This morning we visited the citadel, the major attraction in this town.
Around noon we crossed the Gironde river to Lamargue on the Dubiglon Normandie, Nantes 1970, 28 francs each. When the Garonne and the Dordogne rivers join it is called the Gironde river.
After crossing the river we cycled to Margaux to see the famous Chateau Margaux.
It was the noon hour and all the workers were in a big hall eating lunch and we could see the owners sitting on the front portico of the Chateau. We could not find anybody to inquire if there were tours of the vignobles, so we went to find a spot to eat. lunch. We stopped at the cemetery and again saw all the ceramic flowers arranged on the graves. It was raining by this time and we found a doorway into a courtyard to take shelter and have lunch.
We ended up in Pauilac for the night. Stayed at the Yatching Hotel, one star. Old and with a nice big room again. The manager put a heater in the room for us. This helped to dry our clothes out but our shoes were in terrible shape by now as they never got a chance to dry out completely. This was one of the more unpleasant things of the trip, putting those cold wet shoes on in the morning. We walked to the Magasin du vin and bought our daily bouteille to toast the group back home.
While waiting pour sept heures to have dinner, we walked out on the breakwater in the harbor. Still raining. The water in this river is thick and brown with the silt continually stirred by the current and the tide. If you ever fell in, it would be goodbye I think. There are many sail boats in this area. It is not far to the ocean from here. The Nuclear plant is ablaze with lights on the other side of the river. We could also see a big oil refinery up the coast a little way from here.
We entered into conversation with a young man on the wharf. He was down checking the weather report that was posted for the sailors. He was eating from a loaf of bread and a package of shrimp he had just bought from a fisherman on the wharf. He spoke very good English and seemed very discontent with what was happening in France. He was a carpenter by trade but unable to find a job in this field. He was in the Pauilac area as a migrant grape picker, living out of his car. It seems it is as difficult for the young people in France as it is in Canada. He expressed his concern with the Nuclear plant across the river, stating he would sooner do without things then to desecrate the country side with such plants.
This encounter disturbed me, but life must continue as we could not do anything about his situation. He seems very proud and certainly was not looking for sympathy. We went back to the hotel and had a good dinner. Pork chops and petite pois. Then to bed to rest up, for another day of fun was coming up.
We realized we had even toasted
the group back at St Mary's on Samedi et Dimanche.
39km.
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To check out some of my other adventures follow these links.
El Camino de Santiago, Spain
Ecuador and Peru adventures
Trekking in Nepal