When I wake up the weather is warm and sunny. I head down to the beach and talk a walk on the promenade. I buy some new sunglasses as I lost my last pair in Paris. The waves are still big and messy, with the onshore wind. I decide to head further north up the coast, to the town of Saint Giles Croix De Vie. It takes about 40 minutes of driving, through picturesque French countryside. I stop at the supermarket for more lovely French food, and the cheapest diesel (Gazoil) I have seen, at €0.98 per litre. I actually drive a little further than Saint Giles Croix De Vie and stop at a massive almost deserted beach. There are a couple of fishermen. Several people appear and have lunch at the beach.
I drive back to the town of Saint Giles Croix De Vie. I find the beach, but the waves are quite messy here also. I find the tourist information office, and get a map of the area. I go back to the beach and take a surf. The waves are heavy. I am not used to my surfboard, as I have not used it very much. During the summer in Cornwall I surfed almost entirely with my longboard, due to the smaller waves. I enjoy the surf, but I don’t stay in for very long. My fitness has dropped, and the pounding waves remove some of the pleasure.
I find the Le Petit Pavilion campsite, and check-in entirely in French! The lady and I exchange a few blank looks, but we get there. I wash some clothes and sow up a seat cover that has lost some stitching, before it gets any worse. The days are slowly drawing in, because of autumn, but also because I am heading south. I decide to take a walk to the beach, about 1 kilometre away, across the dunes, for the sunset. I haven’t seen a sunset since my trip started. The sunset is lovely. The sound of the waves is very loud though, surprising so. I find a good road to the beach (well it was on the map from the tourist office). Tomorrow morning I will drive down and see how the surf is. The weather forecast is for cloud and some rain tomorrow, and then 2 good days after that. The surf forecast is for strong onshore winds, but smaller waves. I hope the surf will be better tomorrow. I will either stay here for a few days, and the go to La Rochelle, or go to La Rochelle tomorrow.
Miles so far: 1412 (2259km)
