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| Owner:
squiz Member Member#: 6644 Location: Registered: 27-05-2007 Diary Entries: 3071 |
6th October 2012 Kayaking - Surf Skiing: Lac de Montbel Wind Direction: Wind Stength: Surf / Sea State: Air Temperature: Sea Temperature: Weather: sunny and hot Max Speed: Distance Covered: Friday 5th October – little travelling then relaxing, swimming and walk – hot and sunny :) A bit cloudy when we woke up, but as we had decided to make an early start we weren’t too worried. The surface we were parked on didn’t lend itself to exercises anyway so we were on the road by 9.30. We were surprised to find ourselves on a road we recognised very quickly. It was near the village of Bugarach where we had seen vultures over the cliffs in June so we stopped to see if we could spot any and they were just beginning to fly as the mist had just burnt off and it was warming up fast Carried on to the Intermarche at Esperaza mainly for some cake for my birthday tomorrow ,bargain 6 eclairs 3 white icing and 3 chocolate:) and to fill up with diesel. Then we were onto roads further west that we haven’t been on before. We drove to the Lac de Montbel which is another reservoir where the water level is very low :) However, it is pretty with turquoise water, hills all around and mountains in the distance. Our first glimpse of it was over a field of sunflowers which have, of course, gone to seed now but it must have been a fantastic sight a few weeks ago! We got a bit lost trying to find a way to get to the end with the barrage which looked a better bet for a good overnight spot. Got there in the end and had our lunch. Went for a walk round the lake to the right of the van, while a group of 5 Germans in 3 VW vans packed away their enormous amount of fishing gear. We guessed they had been here carp fishing for a week. They had 2 boats each and mountains of equipment – they were still packing up and having a wash in the lake when we came back! I braved the lake water for a swim but Mag didn’t feel like it today :( It is not as inviting as Salagou .Walked back to the van and had a cuppa and relaxed with our books - our usual positions –me in full sun on the picnic blanket with no clothes on and Mag in the lovely cool and comfy van fully dressed :) When it had cooled off a bit we walked round the lake the other way and went quite a way. Past the sailing club and over the dam where the path that goes 16km all round the lake took you through a lovely forest. We saw hoof prints near the water at the end of that particular spit of land and wondered if they were wild boar but we think were probably deer. Back to the van for lasagne from the Intermarche:) Peter texted to say the wind might be coming on Sunday which threw me into a bit of confusion so I rang him after tea and it doesn’t sound like it’s going to be very windy at all for the foreseeable future:( Mag won at cards tonight so it is 9 each now and 2 draws. Saturday 6th October – Stephen’s 59th Birthday :) canoe ***** + swim – sunny and hot We had a cracking day and have decided that it can be the celebration of both our birthdays as we were travelling for most of Mags :( Started off with a lovely sunrise which Mag saw from the window but I went walk about while Mag read her book in bed. I saw a kingfisher, heron, wagtails as well as taking some photos of the sunrise and the mist around the boats :) After the usual exercises Mag braved the sludgy mud and went for a swim equivalent to 20 lengths and I joined her in the cool Lac. We didn’t eat breakfast until 11. I pumped the canoe up and we set off with our lunch to canoe around the Lac Montbel. The scenery is more beautiful from the water as the banks are not so prominent and we had a great time exploring the bays and the 5 dams. Saw some great cows with their calves; some were really tiny, having a drink and a rest right on the bank. They have great horns!! There are old tree trunks all around the edge where the trees were cut down to make the reservoir so you have to be careful when going close to the bank. We chose a point with lots of flat rocks to eat our lunch. We climbed up onto one of the dams because behind it is a more natural lake and we wanted to have a look at that. There were lots of great white egrets and herons in that one. Back in the canoe we saw dinghies having a good sail with their spinnakers up, 2 stand up paddle boards , a paramotor, a microlight and a gyrocopter, quad bikes, hikers and cyclists and numerous fishermen either in boats or camped on the banks. Not so many fishermen as at Salagou so we didn’t have to detour around their swim so much! We saw 4 red kites flying overhead and later we were thrilled to see our first ever Osprey :) It was really beautiful soaring above the Lac and hanging around long enough for us to positively identify it. A whole flock of crows decided they didn’t want him anywhere near them and ganged up on him till he flew off over the trees which was a shame because he had just started to hover and dive down to the lake:(. We got back about 5 which meant we had been out for 5 hours. It took us a while to get the clay like mud off our feet but once we had done that we had a cuppa and my birthday éclairs :) A family with a bigger camper van than ours came and parked on the dried muddy bank just below us but they haven’t effected us very much. The kids played football until it was completely dark and the Labrador came to visit a couple of times but that was all. We had chilli and tortilla chips for tea which was really nice – you can’t beat Lidl tinned chilli!! We finished off the day with a game of Phase 10 which Mag won which was a shame because she told me she would let me win and I won the first 6 hands!! 10 – 9 now. Treated ourselves to a crème brulee too – bad day for eating but it is my birthday and we did lots of exercise so not going to feel bad about that!! We had the most amazing moth in – it was absolutely huge and had bright orange inside its wings. We looked it up in our book and it is a red underwing. Photo Gallery here |
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