We’re off to one of our favourite parts of France in the Languedoc around Mèze and Marseillan for our final week. We have stayed in this area several times before but we are heading for a new-to-us campsite. After the arrival of the Hound of the Belgian Baskervilles, Francine found an Aire Naturelle campsite pretty much midway between Mèze and Marseillan. We’d be able to use our bicycles there – it’s far too hilly around Fanjeaux. Since it’s a small site and ACSI (mark of the devil) listed, I used the site’s website to email and make sure they had a spot for us. That all went swimmingly well.
The new location is about 2 hours away towing Guillaume so we had all morning to pack up. Taking down our sun canopy awning set the Belgian Hound off, or course. I had to wander to the edge of Baskerville’s pitch to unplug the electricity so that set it off again. Then there was emptying the waste water – bark! Some water remained in the aquaroll but being clean water that went into the opposite hedge. [Ah ha, fooled you, you bastard.]
We left at about midday having bad farewell to Luc and Nadine. I must say that I have never been quite so pleased to leave our beloved Fanjeaux campsite.
The journey went well until we approached our new campsite’s turning and overshot. Concentrate, man. We spun around a roundabout and did better on our second attempt. The approach road was jolly bumpy, so very slow, but once we finally arrived the campsite looked very pleasant.
The pitches were hedged for a bit of added privacy. We picked one of the smaller pitches which just seemed to suit us. Pitch size on “regular” French campsites is often 100m2. Aire Naturelle sites go up to about 200m2. so they can be worth seeking out. We wouldn’t get a neighbour in front of Guillaume ‘cos that was an access lane for les sapeurs pompiers [firemen] to pick up water. Behind Guillaume was a large pitch with a unit on the far side. Guillaume was content.
The track in from the reception was labelled Avenue des Libellules. I wonder if they know I was coming? As the sun was shining, I soon started seeing some dragonfly activity. The hedge behind Guillaume was being used by some Western Willow Spreadwings (Chalcolestes viridis) to hunt from. We call them Willow Emerald Damselflies in this country. Some darter dragonflies were living up to their name and darting about; these turned out to be Southern Darters (Sympetrum meridionale) which we don’t get in the UK. The pair in tandem here were in Guillaume’s sun canopy, hence the pants lighting.
Time for a drink.
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