11 September - Peace and tranquility (and another flat tyre)

After the large campsite and the rain near St Emilion, we headed east to just a few miles outside Sarlat (still in the Dordogne region). Chris had come found a campsite which sounded perfect - small and friendly, and hopefully peaceful. It is indeed all of those things - so peaceful, in fact, that we are the only campers with the only additional guests being a very nice Dutch lady and her wee girl staying in one of the gites, and that is it! The photo attached is the view from our van - once again, life is good :o)

We arrived to find the site is run by an Australian and English couple, who are both really nice and very welcoming, along with their 2 kids and their dog Maisey, who became an instant friend :o) It's so quiet that we were shown around, taken back to the wee snug bar and sold some very cold, and very welcoming, beer, then left to choose which pitch we wanted. Andy went back to get the van whilst Chris walked around the likely choices with Maisey for company. Like we said, it's very welcoming!

Chris then went out for a short run. At least, this was the plan. After a case of mistaken identities with signs for nearby Moulin's, what was supposed to be a 20 minute gentle jog turned into a 40 minute much quicker, and somewhat stressful, run. Still, worked off some of that beer.

The next day, we got maps for cycle routes nearby. Once fully breakfasted we headed out on one of the routes, only to find that, after half an hour, we were back where we started... So we looked at the map again and headed off with more success. Andy is well happy as there are great wee hills to climb and descend, the route is mostly off road and would make for a great running route. One of the climbs on rough ground was too steep to cycle however so some pushing was required before re-mounting and completing the climb to the top where great vistas rewarded our efforts. We cycled to Eyrignac which has some pretty amazing sculptured gardens. Being a pair of cheapskates we only looked at them from the outside and bought our lunch in the restaurant overlooking the place which was a great spot. We both opted for omlette (with fritese of course) and a small beer to refuel ourselves for the rest of the journey. The rest of the cycle was mostly downhill, with Andy rueing that his mountain bike was still at home and that his (possibly ladies) all purpose bike struggled for grip and with no suspension was hard going, whilst Chris was having a hoot. We overshot the end of the route but still ended up near the campsite. Result.

Once back we got cleaned up and went in search of a supermarket in Sarlat. In rush hour. In a camper van. Through the middle of a beautiful but medieval town. We did locate a shop on the edge of town having gone straight through the centre and had seen enough of a glimpse of the town to know we needed to spend more time there, though not for today. Once back, however, Chris couldn't believe her eyes when she was her rear tyre was flat AGAIN! She got the wheel and tyre off in record time (having become quite adept at it by now), found the tiniest puncture ever seen, which accounts for why, thankfully, it didn't really flatten until after we were back, but couldn't find the cause. Assuming it must have been dirt either on the inside of the tyre or the wheel itself, the puncture was repaired and everything thoroughly cleaned, although putting it all back together was left until the next day. Afterwards, a very nice couscous, saucisson and salad dinner was prepared by Andy, washed down with the half a bottle of wine left from the previous night (yes, really, we did manage to keep half for once!).

Saturday morning was the perfect time to revisit Sarlat, this time on our bikes, as there is a market there every Saturday. After breakfast Chris got her tyre then wheel back on her bike, again in record quick time, and off we went. We tried to retrace the route we took back the previous day from the supermarket, but after quite a bit of mind-changing and u-turns, we ended up just taking a scenic route back to the main road into the town. We decided to stick with it, but with a lot of trepidation as the previous day it had felt like a rally course the way some people were driving. Happily it was much quieter this time and so a lot less scary than we had feared. The looooong climb up the hill before the town was soon forgotten as we shot down the hill into Sarlat, which was as pretty as we had remembered. We spent quite a few hours happily wandering around the market which seemed to go on and on - each time we thought we had found the end, we'd walk up a different street and find more stalls. The streets and buildings are absolutely beautiful, so thank you Graham for your recommendation! After lunch and a few purchases (tried to keep to a minimum with that long climb back up the hill still to come), we had a small, cold beer, then saddled up for the return journey. Chris had gladly handed over the rucksack to Andy by this time in exchange for the much smaller and MUCH lighter waist bag, and off we went. Despite having shelved the weighty bag, Chris was still much slower up the hill, but we were both glad to find that, despite - we assume - being steeper in this direction, the climb was over very quickly and the charge downhill much more enjoyable, particularly for Chris who, for once, could stay ahead!

Once back at the campsite and showered, some serious relaxing was done by the pool, before another very tasty saucisson based meal was prepared by Andy. Tomorrow a long run looms for Andy, Chris may/may not join on her bike (and if she does, will take a shortcut to avoid another pushing-the-bike-session up that hill) but what's for sure is that some quality relaxing will happen. Also no plans to leave in the near future either, what a relaxing place to be!