2024 September: France and Spain – Comps to Caveau Morin Langaran
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After breakfast here at Comps on the aire by the river Gardon a young woman with a child in a buggy calls for our €6 (for parking). Mr C. jokes with her and says he realises now why so many motorhomes left so early!
Calling at the service area we fill with water and empty the tanks and call at Aldi at Beaucaires (but no fresh milk). We take D999, a good fast road to Nîmes which is a bit of nightmare to drive around, rather like York with its inner ring road of roundabouts continually congested with queues of traffic! We continue on D999 all the way to Quissac stopping at Aire de Vic on the way, a layby set back from the road with picnic tables under trees, a great stop for lunch.
From Quissac D45/D17 to St Gely and D986 to Montpellier, where we take M65 ring road around the city. We were aiming for Sète and the Aires along the coast but it soon becomes plain that the area is totally congested (and it is a sunny Saturday). Change of plan and head for Balaruc les Bains on D2 and Chemin des Bains campsite.
The town is small and very congested with narrow roads and large plane trees with inward-leaning low branches. There seem to be hundreds of people milling about (like Blackpool on a sunny Bank Holiday), not surprisingly when we find the campsite it is already full. There is a motorhome in front of us trying to back out, we can’t move because another one behind is also queueing to get in. There is another large motorhome parked across the narrow street the driver with his head in his hands not knowing what to do or where to go. There are people everywhere trying to cross the road. In avoiding a moho coming the other way we catch the end of the awning on one of the overhead branches and it rips the end covering off.
We eventually get out of this nightmare street. I walk back and collect the awning end piece, walking forward I find the street in front is barely wide enough to pass through. I walk ahead and guide Mr C. through the gap with literally an inch or two to spare on each side and… we are followed by two more motorhomes also trying to escape this dreadful place. Escape we do and do not look back. Chemin des Bains campsite we do not want to come back – ever.
We take the D613/D158 through Loupian to D51 and the wine route south. We stop at Caveau Morin Langaran and park up under the pine trees in front of their Chateau, which is closed until Monday (unfortunately).
It is a small Aire, no longer very well cared for, but level with shade and very quiet among the vines. We stop and finally relax… a very stressful day, both of us still have large red tiger mosquito bites and very very hot. The promised rain did not arrive just a close humid evening that darkens to night.
The following day, Sunday the morning is cooler and fresher and we have a slow start to the day. One (of the three) motorhomes leave mid-morning leaving just us, and the Swiss couple who are collected by friends in a car after lunch. We have no desire to go anywhere or do anything after the stresses of yesterday.
We sit in the shade, catch up with emails, journals and do some research of what there is to see at San Sebastian. Apart from the young men shooting things nearby (the French do love to kill the birds with their shotguns…!) we do not see a soul and have a quiet afternoon.
It is pleasantly hot, about 27°C but late afternoon dark thunder clouds start to bubble up in the north getting thicker and heavier. About 4.30pm they are navy blue and thunder rumbles all around followed by flashes of lightning and then… the torrential rain falls. It pelts on the (north) side of the vehicle making a tremendous noise.
We sit and watch as it passes over, eventually abating about an hour later when it is noticeably cooler. It is followed by a delicate blue and purple sky, the sun coming out chasing away the last of the rain.
As everything is dripping wet, we sit in and drink wine and make chicken stir fry for tea. A fabulous sunset follows with a brilliant orange and red sun casting long shadows through the pine trees, it makes stunning photographs. Later the Swiss couple return and just the two of us overnight here.
Photos from – Comps to Caveau Morin Langaran
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