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Member#: 1933 Location: Leamington Spa Registered: 01-06-2006 Diary Entries: 12
Mood: Reflective
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13th September 2016
Wild - Open Water Swimming: Loire Wind Direction: Wind Stength: Surf / Sea State: Air Temperature: Sea Temperature: Weather: Sunny and hot :) Max Speed: Distance Covered:
Tuesday 13th September – Relax, skinny dip x 2
Not the most comfortable night as I have really aggravated my back again:(
It is also very hot! We had a rare treat virtually as soon as we woke up.
Mag got out of the van, heard a noise and looked up and there was an
enormous hot air balloon in the style of a ladybird really low and
basically just above our heads!! The dozen or so people in the huge basket
were waving and bonjouring and I was trying desperately to find my
shorts!!! We watched them fly even lower right over the water, the pilot
was obviously really showing off and giving his passengers the time of
their lives:) It is a glorious still morning and perfect for ballooning.
They landed just over the river behind some trees. As we were eating our
breakfast we had another treat, an osprey diving into the river hunting for
his breakfast! We packed up the van ready to move on and turned the key
– nothing!! The battery was flat. That’s what we get for staying two
nights in the same spot without running the engine for a while on day one!!
We made ourselves comfy and hoped the two solar panels would work their
magic (they have done it for us before) but no and after having some lunch
and still no luck on turning the key we decided something more was needed.
I asked a fisherman who had just turned up if he had jump leads but he
didn’t so I walked up to the equestrian centre and asked firstly the
blacksmith but he didn’t have any and then a young lady from the stables.
She was really trying to help and searched for some she thought she had
but nothing appeared:( I walked back to the van, attached the tow eye and
rope to the van and asked the fisherman if he would give us a tow as he was
just about to move along the bank a bit in his 4 x 4 car. He was very
happy to help and after only a few yards, voila, we were up and running
again. We thanked him profusely and he waved us off before finding another
hopeful swim to fish in. We drove the long way round to Blois to do some
shopping because we are basically out of everything including water to
drink and fill our tanks. We weren’t sure whether there would be a Lidl
or not but we hadn’t got far into the town before the magic blue and
yellow sign came into view:) We stocked up and rode around Blois until we
found a small supermarket to get fresh milk – Lidl just don’t do it
unfortunately! Then we found a tap in a picnic area on the edge of town
heading back to our original parking place so were able to fill all our
tanks. It was too late in the day to move away to find somewhere new so we
returned to our perfect spot by the river, read, dozed and I had my second
skinny dip of the day making sure I did lots of splashing to keep those
rumoured ankle biting fish away!! As the very hot day (38 degrees!)
started to cool off we sat outside playing the first of our Phase 10
tournament (I won!) until the sun set. A young family arrived and the Dad
took the little boy in paddling and they were throwing stones just as the
frogs started their nightly sing song!! Mag had just said I wonder if
there will be any more balloons as it is still so still and then looked
along the river and there were 2!! We watched them go down and then a
paramotor appeared and flew over us and the river before flying back up the
other bank. What a lot to see without going anywhere – well apart from
the shop!! We had another game of cards playing half before tea and half
after (Mag won that one) We ran the engine for 10 minutes, turned on
Mag’s small office fan and shut all the doors and windows – if we have
them open once the light goes on we are inundated with literally thousands
of tiny flies and beautiful lace wings which commit suicide in our sink!!
There are hundreds more trying to get in and sticking themselves to the
muslin we hang in the door as a mozzy net. We couldn’t face all that
carnage again tonight so shut them out!!
Wednesday 14th September – Travel, cloudy and rain
A cloudy start with one balloon in the distance and a busy kingfisher for
entertainment. I didn’t do my exercises because my back is giving me
quite a bit of trouble :( It clouded up all the time we were eating
breakfast and packing up. I was tempted to canoe but as it was a dodgy day
weather wise, and we have explored this stretch of river over the last few
days and my back playing up we decided not to bother and left the Loire via
Chambord Chateau. It isn’t far and you can drive past and see it but if
you want to park it will cost 11 euros!! The front was full of heavy plant
digging it all up and there was scaffolding up too so even if we were
tempted to look round it wouldn’t be on this trip. Maybe we will come
back and cycle from our spot on the river one day. Drove down towards
Chateauroux and the free motorway past lots more chateaux. Nothing
tempting enough to stop. Saw more deer in the fields and some buzzards.
When we got to the motorway it was absolutely pouring with rain. We
stopped at an aire for lunch and texted our friend Jace to see if they were
free but it is Mia’s birthday so they are out for the day. We went on to
Lac St. Pardoux which isn’t far along the motorway from their turn off
and were pleased to get off the road because the rain was coming down so
fast it was hard to see where you were going especially with the spray
coming off the lorries. We drove round to see where we wanted to stop and
past where we stayed the last time we were here 5 years ago. We went to
the village of St. Pardoux and visited the tourist information where the
lady told us it was going to rain until Saturday!!! We found a good place
to park overlooking the lake and on pretty firm ground but a few yards
around a narrow path there was a good secluded spot I fancied but it
wasn’t a good start when a tricky manoeuvre resulted in me reversing into
a concrete litter bin breaking the bike light board!! The rain got lots
worse so after tea we moved to the original spot fearing we would get
stuck. It isn’t as if we could have enjoyed the secluded spot because
the weather is just foul. I think it is pretty wide spread and covers this
area and down to the Dordogne which is where we will be heading tomorrow.
All quite depressing and we are a bit fed up :( Mag checked the weather
on her phone and it doesn’t look half as bad so feeling a bit better
now!!
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