Jeudi Octobre 7th 1993: Il pleut, il pleut, il pleut!!!
It had rained all night and was still raining in the morning. There was an open market set up in the town square where we bought fruit and bread for the day. While there the skies opened and dumped on us again. We stood under the cover of a vendors stand until it stopped. The people do not seem to get excited about these down pours. I know now why nearly everyone carries an umbrella.
We decided to go straight down highway D3 toward Carcans instead of backtracking to pick up the bicycle path on the west side of the lake. That route also meant climbing a significant hill and we were low on energy. The highway was quite busy but we were able to make good time. The sun was coming out off and on, so we decided to cut across towards Mabuisson to pick up the bike path near the coast. We found the path too narrow for us and turned back to Carcans Plage, another nearly deserted town. There were really high sand dunes here. We climbed up them to have a look at the ocean. What great beaches. Must be lovely here in the summer. The clouds are dark and moving fast in the sky. Very stormy looking, but beautiful when the sun breaks through.
It was raining again and time for lunch. We took cover by the public wah rooms and ate our repas, the usual diet du pain, du fromage, at du chocolat. We had learned never to be without a chocolate bar in case of an emergency. Food and water were not always easy to find as we neared the coast, as many of the stores were closed. And nearly all stores are closed between 1200 and 1400 hours. After lunch we headed south on the highway toward Lacanau Ocean.
The ride through the pine forest was lovely. The woods almost looked groomed. There was heather growing on the side of the road and mushrooms in the woods. The road is almost deserted, a pleasant change after the busy highways we encountered closer to Bordeaux and Libourne.
Instead of going into Lacanau Ocean we took the bike path right into Lacanau town, which is situated on the shore of Lac de Lacanau. We stopped at a park where there were a few board sailors out. In the town we found a hotel on the main street, the du Commerce, a one star for 180 francs. This was another old hotel run by a friendly young man. He was happy to talk to us even though he did not speak much english. It is strange how we are managing to communicate in two languages. There have been some funny mix ups however. I went into the bar to ask for trois verres pour le vin and the waiter seeing a can of pate foie gras in my hand brought out three plates.
The sun is shining and we sat out on the patio and had a glass of wine. This is the kind of weather we had expected to have nearly every day. Enjoy while we can because it did not last long and became cold and windy when the sun went under a cloud. The weather has been cloudy with sunny intervals all over Europe and quite stormy here by the coast. According to the weather report in the newspaper the only place it is sunny is Russia, Turkey and parts of Greece.
This is how they modernize these old hotels.
Dinner was served in a lovely dining room in front of a fireplace. The heat felt wonderful. These old hotels have some fine looking antique furniture in them. This one has a magnificent sideboard. This young man is certainly a jack of all trades, he is the bartender, the waiter, the manager of the rooms and maybe even the cook.
Judy writing in her diary
Tomorrow we head for
Bordeaux. We wanted to go see the Dune du Pilat,
farther south near Arachon, but the weather is so rainy,
and the time running out, so we had to change our plans. To make
the trip comfortably we would need at least two more days.
57
kms.
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El Camino de Santiago, Spain
Ecuador and Peru adventures
Trekking in Nepal