprisingly I got some new beers in there.

After a long walk around the shops we went back to the harbour and had a drink of water in the sun, while I messed some more with the camera.  We then headed back to the car, I didn't think I could walk much more today anyway.  Back at the car Dot asked where the water was, it must have been back at the harbour where we were sat, my bag was already so heavy with beers I didn't miss one bottle of water.

We didn't drive straight back to the site but headed instead to Fouras.   There we drove round the peninsular that Fouras sits on and stopped a various points on the coast.   I got a photo of Le Fort Énet, before eventually parking up near the centre and walking along the promenade towards Fort Vauban.

Dot bought some souvenirs from the shop in the fort and we had a quick look around but I had already walked too far for today and it was starting to get cold, so we set off back to the car.

I could see a lighthouse in the distance so before driving back to the campsite, we drove along some very narrow roads to find it.

Day Eleven or Day Thirteen

France 2013, Day Eleven, Charente Maritime

Day eleven, Tue 14th May

It was overcast again on the morning, still warm though, so again we went for a drive. We headed to Lidl first to stock up and then continued over the viaduct onto the Île d'Oléron. We had no plan as to where we were going, we just headed for places we had not visited previously.

The first place we intended to visit was Boyard-Ville, a place with a view of Fort Boyard, we got off to a good start as I took a wrong turn at the first place I could take a wrong turn. In Boyard-Ville we drove into the main square and parked but there were parking meters, so we pulled off and drove round to the beach following the signs for view of Fort Boyard. There were also parking meters there but on further investigation, it was only a few cents for an hour so we paid and set off to see the view.  We walked along the sand to the mouth of the channel and the view of Fort Boyard.

That photo was taken with a ten times zoom but there is a view, there was a cool breeze on the shore so we walked back to the car. We still had plenty of time left on the parking ticket, so we walked along the channel to the square in town we had passed through.   It was quite busy and there were lots of shops and restaurants and plenty of people eating but it was still cool.

Next we drove across the island to the West coast and La Cotinière, I had seen a lighthouse there on the map, that is the only reason I drove there. By the time we arrived the sun was out and the temperature was rising. We parked in a free car park set in the sand dunes, near centre of the town. From the car park we walked onto the beach, the sand was very soft and walking was hard going, even close to the sea edge. We struggled towards the lighthouse and pier, it was very tiring just walking the 200 yards or so to the end of the sand.

We were glad to get up onto the pier and some solid ground. So we were on a pier, what do do next, we did what we usually do and walked to the end. It was not a very long pier so it didn't take long and we were soon walking back towards the lighthouse.

It was brighter than it looks in the photos and after looking at and photographing the lighthouse we headed into town. We had to take a route around the perimeter of the fish quay but at least it was on a boardwalk and much easier than walking on the soft sand.

We sat facing the harbour for a while and watched some of the fishing boats coming back in from a days fishing.  Next we walked passed all of the touristy shops and round to the opposite side of the harbour, where a few fishing boats were out of the water being fixed and painted. We continued round to the end of the breakwater and sat there in the sun for a while.

Several more fishing boats came in to offload their catch as we sat there. Then we watched some men struggling to refit one of the large bronze propellers.  After that we watched the lowering of one of the smaller fishing vessels back into the sea.

There was quite a busy Aire next to the harbour and I would love to be here with my one motorhome, maybe next time, maybe.

On the way back to the car we looked in the shops and got a penguin for my Mam, she collects them (long story) and I got some beers.  Dot had seen an amber pendent she liked in a jewellry shop and we went back to get it and then we would go for a beer before the drive home.  When we paid the girl on the till looked suspiciously at one of the €5.00 notes we had given her and then made a phone call.  After the call she said the €5.00 was a forgery and showed us a "real" one, the one we had given her did look very diferent and very cheap.   We changed it for one she liked the look of and left (when we got back to the van I checked and there was a new €5.00 note, the one we had, I am surprised the locals didn't know about them), we didn't have the beer but set off back to the site. The experience had upset us somewhat.

We did drive to Saint-Trojan-les-Bains at the bottom of the island before crossing the viaduct back to the mainland.

Later back at the site and knowing we hadn't tried to pass forged money, we popped over to the bar for a beer.   Dot and I were the only people in the bar (I think there may have been four people eating in the restaurant) and the only draught beer was Amstle.  We had a couple but it is not nice in an empty bar, we could drink on our own in the van.

Day Ten or Day Twelve

France 2013, Day ten, Charente Maritime

Day ten, Mon 13th May

Overcast again today, so I thought we it would be a good day to visit some bridges I wanted to see, better than sitting moaning about the weather.

As we were getting ready to go out, the Thompson's rep came by and asked it every thing was OK, so we told him about the previous night. He was horrified and said he would speak to reception and security to get the motorhome moved.

On the road first we would visit the transporter bridge in Rochefort, we had been previously in 2010 but it was closed because of a fault.  I wanted to revisit and possibly travel over it this time and there was another old bridge just outside Rochefort as well.

We knew the way but used the SatNav anyway, it took us to a road that is now closed, a new supermarket had been built and the old road closed off.   We could not see anyway to get to the bridge from where we where, so we had to head back out onto the the main road, cross over the river and go to the north side of the bridge.  It was not the side we wanted to be on, as my photo was in the museum on the south bank (see the 2010 visit).

The transporter was closed, I forgot that on Mondays the bridge did not open until 14:00 and it was only around 13:00, it was starting to rain and I didn't want to wait around.

So we changed plans and set off to drive towards Fouras on the coast.   Well I got in the wrong lane on the main road and we headed back over the river and not the way we wanted to go at all.  As we turned of the main road once over the river to get back the way we wanted to go, there was a sign for the transporter bridge, so we changed plans again and followed the signs.

By the time we arrived and parked outside the museum it was nearly time for the transporter to start running, so we walked over to the bridge.   An old couple on bicycles were waiting to cross over and kept waving to the people on the other side of the bridge.   They then started to moan to us that the bridge wasn't working but in French, I think.  We tried to explain that the bridge was just about to open and even pointed out the time table but it did take some getting through to them.  They did thank us though when they eventually did get it.

When the gondola arived at our side, I asked, if we got a return ticked how long it would be before the return trip, the answer was almost straight away.   We bought a return ticket.  It may seem like a strange thing to do but there are only eight of these bridges still standing in the whole world.  We have used the transporter close to our home many, many, times and have been using it since we were children.  I have added a couple of photos for comparison, the first one is the Tees Transporter followed by the Pont Transbordeur Rochefort.

This transporter is slightly more expensive then ours, a return at home is £1.20 on foot or £2.60 by car, here it was €2.40 on foot and it no longer takes Vehicles. The crossing only takes about four and a half minuets each way but I thought it was great.

On the way back to the car park we popped into the museum to see if my photo was still on display (see the 2010 visit), I was please to see that it was.  The photos below are of my photo in the exhibit there, followed by the original photo.

We had an interesting conversation with the curator, and discovered there are even more similarities between Teesside and Rochefort. The last three bridges over the river Tees are a modern flyover, a vertical lift bridge and a transporter. The last three bridges over the river Charente were also a modern flyover, a vertical lift bridge and a transporter, the vertical lift bridge however, has now sadly been demolished.

Feeling pleased with myself we headed off to find another historic bridge over the river Charente, a suspension bridge this time.   Pont de Tonnay-Charente, is inland along the river Charente in Tonnay and is one of the oldest cable suspension bridges in the world.  It is now closed to road traffic but you can still walk or ride over it.

It was only a short drive to the side of the bridge opposite the town, where we parked at the foot of the ramp leading up to the main span and set off for a walk into town.

As I have aged, I think I am getting vertigo or something like it, I do not like heights any more and I felt a little bit dizzy crossing over the bridge.  Off the bridge on the other side, we made our way down to the riverside and walked towards the town centre.  It was very quiet but at least the sun came out.

As the sun was now shining. we crossed back over the bridge and made our way back to the campsite for a spot of sunbathing. 

The offending motorhome was just leaving when we got back, result.

Day Nine or Day Eleven 

France 2013, Day nine, Charente Maritime

Day nine, Sun 12th May

Well the weather changed overnight. it had rained and was not very warm on the morning.   First thing I went over to reception to get a code for internet connection, it was €10 for five hours use.  Last  year it had been €20 for fifteen hours a much better deal.   We had good internet reception but I had not been told how to disconnect, so I had to rush back over to find out, it was on the receipt but in French of course.

Seeing as it was overcast, we made a picnic and sett off for a drive. If it was raining we would just have a drive, if it was fine we planned to walk around the town walls of Brouage. Borouge is one of the 37 Réseau des grands sites de France (The Grands Sites de France network), so we thought it well worth a visit.

When we arrived it wasn't raining, so we parked up at the car park just inside the Citadel walls and set off to walk counterclockwise around the walls. I took too many photos as we walked but here are just a couple to start with.

Parts of the walk were cold and breezy, we came down from the walls twice, once to look at the ice house and again at the half way point where there is a hole cut in the walls for the road to pass through. At the half way point we looked in a couple of shops before getting back up on the wall to continue the walk.

We continued back to where we started, it was about one and a half miles walk altogether round the walls from start to finish.  There were picnic tables where we were parked but they were all in use by French families.  We found a bench just opposite the car park to sit on to have our food. 

After lunch and with the sun now shining, we walked through the town following the main road to the gate where we came down on the wall walk.  Most of the shops were now closed for the afternoon, as they often do in France, so we got back in the car and headed to the Île d'Oléron.

We made straight for Le Château d'Oléron, parked by the harbour and set off into the centre. We walked through the brightly coloured huts that are a mix of fisherman's shacks, shops and bars.

On the way in I looked into a bar/restaurant, just to see what it was like for future reference, a girl followed me out of the bar and called me back. She wanted to say there were open and we could just have a drink if we wanted, I said we might call back later. I found this to be very unusual, most times you have to wait to get noticed, I figured that business was slow.

In the centre of town everywhere was closed again but I suppose it was a Sunday. We called into the bar I had looked in on the way into the centre and had a beer in the sun.

Refreshed, we looked in most of the arty type shops and studios that were open down by the harbour and most of them were open.  We looked around the small fort, which was also an art studio and had a large metal mosquito on the ramparts.  

We then walked back towards the car, watched one of the mussel boats come in and remove the mussel from the contraptions the collect them in.  Then headed back to the campsite for a spot of sunbathing.

About four in the morning I was awoken by a loud humming noise again and thought not again (see Day One). Dot suggested that it could be the fridge buzzing, this had been a problem in mobilehomes several times previously and we had cured it by turning off the fridge overnight. It wasn't the fridge, I got dressed and had a look outside. A motorhome had parked in the the staff car park behind our van and had a generator running and had now started to play music as well. This car park was outside the park on the side road leading to the site from the main road. The noise was too loud to sleep, so I set off to find the night security guy. He was in a little hut on the driveway into the site.

He had no English and I had no French but he agreed to follow me to the car park, when we got there at first he thought it was my motorhome, it took some time to show him our mobile over the fence and and the noisy generator under a table some distance from the motorhome. Eventually he got it and knocked on the motorhome and asked them to turn the generator off, it didn't happen straight away but was off by the time I got back to our van.

Day Eight or Day Ten