Boondock Puffins

The next leg of our trip saw us headed from Omaha Beach down towards Granville – Coudeville Plage to be more specific.

The day started with it tipping down with rain early in the morning. Nevertheless, we enjoyed our surroundings with a brief walk to see the cows and horses of the local farmer who has an awesome pop up shed shop outside his farm two days a week where you can get the best cheese, butter, milk and cider.

After the customary French camping breakfast of croissants and pain au chocolats, we head off on today’s ride which was uneventful with no stops. As we rode, it got hotter and hotter until we arrived in baking heat and full sunshine – not ideal in full motorbike kit. Somehow I imagine we will get more used to this as we head further south in Europe!

We arrived at the municipal campsite we’d been aiming for – the Camping Municipal Les Dunes. We weren’t hugely convinced it was our sort of campsite as everyone was jammed into tiny spaces and it was a massive site. However, it was too hot to figure out a back up plan, so instead we headed in to to ask for a space. While it might not have been the dream set up in terms of space, the place for the 5 of us cost us only €30 and we were right on the dunes so it was a good spot.

Having chosen our pitch, we set up camp SUPER speedily. It was flipping hot – only potential issue with my black motorbike jeans is that they slow roast my legs in the sunshine! We did some work, Tom’s family went to the shops, and after a homemade tuna salad for lunch we headed to the beach for a swim. The beach here was a wonderfully welcome chance to cool off in the sea, looking over towards Jersey and Guernsey. Sadly, in the excitement of swimming, Hazel lost her prescription sunnies! So sad 😔 We all looked for them but failed to find them in the sea. Somewhere, there’s a super stylish fish who’s rocking these sunnies.

We headed back to camp for a quick stretch, shower and then a supper feast of fish, steak, veg and cider/beer. Midway through cooing with all our equipment and belongings spread in the way that you only do in a campsite with other family members, we were interrupted by an almighty rainstorm. We managed to shelter for a while and were very grateful for John’s Decathlon gazebo. The set up wasn’t foolproof though and Hazel got water all down her back when the umbrella slipped from where it was balanced between the gazebo and the tent. I dug channels in the sand to help stop our tent from flooding. The mosquitos also came out in full force in the rain! This whole incident made us a little nervous for our trip as we have had to face the reality (we did already know it, but knowing it and experiencing it are two totally separate things!) of a tiny tent in the rain.

In a brief respite in the thunderstorms, we had a lovely sunset walk along the beach with Tom’s parents. It was a beautiful last evening with Tom’s family before we head off on our trip for the foreseeable future.