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Winter Tour 2008 – Day 11: If it had been another sunny day we would have stayed for a second day in Mimizan-Plage, but the clouds caught up with us again, bringing some fog along with it. So we went back on the road heading north – slowly going home.  We didn’t have a tourist guide for this region and unfortunately they were not being sold anywhere. The only help we had were the pictograms of attractions like castles and viewing points on our France map. Soon after Bordeaux we left the main road and instead followed countryside roads along the Gironde estuary, which took us along countless vineyards of the Bordeaux wine and through villages like Plassac and Blaye.

Unfortunately it stayed foggy all day, so we didn’t many pictures. Just before dark we reached a nice camper park next to the harbor of Mortagne-sur-Gironde.

Winter Tour 2008 – Day 10: After a quiet night in Anglet, we went on a bit further up the coastline to see something of Aquitaine, a region of France where we had not been before.  Soon the land became flat and mostly covered with evergreen forests, we were traveling through the Côte d’Argent. After buying bread in Mimizan, we wanted to see the Atlantic ocean and followed the signs to Mimizan-Plage.

Here we noticed a camper park sign and decided to give it a try. What we found was a huge parking lot directly behind the dunes with many motor homes, a service station and electricity, all for just EUR 5.50 per night (low season rate). So we stayed and enjoyed the sunny warm weather at the long sandy beach. For most of the time it was warm enough to be outside without a jacket, which is quiet nice for December 29th in this corner of the world.

Solar Tour 2009 – Day 9: The day started off gray and rainy, so the weather prediction came true and it was time for us to go north again. Luckily I felt better and driving went fine. In the area of Valencia the navigation system took an unexpected route back home via the Atlantic coast and central France. First we were hesitating, but after another online weather check we decided to give it a try as the forecast for the west of France looked better than the one for the east. It also gave us the chance to see something new instead of just following back the route we took when we came down here.
In the area of Teruel we got some blue sky and sun for the first time this day and saw some stunning landscapes. Between Saragossa and Pamplona we saw some more hillsides filled with solar panels and hilltops full of wind turbines, which was really encouraging to see.
We first considered staying in Pamplona for the night but didn’t like the possible camper parks and continued driving all the way until France. Across the border in France there are plenty of official camper parks. First we tried the one in Biarritz but there was no space left. One city further on in Anglet there was enough room for us on a large camper park where we arrive around 23:00.

Winter Tour 2008 – Day 3: Today was mainly a driving day to make up for yesterday. After a good night, we got up early and drove most of the day, only to stop for shopping in Landres, lunch and a coffee break in the afternoon. When we were shopping in Landers, I was able to go online with my iPod Touch and send a quick email to my colleagues at work and check the weather forecast. According to the forecast we had to go south faster then originally planned.
In the area of Avignon we finally got away from the gray cloud cover and had a beautiful sunset turning the Languedoc landscape orange-red. Around 18:40 we arrived at the Mediterranean sea in Narbonne-Plage. There was nobody there at the reception of the camper park, so we let ourselves in and settled for the night.

Winter Tour 2008 – Day 2: After the night in Hamoir we got going again around 9:30 am, crossing Belgium and Luxembourg. In the afternoon after passing Nancy I got really tired and had to take a break. Obviously I had caught some kind of a cold or flu and was really not up to driving all day. After taking a nap, we decided it would be better to stop for the day and found a place for the night nearby in Chaumont. When we arrived at the camper park ‘Port Fluvial de La Maladiere’, everything was closed. We were able to get a place but could not get electricity or fresh water.

Solar Tour 2008 – Day 11: Yesterday when we left Roussillon we tried to reach Camping La Coutelière close to Fontaine-de-Vaucluse along the river Sorgue in time, but when we arrived the reception was already closed. The owners of the camp ground where still there but were not at all helpful. Instead of letting us in and doing the paper work in the morning, they just sent us away. Unfortunately our ASCI camping guide doesn’t provide opening times of receptions, so this was the second time on this trip that we found ourselves in front of closed doors.
A bit further on in Fontaine-de-Vaucluse we were lucky to get a free spot on a large and almost full camper park. Not exactly what we had been looking for but good enough for one night.

Originally we didn’t plan to visit Fontaine-de-Vaucluse, which has to reputation of being a popular tourist spot with well over a million visitors a year, but since we were there we gave it a try early in the morning.
A short walk from the ancient riverside village the river Sorgue is gushing out of the ground deep below a massive cliff. Depending on the amount of rainfall on the Plateau de Vaucluse this is sometimes one of the most powerful natural springs in the world. Back in the village the tourist shops had all opened up and it was time for us to move on after buying fresh bread and taking care of the waste water.