With a dramatic drop in temperature and no sign of further good news on the western front, we forego any further thoughts of holidaying and get on with what we know and do best.
Day 22 – Beastie has crossed many French regional boundaries so far. He’s our passport king. A visa free agent coordinating each day’s activities. Our travels however, don’t stop the minute we’ve landed and pitched up on site. Oh no. Beastie’s accumulation of kilometres is more than matched by our accumulation (read consumption) of as many regional wines as is possible, during the course of each evening’s meal. [I’ve just realised that sentence can mean more than it does!] Even within one region there are so many varieties on offer. Why the French need to spend more than €5, or €6 on a bottle remains a mystery.
Today’s journey takes us along one of several official wine routes that criss-cross the Pyrénées-Orientales, itself a Catalan area within the Occitainie region.
At one point, the D117 waves au revoir to the multitude of vineyards either side. Gets replaced by 700 metre high cliffs of the scenic Pierre-Lys Gorge. With many a similar route tucked under his belt of fancy colours, Beastie’s bravado leads the way.
We spend the night on Municipal Camping l’Orme Blanc. With its 5 star reviews we expect better. It’s a muddy heap (luckily dried), with a portaloo-style sanitaire facility that would sit well at Glastonbury. The crowning cherry on the cake though comes at 6.39am. A barking dawn chorus from a couple of tethered dogs. Sometimes it’s so hard to be a dog lover . . .
Day 23 – Back to doing what we do best, we’re on our way to Camping Paradis Vallée du Lot. Plan an en-route stop off at Moissac, a pretty and tidy town. They power wash the pavements here!
Moissac is home to the famous Abbaye de St Pierre, itself a pilgrim stop on the route to Santiago de Compostela.
Just through the intricate sculpted porch, a photographic tribute to the life of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, along with her life’s biog, welcomes each visitor. Her brief life is still a worldwide inspiration that demonstrates the power of leading an ordinary life, doing ordinary things, for ordinary people. Her simple, yet profound motto ‘Love is repaid by love alone’.
A paid entry into the cloisters encourages us to study more of the displays within each side room. Get our money’s worth. It’s always amazing to view ancient writings and manuscripts. How could they ever achieve such incredible neat accuracy?
Quite a skill to create such an elaborate illumination using a tiny palette of powdered pigments, a quill and a sea-shell for mixing purposes.
Visit over, we head back to Beastie. Wonder whether we should offer a lift . . .
Are all the roads as perfectly tarmacked as the video on day 22 … quite amazing. You would be hard pressed round here to drive for so far with potholes!
We used to think that France did have the smoothest driving surfaces, but sadly some roads are not too different from ours back home. We can always tell inside by the ‘rattle’ effect.