I’m washing the ceiling at 7am!

Thursday 12th September

A very cloudy and cool start to the day so we wore our fleeces and cycled into the village. No sooner had we found the market when the sun came out and we couldn’t get them off and into the pack quick enough. It was a nice little market and Joan bought a couple of pairs of crop trousers after we’d managed to persuade the stall holder to allow her into the back of his van to try them on. They seem ok and fitted well. At the next stall I got two shirts and a couple of stalls further on, 3 belts.  There was also a covered food market but it’s not very good quality, plus just like old time barrow boys, they don’t allow you to serve yourself, so unless we really want something, we avoid them like the plague. Back to the van for lunch, then I cut Joan’s hair and we chilled for the rest of the day.

Friday 13th September 

We’re on the move again, off to Ile-de-Re and we are really looking forward to it. Why? Well we have heard from so many people about how good it is, especially the lovely seafood restaurants and pretty little villages/ports. We left St Palais-sur-mer about 10am and expected to be there in no time at all as it’s only about 68 miles. It was a gorgeous day and forecast for about 30c all over the weekend, so of course there was lots of traffic and we didn’t get to Camping les Amis de la Plage at Le Bois until 1.30pm. By now frankly the sun was beating down and I convinced Joan to ignore the pitches we would normally have jumped at, in full sun all day, for pitch number 89. This spot gets sun first thing till about 10.30am and then is sheltered through the heat of the day by a few large trees, only to have the sun again from around 5.30pm, it’s perfect. 

I was a bit grumpy as I had learnt that the nearest Boulangerie is about a mile and a half away as the on-site shop is closed, damn. Anyway we decide to go and check where it was for the morning, plus checking out the “wonderful seafood restaurants” Joan was so looking forward to. I have to report that so far Ile-de-Re has totally underwhelmed me and if there were nice restaurants, they have all gone or closed for the season.  At this point I can feel all the people who’ve raved about the place sharpening there knives and gritting there teeth. Joan does NOT agree with me and as soon as we got back to the van she said, come on lets cheer your miserable face up, and get you on to the beach. WOW! All is forgiven, it’s great. With proper breakers, lovely stuff. It just means we will have to cook our own food, not really a hardship for us at all. 

Saturday 14th September

Got up to go for the bread and Joan decided she wanted to come with me. Yesterday I had accidentally done a “Ken Reay” and found a church for Joan with a mass on Sunday. What I also discovered was, they have a really good market every morning as well, and a supermarket, so things are looking up. Plus of course that lovely beach awaits us later. So after breakfast we headed back to the market, this time on foot. Turns out Joan, like me, is not too keen on cycling either. As we entered town the tourist information was open and recommended we use the busses to see more of the prettier places on the Island, so we may do that.

The market was quite big and Joan bought a nice handbag, then we entered the covered food market and bought a roti chicken. Next into the fish market where we found an oyster bar and she finally got the oysters she has been looking forward to since we got to France, with a nice glass of white wine, (I got a glass of wine). Next we purchased a load of very big prawns which we brought home and made a great prawn salad. Finally after a suitable rest, off to the beach about 4.30pm. Magic, huge waves to jump through and not too cold either. Back for chicken dinner and then Joan went to photograph yet another ‘amazing’ sunset, while I washed up, what a great day.

Goodnight  xxx

Sunday 15th September

A red hot day and we cycled to mass, then had another wander around the market which appears to be even bigger than yesterday, great. Home for a spot of lunch and then as it was far too hot for the beach we just sat outside in the shade and relaxed. I must admit we got lost in our books and didn’t realise the time so when we did finally get to the beach at 5.40pm the big waves had all gone as the tide was virtually right in. We still went in but it wasn’t as much fun so we must come earlier tomorrow. 

Joan wanted to see the sunset again so we nipped back to the van and I prepared a stir-fry to use what was left of yesterday’s chicken roti. Then back to the beach at 8pm for the sunset which apparently was amazing! (See pictures). I don’t get it but Joan loves them as all our pictures from other times will attest. After we got back to the van and had dinner, we watched an amazing film Joan had downloaded about the tsunami in Thailand. It’s a true story about a family who were caught up in the tsunami and it’s called The Impossible.

Monday 16th September

6.20AM!! Don’t ask me why but I heard this really loud zzzzzz noise in my dream which I suddenly realised was real?!?!?! I awoke, grabbed my torch and started frantically killing mosquitos, at least 10! all of which were full of blood. (Which we later had to wash off the ceiling). Meanwhile a not very happy small person erupted out of the bed because she’d been woken up by a mad man leaping about and hitting the ceiling! After a brief explanation she joined the hunt and we got some more. As I’m sure you all know, as soon as you think they are all dead you hear another. By now my torch has been replaced by the light but I swear they hide when you switch the light on. 

Finally we settled down and turn the light off, all’s well, let’s sleep. It was then I realised Joan is sitting up in the dark. The light suddenly goes on! What are you doing pet? I asked. The reply is priceless. With a totally straight face Joan said, Shh, I’m trying to surprise them! We hope and pray our neighbours slept through the resultant hysterical laughter.  She wasn’t laughing very much later when she realised she had about 10 or more bites on her arms, fingers, face and back, anywhere that wasn’t covered in fact.

We did manage to doze a bit after that but it was obviously going to be an early one today. At least at that time 7.30ish, it is quite cool, and I cycled off for the bread. Obviously the events in the early hours and the resulting loss of blood had slightly unhinged Joan because in my absence she had cleaned, hoovered and sorted out the washing. So after breakfast we bunged it into a washing machine, hung it all out around the awning, and relaxed by the van. By lunch it was all dry, folded and put away. It’s amazing what you can get dry at 29c. We made sure we were on the beach a lot earlier and actually caught the start of the big rollers, lovely stuff. Then it was back for a shower and off to the only restaurant outside the site for our dinner. This was only fair as I had been a little disparaging about the restaurants in an earlier blog. As it turns out we had a very nice dinner, Joan enjoyed Moules with white wine and mine was a burger with red wine, which was very tasty.

Hope you are all we well. XXX