After Mont-Saint-Michel I drove to the Southwestern part of Brittany, to the village and fishing port of Lesconil. That was a good choice. The camp site was perfect, a small site with spacious pitches, green fields, very friendly owners, Virginie and Gwen, and while the village and the port were not particularly beautiful, it had everything you need. I visited the city of Quimper, nice, but it did not feel as good as being out in nature all day. I found a very nice bookstore though, so I could boost my stock of books. I spent the other days cycling along the coastline. There was this special city, Le Guilvinec, with a famous port where every day, late afternoon, you can see the fishing boats coming back into the port and unloading tons and tons of langoustines (large prawns, or small lobsters, whatever name you prefer…..).
From there I moved further down the Southern part of Brittany, to campsite le Moulin de Cantizac, next to the village of Séné, also a very pleasant village with all you really need in a village, such as a café with a terrace where you can grab a beer after a long bike ride. Séné is on the Gulf de Morbihan, lots of water, everywhere. I wanted to get on the Voie Verte (biking lane), but could not find the junction to enter it. A very friendly couple saw me staring at my map and offered help. The guy advised me to take the little boat (batteau passeur) to the other side, much nearer and much nicer, he said. I did that and could only agree. At the same place where I hopped on the boat lots of people got into a canoe to go and explore the Gulf. Now these Voies Vertes may be useful, the only thing is that sometimes they stop, and there is no indication whatsoever where exactly you can pick it up again. I got lost twice, both times near a Tourist Office where they explained me what to do. They also confirmed that it was indeed a challenge sometimes not to get lost. Even Google Maps was confused so then you have a second problem. But I really had a lovely day, the cycling, the lunch (fish of course!) at a very good restaurant (‘Le Petit Port’) at the very small port of Logeo. The next day I visited the city of Vannes, and its port. You can almost sail into the city center in Vannes!! Vannes is a beautiful old, charming and lively city, I loved it. The monk Émilion was born in Vannes. He moved from Brittany to what is now called Saint-Émilion, near Bordeaux, where his name was given to the church in Côtes-d’Armor (in the 15th century), and later to the village of Saint-Émilion, known these days as the center of many, many vineyards producing the excellent wines of Saint-Émilion.
My next destination was Les Sables d’Olonnes. I had no good reason to go there, it just sounded somewhat familiar. I did not even had a good look on the internet, I just went there. The camp site was really big, mostly cabins you could rent, but also pitches for caravans, campers, tents. At first I thought my pitch was small and it was not nice and green, but that was irrational, what do you expect in sand dunes? I had just been so spoiled with many lovely places that I forgot to look at it the proper way. I was next to the sea, I could hear it but not see it because of a small dune, I had an entrance to the beach and sea at 25 meters from my van. However, Les Sables d’Olonnes was quite a big seaside resort, with a small old city center, but a long boulevard full of high apartment buildings, not really my thing. The next day however I went on a bike ride along the wetlands, which also took me through fields and forests, so after all (I only stayed for two nights) I had a good time. I was also lucky to find a real good bike repair shop where a kind young man solved the problem with my bike ‘computer’. I actually had this problem once before (near the Mont-Saint-Michel), and was lucky enough to find a good repair shop there as well. And I visited the charming little ‘Musée de Coquillages’, with thousands of nice-coloured and funny-shaped seashells from all over the world, fascinating!!
From the dunes I went to the forest, as a campsite that is, at Dolus-d’Oléron. At that side of the ‘Île d’Oléron’, where I was, you find mostly beaches and dunes as well. From the forest where I lived (how does that sound…..) , I walked in five minutes down to the beach. I did my yoga exercises on the beach, early in the mornings. At the other side of the island there were a lot of oyster farms. There was quite a good system of bike lanes, clearly indicated on a map, and on the lanes themselves. It helped to explore the island.
After the Île d’Oléron I made a small sidestep in order to visit the city of Bordeaux. I hope to go there again later during this trip. I stayed at a campsite in the nice little village of Gradignan, from where it was super easy to get a bus, and tramway into Bordeaux. I had to share a pitch with another camper van, which was so weird!!! But since I was there mostly to sleep it was not nice but still okay. In Bordeaux I walked around in some of the newer, hip areas of Le Bacalan, with stunning food halls, great architecture, including the ‘Cité du Vin’. I crossed the Chaban Delmas bridge to walk in the area of La Bastide and visit the hotspot ‘Darwin’ (a sort of small ecovillage), and have lunch at the ‘Guinguette Chez Alriq’. Then I went back to the other side of the river and visited a small part of Les Chartrons, the former heart of the wine trade with many old warehouses. In one of them you will find the Museum of Contemporary Art. I enjoyed my visit very much and will be happy to go back and visit more!
From here I drove to Herm in Les Landes, an area which feels a bit like a living wood factory. Pine trees at all ages, from babies to toddlers, teens, adolescents, adults, dead trees, cut trees. At the bottom of the adult pine forests there is a sea of ferns, in a beautiful shade of green, in particular when the sun is shining through the trees. The small roads between the patches of wood (ehh, trees) are great to cycle on. Most villages around here are boring, but the camp site, which is in fact a piece of natural wood land, is very spacious and very beautiful. I cycled to a small city yesterday and could stock up on books. That is useful (or rather indispensable) for rainy days, such as today.
I travelled through a lot of natural variety these weeks. I will still explore a bit more and then slow down for a while before travelling home. I will tell you about that next time.
