Wed 20 Sept - pack car, transfer, eBikes, BelAir, Prondines, sunset, broken door

We woke early to be greeted by the sun, and soon after breakfast we were packing our stuff for our trip to Spain. So, we packed lots of stuff in the Scenic at Auxonne and then drove to St Jean de Losne, where we transferred it all to the campervan at the secure carpark. We then drove both vehicles back to Auxonne, where we loaded the eBikes onto the back of the campervan, and then loaded a few more things into the van that we forgot to load into the Scenic first time around. We then drove both vehicles back to SJDL, left the Scenic in the secure carpark, then we were away in the van by 1300h, after filling up with cheap diesel (1.95euro/litre!) at Intermarche.

Because we had done this trip south so many times now, the driving was a bit boring (but that was better than livening things up a bit by having a breakdown!). We were heading for the Bel Air Camping Ground near Saint-Ours, where we have stayed a few times before, but when we got there we found it had already closed for the season. So we tried the Municipal Campground in nearby Pontgibaud, but with the same outcome. We now figured that most of the commercial campgrounds had closed for the season in this region, so we headed back to the main road and kept driving south-west. Eventually, we found an Aire at Prondines, which we recognised as somewhere we had stopped for lunch in years gone by (by the many wind turbines on the same hillside). So we pulled in there, found a nice level space and set up camp for the night. It was quite good, as it had lots of private green space, plus wash facilities and toilets. It also had a great sunset that evening.

However, when we came back to the van after a walk to take the sunset photos, we discovered that the lock on the campervan door was not working. Luckily, we could still get inside via the front cabin, and could then open the campervan door from the inside. However, it still didn't open from the outside. Since darkness was now approaching, I resolved to have a closer look at the locking mechanism tomorrow.

Thurs 21 Sept - glorious sunrise, Allisha, La Poujade, fix door, Murat evening

The morning on the exposed hillside was cold, but this was more than made up for by a dramatic sunrise. Not bad to have great sunset and sunrise views in a pleasant surroundings for zero camping fees.

I spent some time replying to Allisha's email from yesterday, asking what the next stages would be in the Shaping Murrindindi's Future project, and how we could contribute to that in the area of Farm Forestry. Around 1000h, we started on the second half of our trip, where we intended to spend the night with Miyu and Nico at La Poujade, just north of Moissac. When we got there, we saw that Nico had made a good start on the renovation of the 16th century house. Already, his penchant for curved timber supports was coming to the fore, reminding us of the work he did on our house in Moissac several years ago.

The wildlife at la Poujade was starting to increase, with the piggies putting on lots of weight since we last saw them, and the cats being just as inquisitive (although the screen curtain on the van door was enough to dissuade them from entering).

In the late-afternoon, while Nico took a break from working on the house, we had a look at the broken van door lock. We both agreed that there was no alternative but to remove the inner lining of the door, and check out what w=lloked wrong with the locking mechanism. So, while Nico went back to work, I unscrewed all 101 screws on the door lining, and found the pieces of the lock that had lost connection with each other. So, as usual, I pull out the gaffer tape and reconnected them firmly, for a good stopgap repair. After putting all the screws back in, the lock worked perfectly from inside and outside the van. But I advised Rita to go easy when closing the door from inside, and not pull it shut using the locking handle. Here's hoping!

That evening we had dinner with Nico, Miyu and the three boys, with lots of chat and laughter. Then it was out to the van for us for a good light's sleep in their yard.

Fri 22 Sept - foggy, Moissac van site, mail, sun, rain, nap, Yahtze, quiet night

It was foggy in La Poujade when we woke, and so after a slow breakfast we headed off at 1000h to go down to Moissac. We checked is at the campervan site, and then walked up to the house to collect any mail that had arrived since our last visit. We then returned to the van for lunch, after which the sun appeared. After that, it started raining, so we went to bed for a nap. We then did exciting things like empty the toilet cassette, and fill the water tank, then after dinner we played Yahtze. We were so exhausted by all the day's activities that we welcomed a quiet night!

Sat 23 Sept - more fog, market, Compostelle, NRL Final, music fete, friends, Tom

It was foggy again this morning, but cleared by mid-morning. So we went up the the Saturday Market, and then retired to the Compostelle Cafe for a coffee and a beer. By noon, we were back at the van and I was able to watch the NRL Final where the Brisbane Broncos beat the Auckland Warriors 42-12 (I won't mention the game yesterday where Penrith played the Melbourne Storm, with an embarrassing score not in the Storm's favour). After last week's AFL Finals, it means that Brisbane now have a team in both the AFL and NRL Grand Finals next week.

In the afternoon, we went up to a Musical Fete in the park next to the Montobello School on the River Tarn. As we arrived, we could hear some calypso music in full swing, and soon saw someone leading a large group who were dancing to an up-beat rhythm. It didn't take too long before Rita had joined the group, and before long she had also conned me into dancing along as well.

As we cooled down after the dancing, I was amazed by how many people came up to talk with us as long-lost friends. In total, I think there were eight or nine people, who we knew when we lived on the boat in Moissac, who came up for chat. After we left the fete some time later and were walking along the Tarn Quai, we also met up with Tom Hollows, who was one of the first people I met in Moissac, when I came over to check on Kimasut (as the boat was then called). We spent a good half-hour chatting with Tom and were pleased to see that he was getting married in a few weeks time.

That night, Rita went to a Nepalese dinner, while I stayed home and did some novel reading.

Sun 24 Sept - sunny, Sunday Market, bike ride, thesis and blog writing, sunset

It was sunny again, and so we headed up to the bigger Sunday Market. The Moissac markets continue to be some of the best we have seen in our travels.

Since we had ridden up to the Market on our eBikes, we thought we should put them to good use and so we continued riding down river until we got to the bridge across to St Nicholas de Grave, and then we turned left and continued into the town, with the intention of grabbing a cold drink at the pub. However, the pub was closed for lunch (how very French!), and so we just sat at their outdoor tables and drank from our water bottles. But even this was nice as we looked across and saw the kiosk (rotunda) where Pans on Fire had played on their 2014 tour. One of the nice things about coming to (our home town) Moissac is that you don't need to do lots of exciting things to enjoy yourself. Even simple things can bring back some very enjoyable memories.

In the afternoon, we returned to the van to continue working on thesis and blog, but as evening approached we wandered down to the river to experience another Moissac highlight - sunset over the Tarn.

Mon 25 Sept - sunny but cold, Intersport fire, lunch at LaMaison, Ginger, Dede

The following morning was sunny but cold outside, but luckily the van is quite warm inside. During the morning, I rode up the canal to Castelsarassin to do some shopping at some of the bigger stores there, and was surprised to find that Intersport was closed, and the entrances were boarded up because of a large fire that had taken place there, It has also caused the closure of the store next door, which shares a wall with Intersport. Luckily, I wasn't looking to buy anything from Intersport.

In the early afternoon, we went up to La Maison to have lunch with Raph and Isabelle. During lunch, they indicated that they were happy to keep renting the house for another year. As often happens we were greeted warmly by Ginger (the cat) who always seems to remember us (or maybe he is just friendly with everyone!). During lunch, he decided to take up residence in a wicker basket that was sitting on the table. He's such a cuty!

That evening, Rita cycled out to the house of Dede, a musical friend who tuned our piano. Luckily, he was at home, and they spent a couple of hours catching up on news and gossip.

Tues 26 Sept - shops, pans, forests, plage, squatters, beach walk, cool, lost, breezy

We were up early to get moving south, because I only had one more day before I would have to leave France at the end of my 3 month stay. First we went to Intermarche to stock up on supplies for the trip, and to buy fuel at the cheapest price (about 1.85euro/litre for diesel). Then we headed over to the house to drop off the baritone pans that we had been carrying around in the campervan, and then to show the inside of the van to Isabelle, who was showing interest in getting a camper for themselves. Then we were off, heading west along the A62 motorway towards Bordeaux, then south-west towards Bayonne along the southern edge of the big French forestry area, before turning off at Dax to head for Plage des Sablères, our destination for the evening.

We checked in and headed to our designated space, only to find a couple of young guys sleeping in hammocks strung between the trees on our camping space. We politely enquired as to what was going on, and it turns out that they were on the adjacent space, but decided to hang their hammocks on our space because no one was there (yet). So they quickly took down their hammocks, packed their surfboards in their car and disappeared for the afternoon.

The campsite was located in a shady, sandy area, with just sand dunes separating us from the Atlantic Ocean.

The sand dunes were inviting so, soon after we had setup the camper, we headed south for access to the beach on the other side of the dunes. The view of the ocean was impressive as we reached the top of the dunes and looked over the beach, although we did notice that while there were some people at the edge of the water, few were going into the water.

Rita soon discovered why they were standing at the edge of the water, when she decided to test it out before going for a swim - TOO COLD!

While the water was cold, the sun was nice, so Rita decided to stay on the beach and sun-bake for a little while, and I continued walking down the beach with the intention of re-entering the campground from the north, as I had seen such an entrance on the map we had been given at Reception. So at the first opportunity I headed away from the beach and back behind the dunes. But while I entered a campground, it turned out not to be our campground. So I wandered in circles for a while until I found an exit from the campground onto a road, which eventually led back to the Reception area at the entrance to our campground. I waited at the camper for a couple of hours for Rita to return, and just as I was starting to worry a little, she appeared with a great story about how she had got lost returning to our campground!

After dinner next to the van, we played a little ping-pong, but had to stop as the wind was picking up, making it very difficult to control the ball. The breeze strengthened overnight (and maybe it rained a little, but we couldn't hear it over the noise of the wind in the trees). But we still got a good night's sleep in readiness for leaving France tomorrow.