Mal collecting Oysters in Piriac!
The sunset in Piriac from our camping spot - what a view!
Me on my return from the launderette....
Our improvised washing line!
The windmill on the front in Mortagne-Sur-Gironde.
13th, 14th, 15th & 16th Sept 08 – Piriac, La Turballe, Jarde-Su-Mer & Mortagne-Sur-Gironde –
What a great place! We arrived mid morning onto a small Aire & secured a great spot overlooking the beach (there were only 3, so we felt lucky). Once we got settled we noticed numerous people coming back from the beach buckets in hand. Curious as we are we meandered down to the La Plage (the beach) to see what was going on. Mal spoke to a lovely French man who was on top of a mound of rocks with some sort of crustaceans attached to them, a pick axe type of tool in hand, chipping away at these things. He kindly informed Mal Huitre (Oysters to you & I) – WOW!! I was so excited & quickly conjured up what tools etc. we could use to harvest ours! Mal agreed so; we went back to the MH & collected – a claw hammer, screwdriver & chisel (our version of the speciality tools the other guys were using). Anyway undeterred by our improvised tools we set about collecting out Huitre. Half a bucket later & with the tide fast approaching, I concluded we had enough. We decided to cook them just to be safe as we hadn’t got a clue what we were doing & to go down with food poisoning was not something either of us relished. I consulted the internet for a recipe, whilst Mal cracked the guys open. I then cleaned them up added some garlic, butter, breadcrumbs & cheese, popped them into the oven & served them with some ‘French’ bread – delicious! Mal took himself off on a bike ride whilst I had a little siesta (it’s hard going all this travelling lark). Next day we decided to move camp further up the road at La Turballe. Again this was another great location – just across the road from the beach. We took a ride into town to find a launderette with success – we sussed out what time it was open until & how much change etc. we needed, then rode back to the MH to collect the washing. Loaded up with 2 bags, Mal had one I had the other on the back of my bike we rode back into town & spent the next hour or so doing the washing which cost €20. By the time we got back it was late afternoon, whilst I put the washing away Mal cooked a tuna risotto – we got our chairs out & ate lunch outside. Post lunch we decided on a stroll on the beach, it was a lovely day & there were a number of bathers. We copped a squat & soaked up the sun for a while, finishing off with a gentle stroll around the headland. Tonight we had our video calls to the USA & UK with our Sisters. P my Sister is taking her driving test tomorrow so we spent some time psyching her up for it. Next day we headed off for Jarde-Su-Mer I didn’t sleep well, so was pretty tired. We arrived late afternoon, so had a stroll to the beach & sunbathed. Later we walked into the town were they had a lovely marina. We had a visit from another Brit who was doing a similar thing to us, except they were off olive picking in Granada from Nov for 3 months. Spoke to my Sis tonight what a STAR!! She passed her driving test today, I am so proud of her. We caught up with Holly & Phil online too, they are planning a trip to see us towards the end of October, and it will be great to see them. We set off early this morning to La Rochelle, picked up some shopping en route. We also filled up with LPG which was a bit hairy the garage had a really tight area to get through to pay! I disembarked to guide Mal through closely helped by the cashier; thankfully with Mal’s skill he guided her through without a mark! La Rochelle – hmmm well we pulled up at the aire which was a very very busy car park in the centre of the city, there was not room to swing a cat never mind a 4 tonne MH! I had to bail out at one point because it was just too tight, so don’t rely on me if you’re in a tight spot! I decided this was not a very nice place, it had been vandalised & I didn’t want another sleepless night like Bayeux. We decided to continue on the journey to Mortagne-Sur-Gironde, what a good idea that was. Mortagne-Sur-Gironde is beautiful our site is overlooking a river marina which is full of prestigious sailing vessels along with a number of mating ducks. There are guys fishing, some riverside restaurants & a little shop selling regional products. On our journey here the landscape has changed again we have gone from all sweet corn in the north to sweetcorn & sunflowers to sweetcorn, sunflowers & vines! The grapes are ready for picking in October so they are fully laden like nothing I have ever seen before! Unfortunately when we arrived we connected up to 230 vaults but there appears to be something wrong with the electric block, i.e. it is not working correctly! Hymer here we come again…..I am getting sick of this! Anyway we put it behind us & went on a cycle ride of the area, I have a new basket for the back of my bike too, in order to carry my shopping/washing or whatever else will fit in – how organised am I. Mal settled in for the Liverpool match & I cooked dinner, we broke into our 5 litre box of wine which cost €6 what a bargain!
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