18 Sep - Running, cycling, lazing, caving and the arrival of the tax disc

The overdue nature of this blog is happily not down to any technical malfunction but down to be either very busy or too relaxed.

We are still in the lovely campsite near Sainte Nathalene in the Dordogne, but thanks to the arrival of the tax disc for the bongo (with many, many thanks to Geoff for forwarding and all other post-related-assistance), we must leave tomorrow (Sunday 19th).

Last Sunday Andy ran the loop we have previously cycled, and Chris took the shortcut avoiding the hill climb. This was an easy decision as she had been feeling the startings of a cold for a few days and was definitely under the weather that morning, so it seemed like the right thing to do, but it has to be said, it was an outrageous shortcut. What had taken us about half an hour the first time took her, erm, 7 minutes! Still, you don't want to push it with a cold coming, do you??? :o/ Whilst waiting for Andy to arrive at the pre-agreed meeting point, Chris had one of those wierd part french/part english/part sign language conversations with a couple of ladies looking for directions. Hopefully they found their way and aren't still wandering around the hills.... After one loop, Chris wimped out pleading the cold (virus that is, not temperature) whilst Andy went on another loop of the run.

Monday we both went on separate runs - Andy for another go at the now well trodden loop and Chris for a shortish run (on-going readers of this blog can probably guess where this will lead....), taking the campsite's dog (Maisie) with her. Andy ran his hilly lap trying to work out why he no longer posseses any pace at all having ruled out any possible bad interference from wine/cheese/beer/pain au chocolat and will have to ponder this further over further wine/cheese/beer/pain au chocolat and work out how to improve...

Chris and Maisie meanwhile, plodded along quite happily for a while, following the same path that Andy had headed off along, then at a sensible point, turned round to come back. Then, on the way back, Chris evidently went into a trance and forgot to take a turning. After a wee while of thinking "Hmm, is this the right way?" and getting no help from the happy looking Maisie, she decided to walk for a while whilst trying to work out where she was and what might have gone wrong. After more time (by which point it seemed to have turned into rush hour on this road), she was now convinced she had gone the wrong way so turned round - which, of course, resulted in having to go back up a steep hill. A little concerned about how long they had been out meant running was a better action than walking, but Maisie was a little less convinced. They eventually got back to the point where the turning was missed and headed back in the right direction. It was a hot day, and by the time they got to the next (faily shallow) hill, poor Maisie had gone from bounding ahead at the start to being dragged up the hill by the collar! They eventually staggered into the campsite from what should have been a 45 - 50 min outing to one that had lasted 1 1/2 hours... Poor Maisie. Mind you, she had apparently been running around the campsite barking all night the previous night, and this outing seemed to tire her out enough there were no such happenings that night.

Happily, Maisie doesn't appear to be a dog to hold grudges, as a couple of days later she happily went out with Chris again for a much shorter walk - no wrong turns this time, and back when expected.

Wednesday we went off on our bikes to a small village near by. As usual, there were a lot of hills involved, but it was all worthwhile when we found a wee brasserie open who served Andy a very nice omlette and Chris finally got the steak tartare she had been after since we arrived in France. For those who don't know, it is basically raw steak mince with a raw egg. She wasn't brave enough to stir in the whole egg, but enjoyed the mince and was happy to have finally had the dish. After wandering around the village, we headed back and, as by now it was REALLY hot, we had to take advantage of the pool. We had lain there previously but not braved the water. This time, it was so hot that Chris took a brave pill and went for a whole two lengths of the pool.... Andy, however, was a complete wuss and did not more than dangle his feet in the water. During the day another couple had turned up (what???? In our campsite??? Shocking).

Thursday, however, the weather was miserable. So, we decided that if it was going to be dull and probably wet, we might as well be underground, so we went to visit some caves about an hour away. After queuing for quite some time and hoping it would be worth it, it was. After walking down to the bottom of the caves and walking along for a while, you are then taken through part of the caves by boat with a punter pushing along. We think he was quite a character, but as he only spoke French and so we only understood about 10% of what he said, we can't be entirely sure....... We were then taken around more parts (again, described in French, so we probably missed out on the finer points), then were taken back by the same boatman before making our way back to the surface. It was quite an experience - the formation of the rocks, rivers and wee lakes was amazing.

By the time we got back, we found another couple had arrived, and shock-horror, they had pitched very near us! The campsite really wasn't just ours anymore! Just joking, they were very nice.

Friday started off dull but dry, so we decided to go off on another cycle. We decided to try another route on the map we had bought and set off in the knowledge we knew where we were going. The problem is, although there are only two routes on this map, there are quite a few others in the area, and they are all marked with yellow markers. So at the furthest point (a photo of which is at the top of this blog), we happily followed the yellow markers, After a wee while, we stopped to consult the maps, and came to the conclusion that, once again, it had gone wrong somewhere. However, we worked out where it had gone wrong and where we probably were, and so worked out our route. Fortunately, we were right, and it was a good thing, as the real route would have been far too short. So we found ourselves back in the village near here and stopped for another omlette for lunch, with wine, of course!

On Friday night we ended up having a long chat with the couple who were pitched near us and after long discussions on various music festivals and listening to their stories of Glastonbury this year which they had gone to as a birthday present for his 50th and had had an absolute ball, we are now going to have to register for in case we are in the country next summer! Unlike T in the Park, the tickets don't go on sale until October, so we will have to hope that we are staying somewhere with wi-fi that day.....

Saturday was forecast to be very wet, so we had decided to go into Sarlat again to the market, taking the van this time instead of cycling. It was actually pretty nice in the morning but we stuck to our original plan and for the first time since we've been here actually got going fairly early. Having heard stories (and seen for ourselves last week when cycling there) about the nightmare of driving and, particularly, parking in Sarlat on a Saturday, we formed a plan of a way in and possible area to park in. It was brilliant (such modesty - Ed). We managed to park about 2 streets away from where the charging starts, no traffic problems at all and just a short work into the areas where the markets are. Much time was spent wandering around, Chris did some excellent ordering at a butcher's stall getting a fabulous piece of steak and other bits and pieces were bought. On our return to the campsite, Chris decided to go for a short run. Maisie sensed this happening and proved again she is not a dog to hold grudges, and was out the gate looking over her shoulder for Chris to catch up. Except Chris wasn't planning on company this time. Patrick (one of the owner's of the site) was at the gate, so Chris managed to entice Maisie back in the made a bolt for the gate, hoping Maisie would stay the right side as her owner was there. No such luck. As Chris made a run for it, she heard the distinctive sounds of Maisie catching up with Patrick's voice in the distance calling "If she joins you for your run, don't worry about it". Just as well! So without a lead this time and with Maisie leading the way, off Chris went, a little concerned, having heard yesterday how Maisie is a rescue dog who has, whilst being amazingly well trained by Patrick and Natalie, always retained an independent streak and likes to make a run for it given the chance. Most of the time tho', she stayed nearby and always came back to Chris' side if she did go off exploring. Until they came to the road. Chris had planned to go straight on, but Maisie decided she wanted to go left. Chris thought she should really follow, which would have been fine if all the cars in the area hadn't decided to drive along that particular road at the same time. After a few stressful moments, and with Maisie disappeared into a wood, Chris decided enough was enough and turned around. Maisie caught up, then when Chris went in the original direction she had planned, Maisie followed. By the time they turned back for the campsite, Maisie was flagging and trotted along nearby Chris quite happily. Until they passed a house which apparently has cats. Off Maisie went into the garden, with Chris calling for her to come back. Then the owner came running out, shouting. Chris realised the error of her ways in calling for Maisie, as she could now not pretend the dog was nothing to do with her! So Chris did the responsible thing and legged it. Fortunately, Maisie followed suit and they got out of trouble!

We are really going to miss the campsite dog.

Andy meanwhile was pottering about doing "man stuff". On our way to this site we were experiencing some pretty alarming noises from our beloved Bongo. Whenever we accelerated or pushed hard there was a fairly horrid clattering noise to accompany us. It was definitley getting worse the more that we did the twisting, undulating (and narrow) roads around the area and all hills were pretty deafening. After some pondering, crawling under the van and some surfing (all hail the mighty bongofury.co.uk website forums, especially in the absence of Chris' Dad who would have been the first port of call!) Andy had decided the problem most likely lay with the drive shaft to the rear axle (well, the universal joint for that anyhow). After some more crawling about and spraying of WD40 (a _must_ have whenever going anywhere) the noise has abated and confidence has been restored in the van. We had considered going to the local gargage where they fix tractors/trucks and various aged French vehicles and little if any English was spoken but fortunately we seem to have avoided the need for this for now. Andy's other hardware related workings involved fixing the toast making device we have for the stove. It's got a couple of layers with a mesh that defuses the heat before the layer holding the toast. We seem to have melted the original mesh, how could we have eaten that much toast? Could this have had anything to do with Andy's continuing lack of running pace? Anyhow, more mesh was bought from a hardware store which Andy managed to cut and replace the hole-ridden original and all was well. Of course Andy had to make some more toast (with Nutella) to make sure it worked "properly". (What a danger-ridden-sacrifice - to be applauded - Ed) We discovered on our return that the post kindly sent by Geoff had arrived, so we could now move on. Both a blessing and a curse.

And so our stay at this site comes to an end. This was duly marked with the cooking of the steak bought earlier, which was fantastic, washed down with the other bottle of wine bought from the nice wee vineyard in St Emilion (2005 - a grand year). The site has been great and Pat and Nat and their kids Sasha and Ben have been lovely hosts, Maisie the dog has been a great companion too and the peaceful setting and relaxing atmostphere will be lucky to be matched anywhere else on our travels. The south of France beckons, Languedoc and its wines are the next on our list :o)