Le Lot Region (Continued)

Tues:  27^th May, 2014.  More rain through the night but none this morning, though it was overcast early on.  Another slow morning resulting in an 11.00a.m. departure from Vers and we made our first stop at St Gery, where we visited the boulangerie and bought  a couple of f.a. cream cakes…yum!

Following the  beautiful river Lot on the D662, a section of the road passed under overhanging cliffs

and just before we reached St Cirq Lapopie, we stopped to take photos of the castle at the top of the hill and began a conversation with the owner of the property in front of which we parked, an Englishman who has lived there with his wife for 10 years, and due to health reasons, has had to put it on the market. 

With three buildings side by side, a swimming pool, a very, very large landscaped garden which goes down to the  river and for 285,000 euros, it seemed to us to be a bargain and he seemed to think so too but had taken advice from his lawyer, who apparently knows best.

It was only a short drive to the aire from the property and after lunch, we walked up the steep hill to the 12^th century village of St Cirq Lapopie, which belongs to the select group known as the most ‘beautiful villages in France’.  It’s easy to see why and it was well worth the climb to explore the village and all it has to offer, and to admire the spectacular panoramic views.  We took many photos! 

Back down at the aire, Mike put the chairs out in order to sit and soak up the sunshine but alas, a big black cloud appeared and dropped a bucket full of rain, causing windows and hatches to be closed, but it didn’t last very long, the sun is once again shining brightly and the wind has dropped considerably, however, there will be no more sitting in the sun today as it is time to eat.

Wed:  28^th May, 2014.  We were shrouded in a heavy mist this morning when we woke and could just see to the end of the field.  Mike took a couple of photos of the river

Afternoon Photo

 Morning Photo

and after all the usual morning stuff, we left to follow the beautiful River Lot.

The mist had lifted by this time and the sun was shining.  The first stop was at Cajarc, where we parked at the railway station and strolled through the town.  There was a small market in progress but upon inspection, we found that goods were expensive and so weren’t tempted to spend any money there but were more than content to amble through the old streets and the church and probably took enough photos.

Further along the road, we came to Larroque Toirac, noticed a chateau on the hill behind the town, asked a local if it was open to the public and on receiving affirmation, parked and began to walk up, only to read a notice stating that the privately owned chateau is only open on Sundays!  A couple of photos later

and we were back on the road to Figeac, where we visited the supermarket for groceries as the larder needed replenishing and tomorrow is apparently a public holiday in France, so most shops will be closed.  That done, we drove 9kms to Cardaillac, an 11^th century village and our place of rest for the night.  A walk around the old town revealed many ancient buildings,

several wash houses

and a medieval garden.

Cardaillac is numbered amongst the group of 150 ‘beautiful villages’ dotted all over France,

 
but is quite unspoiled and there is a distinct lack of cafes, bars, souvenir shops etc. that can be found in many other such villages.

Thurs:  29^th May, 2014.  We thought we might be disturbed through the night by the bells of the nearby church, but they were rung at 7.00pm yesterday and not again until 7.00a.m. today so there was no problem.  Backtracking a little, our first call this morning was to Capdenac le Haut, another of the ‘beautiful villages’ and having no trouble parking Boris, we did our usual seniors’ stroll through the village which overlooks the River Lot

after which we undertook a 45km drive to Autoire, yet another of the ‘beautiful villages’, only this one is tucked into a deep gorge cut into the limestone by a little stream.  A steep climb up the cliff just before entering the village rewarded us with magnificent views of Autoire and the cascade at the head of the gorge. 

Parking was available for Boris at the edge of the village while we wandered off to explore and take a photo or two.

Only 4 or 5 kms away lies Loubressac…yes, yet another of the ‘beautiful villages’  which in the middle ages was a fortified village, served as a lookout post for the nearby fortress of Castelnau-Bretenoux, possesses lovely stone-built houses and has a magnificent viewpoint overlooking the countryside. 

It has been a very full and tiring day and by the time we’d finished our ‘tour de villages’, we were both feeling rather weary so another short drive of 14kms, and we are now in an ‘aire’ in Alvignac.  Although we’re a mere 500 metres from the town, we have not yet ventured in to sample its delights, they can wait till morning!

Le Lot Region

Sat: 24^th May.  All quiet this morning after the big petanque tournament last night and the celebrations which followed.  We weren’t kept awake by the noise, we were both out to it!  A large number of ladies arrived for an exercise class in the hall and there was a small group of young boys, scouts I think, in another area.  It seems to be a busy sports park.

Another message from Mireille & Mark revealed that they were in Bergerac, about 160kms north from us…we were heading about 120kms north in the direction of Bergerac, to an ‘aire’ at Cancon so through phone calls & text messages, an arrangement was made to meet them there in the afternoon.  We farewelled Anne & Keith and headed off on what was a picturesque drive, stopping briefly for lunch at a little picnic spot in Lectoure, with a panoramic view of a beautiful valley

and arrived at our destination just 5 minutes ahead of  M & M.  A very happy afternoon and evening ensued, catching up, exchanging stories, walking up to the lookout and through the town, playing boules (an interstate competition between Victoria and W.A., with the Sandgropers the victors…yay!)

enjoying drinks and nibbles followed by a barbecue cooked by Mark…it was a most enjoyable day and we are so pleased we were able to meet again.

Sun:  25^th May.  Members of a cycle club converged on the car park this morning so there was lots of noise until they left on their ride and a couple of hours later a lady arrived bearing drinks and nibbles for the returning cyclists.  At about 11.00a.m., after chatting and exchanging maps and brochures with Mireille and Mark, and having photos taken by the drinks and nibbles lady,

we said ‘au revoir’ and set off in opposite directions.  We headed east towards Cahors, stopping at the old hillside town of Tournon d’Angenais for a wander around.

An interesting town, unspoiled by the tourist factor, with a church which has a water tank spire (a 1945 replacement for the damaged original) and with magnificent views over the valley below.

Cahors was very busy when we arrived, today was Mothers’ Day in France and families were out celebrating but when we rode back into the town after parking Boris, things had quietened down coonsiderably and we enjoyed a leisurely ride/walk around the town in the sunshine.

Mon:  26^th May.  It rained heavily all night and was still raining this morning so no point in rushing off.  We didn’t leave till late morning and then made our way to Vers, just 16kms away along the River Lot. 

Lady looking for FACC's

As it was still raining when we arrived, we stayed in the aire until it began to ease a little, then broke out the brollies and walking shoes to do a tour of the town and its surrounds.  It’s another unspoiled small old town by the River Lot, with narrow lanes off the main road, old, old houses, few shops, friendly people and very peaceful.  We stopped at a little bridge over the cascading stream which flows into the river

and chatted to a lovely young man, a uni. student awaiting his recent exam results and who was fishing off the bridge.  He had a good size trout on the end of his line but sadly, or happily for the trout, he wasn’t able to pull it in and it lives to fight another day.

Back to the aire and a chat to the neighbours, a Belgian couple (we were both struck by the resemblance the gentleman bears to the late, great Spike Milligan) who have travelled through India, Turkey and Croatia in their motorhome.  The sun made a late appearance and stayed around for a while, but unfortunately there is now more rain.  Nothing to do but retire for the night!

Barcelona and in to France

Sat:  17^th May.  A lovely sunny day…we rode up a track which was to lead us to the flamingos but when it became too soft for the bikes, and we couldn’t see an alternative path, we turned back to camp, ate breakfast, packed and left, intending to visit l’Ampolla on our way through to the main road.  Once again we encountered the parking problem and so had to be content with a drive through the very attractive and popular fishing village with its many cafes packed with holiday makers, and headed on to the autovia towards Barcelona. 

Just before bypassing the large city of Tarragona, we noticed a Caravan & Camping Accessories Shop on the other side of the road, so turned around as soon as we were able and went back in the hope of finding that elusive barbecue we’d been searching for and we were finally successful!  The very one Mike had seen on the internet, the last of its kind in the shop, marked down by 20% and because the handle was missing from the box, we were given a further 20% off the purchase price.

Oh Happy Day!!! Mike wore his smiley face for the rest of the day!

It was a very sad occasion whem Mike'sfavourite old faithful BBQ had to be consigned to the bin.

The final stretch of today’s journey was on the C31, following the coast along the cliffs with fabulous views of the sea

almost all the way into Camping Tres Estrella in Gava, not the best campsite we’ve stayed in but convenient for visiting Barcelona, about 10kms north.

In the late afternoon we caught bus #L95 at 2,15 euros each into the centre of the city and spent two or three hours strolling about along with thousands of others, happily wandering through the little shopping streets until we came to a small tapas bar where individual tapas were available for 2,00 euros each, so went in, chose our tapas which we thoroughly enjoyed and washed them down with a glass of beer each.  (Each tapas is adorned with a toothpick which is left on the plate and counted at the finish to ascertain the price of those eaten).

We’re booked in for two nights and will go into the city again tomorrow, there’s much to see and do in Barcelona, we will do our best in the time we have here.

Tues:  20^th May.  We were so impressed with Barcelona that we decided to stay three nights rather than the two originally intended.  Although we’re not big city people, and Barcelona is a huge city, we loved our time here. Many of the beautiful old building are 4, 5, or 6 stories high but for a large city, there are very few high rise buildings.  The city boasts lovely wide, tree lined main streets as well as the narrow shopping streets, several plazas and no shortage of cafes/bars/restaurants, an efficient metro system and the people are friendly and helpful…a wonderful city!  We took a few photos…….

It was an easy ‘get out’ of Barcelona this morning, due to the excellent road system here in Spain and it wasn’t long after leaving the camp that we were on the autovia A22 heading north then west to Lleida and north west through gorgeous farming country to the village of Alquezar, chosen as our overnight stop as it’s in our Camperstop Europe Book and what a surprise we had in store!  It’s an amazing ‘historic’ village, overlooking a gorge and boasting a castle,

and once we’d parked in the car park above the village, we walked down and through the village to the castle, did a little tour for 5,00 euros each and walked back, by which time we were worn out and happy that we’d bought a cooked chicken in the supermarket in Lleida which we ate with a salad for dinner, so no cooking tonight. There was no need to go to the paying camp as several others slept in their vans in the cark park, so we felt quite secure and it was free.

Wed:  21^st May.  It rained off and on through the night, very heavily at one stage with loud thunderclaps which woke us but thankfully it was brief and we were back to sleep in no time.  It was another lovely drive today, this time to Jaca, through mountains, three tunnels, wonderful scenery and good roads all the way.  We reached Jaca at about 2.00pm and because we were both exhausted after our three days in Barcelona, and our tour of Alquezar, have spent the afternoon reading and snoozing, recharging our batteries.  Not long after we arrived, there was a heavy rainfall, followed by a  huge hail storm accompanied by loud thunder…and then the sun came out!  It’s colder than we’ve been used to in the last few weeks and we’re back in jeans and jumpers.  An early night is on the cards!

Thurs:  22^nd May.  We were late rising this morning, are hopeful that we are just about over the weariness and were happy to leave Camp Victoria in Jaca, the most expensive and the least inviting campsite we’ve experienced (definitely not recommended). Our destination this morning was San Juan de la Pena, an ancient monastery 24 kms west of Jaca and via a stunning drive which took us through the village of Santa Cruz de la Pena and up a winding road into the mountains. After parking Boris and buying our tickets, we were taken by bus a little way down the mountain (too far to walk) to the monastery which is built into the rocks, absolutely amazing…I hope we took enough photos!

There is a replica of the holy grail in the apse.

Once our visit had ended and we’d returned to Boris, we went back through Jaca and on to the N330, heading north to France. 

And so it was ‘Adios’ to Spain and after our few weeks there, with still so much more to be seen, we feel that we have seen enough to know that we’d be more than happy to return if ever the opportunity arises.

The Col du Somport seemed too steep and winding for Boris to negotiate so we drove  8kms through the Tunnel du Somport, emerging at about 2.00pm to say ‘Bon Jour Francais’. 

We’re back!!  Continuing along the road, which had now become the N134,  we found the scenery fascinating.  We’re in the Pyrenees and there is snow on the mountains, it’s cold and windy, it’s green, lush, just beautiful.  At Asasp-Arros, we turned off onto the D918 and headed east through a very pretty forest to Arudy, our overnight camperstop.  This was in a large grassed field by a river, with gravel sites, power, water etc. for 10 euros.  We were greeted by a funny little black dog, furry and with skinny legs, who adopted us only to abandon us when another campervan turned up.  A bike ride into the town revealed very little, very few people about and only a couple of shops open so it was back to camp for an early night.

Fri:  23^rd May.  We left in the sunshine for the drive to Lourdes, stopping on the way at the Grottes de Betharram.  There we met two other couples, Greg and Lisa from Boyanup and Kerry and Mark from Brisbane (the ladies are sisters), waiting for the 11.00a.m. tour and as there was more than half an hour to kill, we all visited the café for coffee and chatting.  The grotto was discovered more than a century ago, in summer 5,000 people per day visit (there were only 9 in our group), it is an hour and twenty minutes tour and is absolutely fantastic. 

Our guide was a cheerful, friendly little Frenchman who entertained as well as informed us. 

A thoroughly enjoyable tour…and I don’t like caves, or tunnels!

On then to Lourdes.  By this time it was raining, the sky was black so we just stopped there for lunch and were on our way again, north on the N21 to Preignan.  An uneventful, unexciting drive to our overnight stop, a freebie!  We’re in the carpark of a sports club, with four other campervans and there is a big petanque tournament taking place at present as well as soccer training.  Our English neighbours, Anne & Keith, kindly gave us access to their internet so that we could check our emails, and thanks to them, we’ve received a message from the Melbournians (Mireille & Mark) we met last year in Bruges and it seems possible that we could cross paths in the next day or so…here’s hoping!