Today had many similarities yesterday, crossing more of the Marais waterways, riding along canals and shallow waterways, and also passing through a busy beach area. This evening, we also got given the “last campsite available”, but no one arrived after us and got another “last campsite.”
We had called around to see what was available and were told “Complet” (Full) about 3-4 times in a row and so we prepared ourselves mentally to free camp. While it seemed that there were plenty of free-camping places on the side of the trail or in parks, we still had to get to a grocery store to get some food and water and would certainly miss a shower and a toilet!
But we just decided to stop at campsites along the way in order, asking in person. When the guy who ran the first campground we stopped at stepped into view, I was pretty sure that we would get a spot, even as he said “complet!” He was a older, kind of crotchety guy with a weathered but not unkind face. After he refused us I made a motion with my hands of something small and asked if he had any tiny piece of earth available? And so he motioned us to follow him and showed us what he had, small and slightly sloped but so much better than nothing! I told him that it was “formidable” and he told us to settle in and then come to the office and register.
The proprietors of the campsite, an older couple, were gentle and charming.Two days ago, we paid 46.80 Euros for a campsite. This evening, the cost was 9.40 for the site, which was great!
This was doubly wonderful since we were afraid that we were not going to find ANYPLACE!
We had run out of camping gas the day before, so we stopped for coffee right away!
The area we are in, the Vendée, has an extensive system of paths for cycle touring. We have been seeing dozens if not over a hundred cycle tourists every day, of all ages. Younger people seem to be taking up bikepacking gear rather than panniers. There are lots of families touring together too, although the camping situation is such that we don’t really see all the cycle tourists in one place in a campground like we did in the Loire. The camping situation was MUCH easier on our last trip across Europe.
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