We took a couple more day trips for lunch – once going south to the town of Riberac which was quite nice.
There’s an old castle/fort above a lovely park, and some nice restaurants around a large square.
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The campground in Mansle has been as full as I’ve ever seen it, with many folks staying a week or more.
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Colin had another couple of tests and appointments and all went well – even the extremely rude urologist was fairly polite the second time. Finally we were free to return to Spain! The birdies will miss us, and I hope the jasmine, passion flower and clematis manage to survive.
I drove the new BMW while Colin and Max were in the campervan. It took a lot of will power but I managed to keep near the speed limit – at least most of the time. Getting around Bordeaux was, as usual, a big pain but we did make it. We stopped for the night a little past Zaragoza and made it to the house just after noon on the second day.
We’ve enjoyed the pool almost every day, and had lunch out at Los Cerricos – not so many cats this time.
We’ve been spared the awful fires that are affecting many parts of Spain right now, but the dust from the Sahara is covering everything – there’s no way to keep it out of the house or off of anything.
Most of the terrace plants are doing really well – we haven’t been at the house this long in past years so they’re getting tended and watered more. The jasmine especially is very lush, and the two tomato plants have sprouted up like crazy.
Colin’s hernia operation went well – he has a follow-up appointment soon to make sure all is ok. I convinced him to use my upstairs bedroom for a week while I used the spare bedroom/office/library. Thus he didn’t have to go up and downstairs as much and all he had to do was move into the lounge to get to the couch and watch tv while he recuperated.
The ‘honey man’ is at the market every Friday morning – I’ve tried several of his products and all are delicious. We also get what we can from the veggie people, and have tried scallops from the fish guy.
We took a drive to Confolens one day for fish and chips – it ended up being a bit of an ‘adventure’. First of all we went in the campervan as the fish and chip shop is quite small and in case there wasn’t room we’d be able to park somewhere nice and eat inside the campervan.
There were roadworks on the way and the main diversion included going under a bridge with fairly low clearance. We couldn’t fit under so turned around and ended up following another campervan that seemed to know where they were going, eventually getting across the river and into the town. To top it all off the cafe was closed due to ‘it being too hot to open’!
We’ve been to the little restaurant at Villognon several times now and always enjoy what we get, although I must say that the duck confit I had the first time was my favourite.
We helped out at the annual ‘kids’ races in Saint Angeau, parking the campervan at a side road near the finish line to marshall any traffic and prevent them from turning in either direction. Luckily there was a french lady on the other side of the main road doing the same thing and she took care of most of the interactions with the drivers. There was only one driver that was somewhat ornery, but at least he did as directed and didn’t try to run us over.
The following weekend we helped again at another race – the Paul Poux, which has about 300 entrants and covers three different routes of varying lengths. This time Colin and I were at different places – he was right in Goue and I was just down the road at another spot. I was very nervous about being alone and not being understood so I printed up four papers in french with phrases on them such as ‘there is a cycling race on’ and ‘you may only turn left when I tell you it’s safe’.
There ended up being many more cars than I expected entering and leaving my little side road, but every driver was extremely nice and co-operative and several laughed at my phrase pages. Luckily the races had started early as it was getting very hot by the time we left around 10:30.
On our way to Aigre one day we saw that the restaurant in Villejesus had re-opened. We were very happy to see that and stopped on the way home for a drink. There’s a nice war memorial across the road…
…we went back several days later to have lunch but they wouldn’t let the dog inside and we didn’t want to sit on the outside area as it’s right on the road so ended up getting pizza from one of the places in Aigre.
The next weekend we helped out at yet another local race – this time the regional gravel championships.
There are many ‘white roads’ around here and it was a sunny and hot day. We were assisting at the water table, handing out bottles as the riders passed. I ended up taking over the opening of the bottles and setting them out on the table for the others to ‘hand’ to the riders as they pass – not as easy as it might sound in some cases.
Colin got a new car! He’d been looking online for a Porsche Panamera but decided that the potential maintenance costs could get pretty high so we ended up at the BMW dealership in Angouleme. He’s dealt with them for many years and ended up getting a lovely sporty coupe.
I wouldn’t want to be getting in and out of the back seat as a passenger but the dog likes it, and the hatch/storage area is huge. Apparently it’s really nice to drive but I haven’t tried it out yet – I’m fairly comfortable with the ‘old’ blue one (which we have kept) but will eventually have a go with the new one.
We made another trip up to Confolens and had success this time with the ‘english’ fish and chips. The shop is quite small and there’s only sitting outside with space for about 20 people. We were lucky as we hadn’t made reservations and it was the best fish and chips I’ve had in a long time. Having delicious local french cuisine at one of the many restaurants we now frequent is one thing, but fish and chips brings fond memories from childhood.
We took delivery of firewood for next winter – the pile seemed so large when we started…
…but it only took about 90 minutes – with a small break – to stack it neatly on the lower terrace.
Colin had a follow-up appointment with the hernia surgeon and she was quite pleased with his recovery. He also had an initial appointment with a urologist – he was one of the rudest professional people I’ve ever encountered. First of all, when we were in the waiting area a woman came out one door and muttered ‘that was very rude!’. When we’d gone in we realized why – the doctor was constantly saying very nasty things under his breath in french because Colin’s french isn’t perfect, especially when it comes to medical terms. Part of the problem was that I understood much of what the doctor was saying and it took all of my self-control not to reach out and slap him, then dramatically storm out. I really hope that Colin doesn’t need surgery as that doctor was horrible.
On a nicer note we got a small bird-bath for our feathered friends – it has a solar-powered pump that makes a little fountain so now they have a fat-ball feeder, a lovely seed feeder (made by Claire) and now a water source.
Since being back in Mansle we’ve gotten into a nice, if somewhat lazy routine. I’m usually up pretty early, then after breakfast and a cup of tea we take Max down to the campground for a run about (him, not us!). Then we go to one of the bars for a coffee/drink.
We’ve been out for some very nice lunches – my new favourite place is in Villognon. I had the duck confit the first time and it was just delicious – we’ve been back a couple of times since. Then for Colin’s birthday lunch we went to the Cheval Blanc in Luxe, and it was so good! I think my favourite course was the cheese trolley but by then I was so full I could only sample a few of the twenty or more offerings.
We’ve had to leave Max behind a couple of times, and he wasn’t happy about it – witness the destruction left in his attempt to get into the garbage can to ‘help himself’.
On Easter Sunday we went to the bar for a drink and passed an old fellow carrying a bunch of ‘greenery’ – turned out he was on his way to the church. We saw that most of the other folks were also carrying bunches – looked like weeds to us, but I think it was ‘palm Sunday’, although they certainly weren’t palm fronds.
There have been several heavy rainfalls, with the river going up and down each time. The hippodrome has been flooded and even the road down to the campground was closed for a few days due to the overflow.
The local cycling club hosted a regional race about a week ago and there was a good turnout. Colin and I manned the beverage table, and we got a delicious lunch first with all of the other helpers.
There were several motorcycle riders helping as well to lead out the various groups of riders.
It was a lovely day and we were very glad to have been able to help out.
We ended up with lots of leftover coca colas (I did not have one – never in my life), but ran out of beer (not my fault either!).
It was VE Day yesterday and it was a big deal here – far more important than ‘May Day’ last week.
There were several different groups of service people represented at the local war memorial where they layed wreaths, then all gathered at the bar for a drink afterwards.
It’s the most crowded I’ve ever seen the place!
I know that in other places in the world the end of WWII was a big thing, but over here, especially places like France, Belgium, The Netherlands, etc it is a really, really big deal. It hits you in the face at times like you can’t even imagine back in Canada.
Whether you’re seeing a large cemetery with hundreds of graves or a small roadside memorial to one unknown soldier – they are everywhere. And each and every one is immaculately kept and tended with love by the local people.
After leaving the campground in the morning we tried to find a place to get a SIM card for the mobile wifi device. We were directed to the town of Zottegem where, I was told, I would be able to find a place that sold them no problem.
Well – it was a problem. First I took my ipad and wifi device into a kind of fancy shop that sold phones and all accessories and asked for a SIM card – I was told that I must have Belgian ID and would have to wait at least a week. I asked if there was any other place I might get a card without all the fuss and was directed to a place near the train station. Arriving there I eventually narrowed it down to a small ‘variety’ store and upon asking was immediately presented with a new card off the shelf without any need for ID or a waiting period.
But…that wasn’t the end of it. When I put the card in the mobile device it didn’t work. The owner of the store got his young teenage son to have a try, but after almost 45 minutes I had to give up as nothing he tried would make it work. You need to go onto a phone and download an app, then scan a bar code – I was lost and so was the young fellow.
I then took the card back with me to the first store, and they also tried for about 15 minutes without any more luck. I don’t know why it had to be so complicated and was so frustrated I wanted to throw something – although not at the fellows who had really tried to help.
After that exercise in frustration we headed to West Flanders to find the route for Gent Wevelgem which was the next race. We’d been in the very same area six years ago – not far from the Ploegsteert and one of the beautiful and moving war memorials and many cemeteries.
We followed the route almost to the Kemmelberg and found a nice spot on the side of the road behind a couple of other campervans. Along the way we spotted several different groups of people apparently on tours of the WWI sights. There were four or five large golf-type buggies, then some sizeable walking groups.
After a nice quiet night I was, as usual, up early. There are some marked paths for walking, cycling and horseback riding and I followed one for a bit, only stopping when it crossed a farmer’s field and curved in the opposite direction from where I wanted to go.
As usual when on a race route there were many amateur cyclists going by, so after breakfast I walked down the road to see what was ahead. Just around the corner down from us were some ‘race marshalls’ for the sportif/fondo that was going on.
I asked them just to make sure we were on the Gent Wevelgem route and was told that the race would be coming down three times from a small side lane and turning sharp left onto the road we were on.
Then 400 meters on they would turn left again and go up the Kemmelberg. I asked three different people and was told the same thing.
Colin and I took Max and walked down to the turn up the Kemmelberg – fans were already trecking up to claim their places. There was a nice little park at the bottom with some amusing carvings.
We had to leave Max in the campervan as he’d just get too excited by the race and all the fans, and picked our spot right where the side lane joined the main road.
The first sign of the race arriving was a bunch of motos – all coming down the main road, then the riders arrived – coming down the main road that we were parked on! So much for getting advice from folks that are supposed to know.
The first time they passed us they arrived just before 1:30.
Two of the racers each threw any empty bidon to the little fellows on the road above us – they were so thrilled!
The final pass did come down from the side lane, and Mads Pederson was in the lead…
…and ended up winning.
The next morning we made a serious decision – we chose to return back to Mansle rather than chase and watch the other races. Back in 2019 when we saw 10 races in three weeks it was very exciting, especially for me, but now it was just very tiring, especially for Colin. Also – not to be discounted – the toilet in the campervan got screwed up and was not opening/closing – not good!
We got back to the house in two days, and were very happy to watch the next few races on the big screen.
After getting the campervan serviced we left the next day for Belgium. Rather than trying to get up in two days we left a little later in the morning and took three days to get there.
The second night we stopped behind a church just an hour or so from the border.
They had a lovely memorial to WWI.
We crossed from France to Belgium without seeing a border – the road in the photo below is in France, and the church is in Belgium.
We arrived at the camperground in Zwalm before noon.
The fluffy white cat was still there – its deaf and has one blue eye and one green eye and is very friendly.
We headed the next morning to Kwaremont on the route of E3-Saxo and found a nice place to park just out of the town. They’re erecting a VIP tent and have a large flat area for campervans – likely for another race later in the week.
We walked down into the town – there were a bunch of folks enjoying a beverage in the town square.
I went into the nearby church, which was nice, if a bit gaudy inside.
The first racer arrived around 4:30 – Mathieu van der Poel…
…followed by Pederson, then Ganna. Van der Poel ended up winning in style.
We decided to return to Spain for another couple of weeks as we’re not heading up to Belgium until late March for the Spring Classics. Rather than go in the campervan we zipped down in the BMW, stopping at a hotel southwest of Zaragoza.
At one time it must have been quite the place – lovely gardens, and thermal hot springs/spa. The room was nice, but there wasn’t much sound-proofing.
Breakfast the next morning was nearly the best we’ve had – next to the one place in Mutters, Austria a few years ago.
We made it to the house mid-afternoon and it was especially nice that the piece for the pellet burner finally arrived and it’s up and running again – how nice it is to have heat!
We’ve arranged for the driveway to get done, although they still need a week without rain to be able to do it properly. The pool is as full as it’s ever been with all the rain – no need to get the tanker truck up this year!
We had a couple of nice lunches out at the bar in Los Cerricos – happy kitties getting bits of swordfish and pork tenderloin as usual.
We only stayed two weeks before heading back north again, experiencing only one highway delay due to a truck losing a load of oranges.
Just past Pamplona they’re twinning one of the tunnels – it is quite a busy road as it goes to Irun on the coast.
Just before the French border, in the small town that gets a lot of French visitors for the cheap fuel, tobacco and liquor, we saw the results of an accident. There was one car stopped and four people crouched on the road next to a bike-rider – they’d already gotten a neck brace on him and also on his left leg. He was conscious, which was good, but I started crying anyway – you never want to see an injured cyclist lying on the road. A mile or so beyond the border we passed an ambulance racing towards us to take the cyclist to the nearest French hospital.
The Basque folks are still defacing road signs, and there are still remains of burned tires, etc in some places left by the farmers’ protests months ago.
My little Sly guy back at the spanish house is very happy that the dog is gone again – he spends most of his days stretched out on the heated rug in front of the pellet burner now, and goes outside whenever he wants to.
There’s a new dog at the bar – an adorable little black chihuahua named Valentino Bello – I think someone gave him to them – not as a replacement for Snoopy, of course, and he does seem to be settling in quite nicely.
Being back in Spain is mostly great – we’ve pretty much fixed the water issue and are no longer running out. The lower pump has been replaced again and seems to be doing the trick. We’ve put up another raised-bed garden container and planted more veggies.
We all went for lunch together at the bar in Los Cericos and the bar cats had a feast. Colin fed them bits of his swordfish and they got bits of pork tenderloin from me. The small female is pregnant again – she still looks like a baby herself but no one seems to ‘fix’ their pets around here. Max, as usual, was very well behaved – he sat on one side and the three bar cats completely ignored him on the other side.
Having solved our water woes we now have a problem with the pellet burner – after getting a ‘computer’ issue fixed we now are dealing with a broken motor. Our plumber has ordered a new motor (still under warranty, thank goodness) and we’ve now been waiting several weeks for delivery. In the meantime the house is freezing – it’s actually quite warm outside but the inside is a different story. We’re constantly running several small electric heaters and our electric bill has tripled, even with our solar panels.
Colin and I had to return to France in early Feb for yet another hospital appointment and more blood tests. We took a different route north as we wanted to visit Sad Hill Cemetery – Colin has been watching a lot of behind-the-scenes videos about The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and thought seeing the cemetery would be interesting.
Finding the place was a bit of a challenge, but we finally narrowed it down and got on the right road just south of the village of Contreras. It was a chilly, cloudy day and there was a small amount of slushy snow on the ground and the gravel road. I voiced my concern about the road but we plowed along anyway. The road was narrow and about 2 ½ km along we spun out and couldn’t make it up a very small incline.
With nowhere to turn around we proceeded to back up very slowly with me hanging out the side door to watch the right-hand ditch. About halfway along we met a jeep coming up – they backed up to the only possible turning area and waited for us. After consulting with us they recommended a course of action and Colin followed their advice. The place was a very small side track with a deep ditch on either side of the access ramp – I knew it was a problem but had no time to shout a warning before the right rear tire slid off the edge and the campervan completely bottomed out with the tire in the ditch.
More consultation between the two spanish fellows and Colin, and out came a brand-new tow rope. The jeep they were in was pretty heavy-duty – they attached Colin’s tow-hook to the front of the campervan and the younger fellow took over the driving – one good tug and it was freed! After about a twelve point turn the campervan was heading the right direction down the road and we were on our way. Such super nice folks – we would have made it to the main road eventually with our very slow backing up but it turned out to be another unplanned adventure and meeting a couple of friendly and helpful locals. We could just imagine them going home for lunch and telling their family about the crazy foreigners!
Apparently we were only about 1 km away from the cemetery – now that we know where it is we’re going to return at a better time of year.
Back at the junction of the main road we parked for a few minutes to un-wind – the local storks are building a nice large nest on top of the bell tower.
We made it to the border by late afternoon and spent the night in the flat, spacious car park of one of the local shopping malls. Being right on the spanish side of the border the town is always packed with french folks coming over for cheap goods and gas. It was a nice, quiet night and we got going at a decently early time in the morning. Once again the only way you realized you had left Spain and entered France was a slight change in the road signs.
We made it back to Mansle in good time and are glad to have the wood-burner – at least we’re not freezing! Colin had a good blood test and his oncologist is happy with all of his results. We went to the BMW dealership in Angouleme but weren’t really that serious about shopping for a new one – I really liked a blue one but it was gas rather than diesel so that eliminated it for Colin. We made an appointment to get the campervan serviced, and also got the BMW done since we’re here.
We’re currently having a bit of a problem with people blocking the car in at the house – we’re on the end of a small local parking area and when we have the campervan and the car parked there is still space for six or seven other cars. However recently we’ve been blocked in more than once and been unable to get our car out. I’ve now left two typed notices (in french, of course) and hope that at least those folks won’t block us again. What if we had an emergency and couldn’t get out? I can’t believe how inconsiderate some people are – we never block roads, gates or any kind of access, even if you can tell by the length of the weeds that it doesn’t ever get used.
There’s some very sad news from the bar – their adorable little dog Snoopy has passed away. He’d been poorly for several weeks and they found out he had a brain tumour. Everyone is very sad as he was super friendly and well loved by all. RIP little guy.
We’ve been to a restaurant just outside Ruffec a few times now – it’s an old water mill that’s been nicely redone into a lovely restaurant that has really excellent food.
There’s a little white resident dog that wanders around – very cute but could use a bath.
After the first restaurant visit we popped up to the nearby town of Civray – it was a very important town for the resistance in WWII. Since it was just past Remembrance Day there were still some beautiful flowers around the base of the war memorial.
The town also has a very old church that goes back to the 1100’s. As usual I went in for a look while Colin and Max stayed outside.
There seemed to be many different styles of decorations, some of which were quite lovely, but overall the effect was a bit of a mish-mash.
We made a couple of visits up to the charity shop in Sauze-Vaussais – mostly for jigsaw puzzles and books, although they also have hundreds of DVDs and CDs. It’s almost all Brits that volunteer there and shop there, and as it’s a charity for animals dogs are welcome. Max always gets fussed over where ever we go.
Max still loves going to the campground for his daily run-around – he ventures off on his own and runs back and forth to us from time to time as we walk too slowly for him.
The rain every few days has kept everything nice and green…
…and the town has put up their Christmas decorations.
The Penalty Bar has had two very nice lunches – the second one was my favourite as it started with Coquille St Jacques, followed by whole baby chicken, then a lovely cheese plate and dessert. I accepted a shot of cognac but Colin had to partake of it for me – he also had my dessert. The lunch was followed by karaoke – Edith has quite a good voice but the other folks that got up and sang left a bit to be desired. One lady was somewhat ‘entertaining’ as I think she had a more than a bit of wine with lunch, but she looked like she was having fun.
The local cycle club is celebrating its 130th year and had a really interesting display in the town library.
We did have one little bit of ‘excitement’ with a small visitor. Colin noticed a movement out of the corner of his eye one evening – it was a mouse! As we didn’t want to kill it we went to the garden centre the next morning and got a ‘live trap’ that we set with some of our precious cheddar. It was a very crafty little thing, however, and three times managed to get the cheese out without triggering the flap. We were finally successful in the end by baiting it with a couple of half-open hazelnuts.
Colin let him out under a bush next to the parking area in front of the house – I hope he finds a warm dry place for the winter, as long as it isn’t back in the house!
We left for Spain on Dec 24th and had two quite long days of driving, although the traffic wasn’t bad and there was no ‘border’ check entering Spain. We arrived at the house on Christmas afternoon and it was so warm on the back terrace that I ended up in shorts and flip-flops – although it is not always so nice. It does get quite cold at night, although not yet below zero. I’m still getting lettuce, chard and collard greens from the garden and look forward to planting more than just the one raised bed in the spring.
Colin had some more appointments in France so he and I headed back up in early/mid October. We stopped in Logrono as usual to pick up a few cases of Rioja.
As we were staying overnight in the large camper parking area just north of the river we took the opportunity of going across the pedestrian bridge and walking around the ‘old town’ a bit.
We stopped at a bar in one of the main squares and had a drink, then moved along to another one.
We were actually hoping to find a nice tapas bar but perhaps were on the wrong street.
In any case we had another drink, then Colin got a frozen yogurt cup from one of the many yogurt shops.
We kept seeing folks passing us carrying guitars, etc – they were buskers as that seems to be a big thing here. Also we were approached by a couple of beggars – also seems to be big here.
Logrono is an important stop along the Camino so there are lots of statues and signs along the way.
After a fairly quiet night we were on our way early in the morning, passing by Bordeaux with no problem, and arriving back in Mansle in the early evening.
After reading for the last couple of months about all the rain and crappy weather in Mansle we seem to have timed our return right as we’ve had relatively nice weather. We even got out for some bike riding which felt very good – it’s hunting season here so I did use a high-viz vest.
We spent one Sunday going to the monthly market in Rouillac – it’s a huge one and was very well attended. I actually made a purchase – some new black track pants.
On our way out of the market area we stopped and got some fresh beef sausage – excellent for lunch with new potatoes and peas.
The following weekend we returned to the same area and went to the Roman ruins ‘Les Bouchauds’…
…which has a large amphitheatre and sanctuary, and is still an active archaeological dig site.
The amphitheatre is built into a hillside and there are fabulous views from the top.
The bike ride we went on a couple of days after Nov 1 – All Saints Day in France – all of the local cemeteries had loads of new fresh flowers, mainly chrysanthemums.
As we went through the village of Monpaple on the way home that same day we heard a loud noise – it was a flock of cranes above us heading south for the winter.
Having already decided to skip Saturday’s stage that ends in Villablino we went north on the same road that goes there, but then turned east to our ‘go-to’ campground Rio Luna.
In our years and years of traveling in the campervan we’ve been to dozens of campgrounds – and Rio Luna is our very favourite.
We’ve been there several times now and will drive miles and miles out of our way just to stay there – we love it! It is very basic with showers, etc and a bar and also has many lovely hiking trails and very few children – a big plus for us!
Also they will let the dog in the bar and put the Vuelta on the tv for us – as long as there’s not an ‘important’ soccer game on.
We got to see Michael Woods make an extreme effort and get a triumphant solo mountain stage win on Friday – excellent!!
We took a couple of nice short walks, had some excellent coffee and just relaxed for a couple of days in a lovely place.
We left our little paradise on Monday intending to take it very easy on the way back to Saliente.
Taking the motorway for some time we covered a lot more ground the first day than I thought we would. We took a different route than on we’d done before and went through some very lovely countryside.
Getting back to the house was great in some ways, and not so great in others. We both love the area in general, and the house in particular but once again water was an issue.
We went over a week with no water, resorting to fishing jugs of water out of the pool so we could flush toilets. And of course the day after getting some agua from the tanker guy the co-op finally delivered also. At least we’re topped up and are considering getting another large tank installed for a backup supply.
We managed to get a small fall crop of veggies planted in one of the raised beds – little seedlings of lettuce, kale and onion, as well as seeds of carrots, beets and chard. It’s nice to look forward to harvesting our own food even though it’s only a few things for now.
We’ve had some fierce winds as well as some lovely sunsets.
A few days ago we took a day trip to the village of Gorafe – a place we’d seen on a video about the cycle race along ‘The Badlands’. The route is both beautiful and brutal and passes through a desert and down to the coast.
Unfortunately at this time of year there’s not much happening – Colin asked a local lady where a restaurant was and we found it by following the voices from above (it wasn’t really marked but we could hear talking through the open windows). They weren’t doing lunch but the owner was kind enough to make us a small plate of tapas so we didn’t starve.
We stopped at a restaurant we’d passed near the highway and did get a good lunch – as usual we were almost finished as more and more folks arrived to eat.
We also need to replace the pump that moves the water from the upper tank into the house – it’s not pleasant to be partway through showering and have the water die out. Luckily hitting the reset button on the pump is getting it going for now but a new one the doesn’t stop spontaneously will be nice.
We enjoyed watching the cycling world championships on tv and were so happy when Remco Evenepoel won the time trial and Tadej Pogacar won the road race – and in great style too having gone on his own with just under 100 km to go. He’s going to look very good in the rainbow jersey for the next year!
Sally McKenzie's European Adventures 