After a bad day usually a good one follows like today.Last night and in the morning it was windy and it rained, but I put my earplugs so I slept like a babe. Great invention these earplugs and I praise their inventor! I was in a mood for many kilometers, so after I packed my bike, I headed to the closest bakery for a good dose of breakfast. I think the wind felt petty of  me  though and finally changed direction which made a huge difference at the speed I was cycling and the amount of effort I had to put into it. That was good news for me, as I was hoping to make it all the way to Bordeaux for the night.

Bordeaux is one of the biggest wine producers in Europe, so for most of the day, all I could see around me was vineyards and châteaux. Hill after hill, entire landscapes were covered in vines.

That looks like a good bottle of wine

More and more grapes

Grapes and chateaux

Guess for what those grapes are used for

That's not a chateaux but the nuclear power plant Le Blayais. Luckily no explosions at the time

One of my stops was in Blayer, which has an amazing Citadel of around the 17th century. I went in, had a little look and an ice cream.

The Citadel of Blaye

Inside the fortress

Its big walls

With the wind still helping me go fast, I made it outside Bordeaux at around 6pm. As usual though, it took me a good couple of hours to get in and find the camping, even if it was at the north from where I was coming. I had to cross a big river and I either had to use the motorway bridge, or go all the way to the center and back. After I spend some time looking around and asking for directions, I found a cycle path that lets you go through the bridge.

The big bridge of Bordeaux

The campsite was good and cheap but 10 kilometers away from the centre. I was starving and the camp site didn’t had a restaurant, so I was told to go a couple of kilometers down the road to find a good grill. There I had a Pave Marive which is basically a block of beef meat full of blood, even if I asked to have it well done. I also had the opportunity to have some local wine. It was a Picourneau and I found it a little too fruity and dry on my pallet. Yeah right… I have no idea about wines, apart from the fact that they come in three colours and France makes loads of them. It was good though and felt a little strong, but maybe it was because of my long cycling day.

Going back to the campsite, I met two English cyclists who had also made their way from England, almost the same route with me and they are heading to warmer climates, probable Spain. It was one of the cases where you say the world is small, as we ended up having common friends and lived in similar places.

Last night I had a couple of beer and went to the tent for sleep late. Just as I was falling asleep it started raining and then the strong wind came and even more rain. Luckily my tent managed to hold strong and the kept the water out but not the noise. I couldn’t fall asleep until it all finished which was around 4am. This morning I woke up late and very tired. Not a good start.

I left the camp site very grumpy and started my way to the forest of Coubre. Ten kilometers on the way, I realized I took the wrong road when I started. I didn’t want to go all the way back, but I tried to find another way and at least see part of the forest. I got lost again and again, got very annoyed and gave up as it was already lunch time. I decided to just go to the next city which was Royan.

While trying to find my way, part of the port in Tremblade

On the way, I did see small parts of the forrest by the sea, which was probable just a small sample of what I missed.

A small section of the forest

Just outside Royan

After such a bad  morning, I wasn’t in the mood for more cycling, so I though I’ll call it an early day, get some food and good rest  and make a new start tomorrow.

Like a junky, stealing wifi from the closed restaurant and surfing out in the rain

Bananas are everywhere!

Today I woke up in a very good mood and I already knew it would be a good day. I had a whole baguette for breakfast, along with cheese, a very strong salami and another smoked sausage I had for a couple of days.

La Rochelle in the morning

I made my way to the south through the nice city of La Rochette. For one more time I got lost trying to get out of the city as expected.

To the next destination via a cycle path

Luckily for most of the day, I managed to ride on tarmac cycle paths, going from one city to another. Once more though, the wind was blowing against my direction. I always though that in general the wind on the northern hemisphere goes from north to south. Maybe I am unlucky, maybe that’s my training for the Pyrennese.

That's Jim and his friends.

A rathen different canal

One of Rochefort's squares.

For lunch I stoped at Rochefort where I had some amazing take away pasta that kept me going for the rest of the day. The city itself looked very interesting, with rather nice old buildings and many young people. To leave the city, I crossed a bridge and had to head a little to the north to go through the small villages to avoid the highway.

Another bridge to cross

That’s when the nice surprise of the day appeared. Brouage appeared in the map just like a small square shaped village, but when I entered a big gate to go through it, I realized it’s a big fortress. I couldn’t just bypass it, so I had a short break to walk around its walls. All the houses within the fortress were very small and cosy, surrounded by nice cobbled streets and pavements.

The fortress of Brouage

The inside of the fortress

sunflowers

After the next city of Marennes, I crossed yet another bridge for the little resort town called Ronce les-Bains, where I chose one of the many camp sites to spend the night. I have to say, there is the island of Oleron just a few kilometers on the north which is also connected by a bridge to the mainland, but I think I’ll skip it and continue south tomorrow through the forest of Coubre.

The last bridge of the day

Today I completed my first 1000 kilometers! Another couple to go…

A banana for the celebrations.

Yesterday, when I wrote about day off, I meant I would stay in the same camp site, but didn’t mean I will  not cycle.

After such a hot day, it was a big surprise to wake up in the rain. I got a little bit annoyed as I had so many things I wanted to see and do in the area. After my late breakfast I put all my waterproofs on and headed for the town of La Rochelle which was a little further than I thought.

Go away black cloud!

La Rochelle is very beautiful, maybe one of my best so far. Had loads of small alleys and old buildings with character, as well as an old port. Unfortunately I didn’t stay as much as I wanted, as I also wanted to cross to the island. I think it’s a place that I should revisit some time as it has so many things to offer.

By the post office at La Rochelle

La Rochelle port

To go to the island of Re, I had to cycle about 10km and cross another big bridge, which luckily had a dedicated cycle path, so things were kind of easy.

Crossing the bridge. Notice in which direction the wind blows again!

The 4km bridge as seen from the island

Again when I got to the island, I didn’t have to leave the cycle paths, as you can go to any little village on them. That’s why I saw numerous shops rending bikes. I didn’t want to cycle all the way to the west end of the island, as that was 30 kilometres away and didn’t fit with my day off. I visited La Flotte and Saint Martin De Re villages, both very beautiful.

Nice cycle path between the villages

The port at Saint Martin

An old remaining of a church

In the afternoon I headed back to L’Houmeau to my camp site to do some more washing up and get some rest for tomorrow’s adventure.

Decayed joyland

A little more interesting town I went through was Talmont Saint Hilaire which had more character and a castle from the 11th century.

11th century castle

It also had a big petrol station along with a car wash, where by using my perfect by now french, I managed to convince them to let me use their pressure water spray to clean my bike. After 12 days on the road through many dusty cycle paths, my bike was full of dirt and mud. After the wash, all the wierd sounds from the chain disappeared and the ride was once again smooth and more enjoyable.

The freshly washed bike, ready for a few more thousand kilometers.

As I approached La Tranche, I went into the supermarket for picnic supplies and to look once more for that stove I need. This time they had the two different types of gas tanks, but none of the burners. I had my lunch by the beach under a tiny patch of shade. At least the wind from the ocean kept me very cool. After lunch, book reading, a short siesta and an ice cream, I departed for the last part of today’s ride.

That's a big water tank and one of the interesting things of the day.

It was hot all day long, but I don’t mind while cycling as the air cools me down and as long as I drink pleanty of water everything is ok. For about 10km I was heading north and I noticed that I could effortlessly reach speeds of 40km/hr but that was of course because of the strong tail wind pushing me. Then there was a big U turn and about 25km in the opposite direction and for about 2 hours I was strugling to cycle over 15km/hr. The wind along with temperatures sometimes above 35, made it one of the toughest rides I’ve done so far in the trip. As a teenager I used to hate the wind because it was messing up my carefully styled hair before school. Now I hate when it is on my face as it makes my ride harder.

Fighting with the wind

I guess with all that struggle I should have found a camp site on the way and call it a day. But what I wanted was to get as close as possible to La Rochelle, but not inside, as it will probable be a lot more expensive. Tomorrow I am taking the day off, so I’ll be close enough to go and visit the city and I will also have the opportunity to cross the bridge to the opposite island de Re. I also need the next map and a banana to celebrate.