Home Cooking.....

Bonjour Mon Amis,

Well we arrived at Mum's on Saturday, it was great to see her & Alan and great to be spoilt with her fabulous homemade meals, even if we did have to wash up!!

The van has had a nice Spring clean inside & out and we have loaded up all the summer gear we left here back in early Jan.

We are now all loaded up and ready for the net leg, Spain & Portugal.

No photo's this week but while at Mum's I knocked up this quick video from the Alps, enjoy as we certainly did.

Thanks again to Mum & Alan.

Click the link below to view the video.

Adios Amigos!

J&J

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bVlJL7BujE

Sun, Sea & Pink Flamingos

Hi once again,

Well we left the mountains and it was certainly a sad day saying goodbye to Francois, Marc & her staff at Le Martagon campsite & restaurant, she said that as Julie and I were leaving and also Pete and Debbie a few days after us she might as well shut the bar altogether, what that means I don’t know!!!!!.  Once on the road we stopped off for a bit of shopping to stock up then opted to stop overnight on a site by a large lake just south of Grenoble which isn’t really that far from Meribel but at the start of this tour I always said I didn’t want to do huge mileage/driving between stopovers or spots. We pulled into the site at Laffery right on the far end of a huge lake with the still snow capped mountains along one side and steep pine forested hills the other, it still felt that we were up at altitude so we pitched the van and went for a walk along one side and to our amazement there was a local rigging up a windsurfer by the lake and we both looked at one another and thought sod that, but in a second breath said that if the sun was out we would probably get the kites out and have a go as it was proper windy.  

After a good nights sleep we opted to hit the road again and head for a place called Fontaine De Vaucluse so we punched in the GPS coordinates and off we went, all was going OK until our sat nav said do a left and when I looked at the start of the road it had more warning signs than the Highway code nothing bigger than 8m long, nothing more than 3.5 tonnes, nothing more than 4m high, no trailers, no explosives and on and on they went so I said to Julie in for a penny in for a pound let’s have it.  Well some of the hairpin bends took me two shunts to get round and at points Julie was nearly on my lap because of the drop at the side of the van as it was only single track, god knows why it had took us this way but the road and scenery was amazing but after about an hour we hit a main road and it all felt a little easier.  We stumbled across a huge EDF dam/power station so I pulled over and grabbed the camera but as I went down the steps the view to the bottom of the dam was so far down you couldn’t see it and I hate to admit it but  it gave me the heeebe jeebees, mad really to think I can jump off a mountain connected to some strings and a kite but can’t look down a deep ravine.  We continued through some amazing scenery known as the gorges of St May tracking the snow melt rivers through what resembles the grand canyon but obviously on a smaller scale.

We landed at our destination at about 3ish, a very nice new camper aire with WIFI and all the basics in a very pretty little village with water flowing through it and quaint little bars & restaurants. Our book said there was a natural Spring that started here which was the source of the River Sorgue so next morning we walked up to the source of the river which we had also googled and it said that it resembled a large still water pool but actually pumped out 200 cubic metres of water a second which had filtered down through the rock from some 250m above and from up to 20km away.  As we walked up beside the torrent of water the noise was unbelievable so we kept going as if going into a dead end of a gorge and then it all went silent and there it was this still looking crystal clear pool approx 20m round but it was actually a massive spring so a load of photos and then walk back into town beside the river.  We both couldn’t believe how hot it was so decided to get the chairs out and the sun cream and sun ourselves but the only problem being all our summer gear is at mum’s but Julie said check the kite gear bags in the back and luckily we both had board shorts and flip flops in there - result.  We chilled for a while then thought sod it it’s cheap food in town not like the alps so said come on lets eat out as it was such a beautiful setting.  It was only about 4.30pm so we walked into the main square and to our amazement everywhere stopped serving food only were only doing coffee, beer or crepes so after a cheeky beer next to the river it was back to camp for omelette, chips & salad cooked outside in the sun - it was great to cook & wash up outside for a change.  

The next morning we packed up camp and headed for Saintes-Maries-De-La-Mer which is about the nearest you can get to Beauduc a kitesurf/windsurf paradise on the med coast.    We found an aire right on the beach but on arrival the water wasn’t on and there was nowhere to empty waste water or our toilet cassette but right next to it was a campsite which Julie had already researched months ago so we opted to book in there for a couple of nights.  Once the van was set up we found the track that leads to the Beauduc area so began to walk along it with it’s massive lagoons inland and the med sea to your right, quite a strange place!!! Then Julie said what the hell is that to which I replied a Pink Flamingo then when we looked there where hundreds walking, flying and eating in all the lagoons, really bizarre as you don’t think of wild pink flamingos in France.  Julie later googled the area and there is somewhere in the region of 140,000 pairs that live/breed in the Carmargue region and we also found out that the locals grow rice in paddy fields.  When we were driving along the main drag in we saw a lot of stables either side of the roads leading to and from the area full of white horses so Julie googled that too and it said they were Camargue horses a breed specific to that area and are bred to round up the wild black bulls and also do horse trekking across the area.  One other creature we came across was evidently the most ferocious type of mozi in France but luckily there weren’t many about so we thought until our last night when they seemed to home in on us after Julie had read about them and decided to pay us a visit, thank god for jungle formula mozi repellent!!

On the road again this time heading for Barcares just north of Perpignan slowly working our way back to mums.  As we drove down some of the main roads I began to spot some provocatively clothed women standing in lay-bys and commented to Julie are you thinking what I am thinking!!!!! Yes ladies of the night but working the day shift, this went on for about 30 miles or so on and off and I suggested to Julie that if we run short of money on route at any time I could drop her off for the day to help top up the bank balance while I go kiting but I said I would need to interview her first to make sure she knew the ropes!!!!!! Once at Barcares we found the aire but weren’t really happy with it’s location so drove a few miles back up the road and fell upon a lovely looking aire at Leucate overlooking a lake it had a handful of vans in all with windsurf gear so looked like a good spot and a bargain at only €7.20 a night.  While in the van that night we decided to check out a few other spots in the area on route back to mums, number one was Leucate Plage then a quick look in one of the local kite shops which was massive and did just about everything involving kiting then of to La Franqui then finally Gruissan where we found a massive aire in the port so parked there for €8.50 for the night and went for a walk around the beaches and town. Just before it started to get dark van after van rolled in each one getting bigger and bigger with even bigger trailers with bigger cars on the back and they were nearly all german all I can say is they must have big campsites in Germany or maybe it’s a bit of a status symbol but I must say I did feel a bit inadequate in our van!!!  Today we headed back to mums to see her & Alan before they go back to the UK for a quick visit and to pick up all the summer gear ready for the next leg of our adventure.

Oh and Julie told me I now resemble a wire head fox terrier so I think my beard will have to go!!!

That’s all for now.

J&J

On Top Of The World....

Hi All,

At the end of our last blog we told you we only had a couple days left on our hire ski’s & we were planning to go out on a high, well we certainly did that as we decided to ski straight off the edge 2,700 metres up but luckily we were each connected tandem to a paraglider and expert pilot.  It was totally amazing, instead of being on the runs & chairlifts we were hundreds of feet above them soaring like a bird catching thermals which carried us up above most of the peaks in the 3 Valleys with fantastic views of Mont Blanc in the distance.  Although Julie had set off just before me with her own pilot we quickly started to spiral around each other and we were even allowed to take control of the kites ourselves and were shouting & waving with joy which then turned to screams of fear as our pilots began to perform some aerial acrobatics.  As you can see in one of the photos Julie is completely upside down with the kite underneath her which I was lucky enough to catch on my camera.  Pete & Debbie also did it with us along with their friend Karen who was here for a week’s holiday and got roped into it but like us all absolutely loved it.  It’s one thing ticked off the bucket list but I am sure that we will have another go somewhere if we get the opportunity and would recommend it if you ever get the chance.

The weather here has really changed as the sun has been out and it’s been really warm and on Sunday like the UK we had temperatures of 20 degrees so after a quick snowboard we came back to the van and it was out with the chairs & on with the sun cream and of course a beer or two, we couldn’t believe how hot it was and even had to  break out a T-Shirt.  The weather has continued to be very warm every day since so we have been making the most of the lovely days and ticking off the list more places that we hadn’t done so far namely Mont Vallon (2,952m), Pointe De La Masse (2,804m) & the Cime De Caron (3,200m).   Pete & Debbie asked whether we had ever ventured over to Orelle (3,230m) the 4th Valley beyond Val Thorens to which we answered no, it is the highest point of all the 3 Valleys with fantastic views over to the Italian Alps which is just a stones throw away, there are even signs at some lifts in Italian, so we had a great day out with them and found a fantastic spot to have our lunch overlooking Italy and although it was another warm day the snow is still fantastic even for us on on snowboards on the runs but the powder days off-piste are long gone.  Before we left Orelle we watched a skier do the new zip wire back over to the ridge of Val Thorens, it’s a flight of 1,300m in 1 minute 45 seconds with your skis/board strapped to your back at speeds of up to 100km per hour but costs €50 for the privilege!!

We also bumped into Jean-Paul that friendly local Frenchman in the bar again one night and as it was his Birthday the next day he bought us all a drink but on one condition that he could have his photo taken with Julie & Debbie but it was a job to get the picture without his hands touching places he shouldn’t if you get my drift, think it made his day!

As normal we flick the radio on every morning for the weather, lift report and the what’s on guide for the day and to our surprise the young English girl DJ who I have nick named loose lips, announced there was a trip to be won for two people over the 3 Valleys in a light aircraft from the Altiport in Meribel.   We waited for the question which was which band was playing in the Lodge Du Village that night which she had read out in the what’s on guide which to be honest we hadn’t really paid much attention to but as we have been here now since mid-Jan we know that it’s usually a band called Bring Your Sisters so I grabbed my phone and got through straight away and guess what we got the right answer so later that day we went up to the radio station to pick up our voucher from loose lips!  All we had to do the next day was call the Altiport and book ourselves in for the 20 minute flight and to our surprise they said they could fit us in that day at 2pm so we were both really excited.  It was another beautiful sunny day without a cloud in the sky so we got the bus up to Meribel Village and then jumped on the Golf chairflift up which was quite strange without skis or snowboards on your feet and it was so warm we just had jeans & a t-shirt on.  On arrival at the Altiport we were a bit early so sunned ourselves for half an hour and then headed for the office.  We were shown to our little red plane and met the pilot who resembled Murdoch the bloke from the A-team with his baseball cap on back to front and a scruffy waistcoat!!  Julie opted to sit in the front next to Murdoch, he handed us our headsets and then with a cough and a splutter the little red plane sprung into life, the cockpit controls and dials reminded us of an old mini all that was missing was a peg holding the choke on!!  After a few quick words to the control tower we began to skid around down the snowy airstrip as the plane is on skis not wheels and the next thing we were airborne and heading up over the valley towards La Tania & Courchevel and then we climbed up and were heading towards another ski resort the other side of the mountains called La Plagne where Murdoch swooped down and around one of the lift stations and then started heading towards Mont Blanc which he pointed out to us.  At this point he said it was a little turbulent due to the warm & cold air over the mountains and he could tell by Julie’s face and a few comments through the headsets that she wasn’t comfortable but he also asked her whether she would like to take the controls to which she shook her head!!  We then banked round and headed back over Courchevel and into Meribel where he circled round over the top of the Saulire lift station and above the posh restaurant next door.  We then made our way back down the valley over the trees and Les Allues before he took the peg off the throttle and headed back towards the landing strip, it was quite bizarre to land on skis in a plane with no brakes.   It was a fantastic experience and Julie did really well considering she isn’t a confident flyer in a normal plane let alone something that small.  Once back on terra ferma we walked back to camp for a well deserved beer.

We went out for the last time on our boards yesterday with Pete & Debbie and found a lovely spot for lunch and made the most of the fantastic views as it was to be our last day in the mountains as we are moving onto pastures new this w/e.  We feel quite sad to be leaving Meribel as it’s been our home for the last 2 months and we have met some great people and shared some great experiences and stories but we are sure the rest of our travels will only add to these.  We really are living the dream and enjoying every minute.

I am not sure if David Beckham has a bit of a beard going on on the moment but Julie has talked me into growing one for the last couple of weeks so here’s my attempt!!!

That’s all from the mountains.

J&J

Familiar Faces

Hi Everybody,

Can’t believe how quickly each week comes round and it’s time to do the blog again.  It’s been very busy on the campsite this week as were were invaded with more vans last w/e, mainly French & Dutch and a couple from Belgium but next week looks like it’s going to be quiet again which will be nice.

We left you last time saying that it was snowing as we were updating the blog well it didn’t stop snowing all night that night and when we woke in the morning it was still snowing lightly with a bit of cloud but we wanted too make the best of the fresh snow so it was a cuppa tea and a quick breakfast then out.  As we got off the bubble lift in town we bumped into Ron & Chris who were out doing some early morning shopping, they said blimey your keen to which we replied the snow & off piste is too good to miss and told them that we were heading up to a new black run area above St Martin with some amazing off-piste either side, they said that they had done this before but it didn’t really have a name so we then named it the Chris-Ron run, and that’s what it shall be known as from now on!!! Before that tho we headed for the top of the Olympic lift to do a run down into St Martin but at the top instead of turning left and following the run you can just go straight off the edge and do the what must be three to four miles off-piste all the way to the bottom, it’s something I had been looking at for a while but never attempted but as I stood there discussing it with Julie a group off three which included an ESF guide dropped over and Julie said follow them that way you won’t be on your own and if you don’t do it now you might not get another chance, so a quick kiss and a see you at the bottom I set off at a discreet distance following them down, there are so many routes down but some are more difficult so I’ve heard from others.  It took me about half an hour to get down which for all off-piste isn’t too bad, I will definitely do it again now I know the route.  I met Julie at the lift station at the bottom greeted by another kiss and we headed up to the Chris-Ron run, well on arrival at the top and looking down it was just lush fresh powder for as far as you could see either side of the run with only a few tracks already visible. So we both dropped in and carved our way down s-bending around bowls and around stuff that looked like it was a bit too steep to ride up, we did this for a while and couldn’t believe that we were the only ones to discover this wonderful playground considering that there is a chairlift above most of it.  After a few runs down we headed to the Pas-du-lac chairlift station which has a indoor picnic area so we could warm up a bit before heading out again.  We opted to go back to the Chris-Ron run,  as we were going down we bumped into Pete who asked what we were up to and I said that we were ready to head home as we were knackered so he suggested to do the off-piste the other way of the top of the Olympic lift back to the campsite through the pine trees.  Julie said she wasn’t doing that and said she would meet us at the van so me and Pete headed up and as we did the cloud just closed in and we both looked at one another and said do we or don’t we and decided let’s go for it so we made our way along the ridge looking for the right place to drop in and once we had spotted the beginning of the trees we knew it was safe to head down but the cloud had closed in and we couldn’t really see which way to head so took it one turn at a time with both of us occasionally falling head first into the snow but then we got below the cloud and could see which way to head down and after a while we came across the marked run which runs along the bottom of the mountain to show us our way back to camp so all in all it was a fantastic day all-round.

Sunday & Monday the weather wasn’t great, cloudy and snowy at times with bad visibility. So on Sunday we went up to watch a bit of the friendly ice-hockey match, it was two young local teams so we watched a bit and then headed back to the van for lunch and that evening headed to the bar for a few beers with Chris & Ron as they were leaving Monday morning.  Monday morning we said farewell to Chris & Ron and wished them a safe journey, it was again dumping it down but the visibility was zero so we had a bit of a lay in and stayed in the van and started looking through our library of books & guides to decide where we are heading to from here on route back to mum’s to pick up our summer stuff, wash the van and enjoy some of mum’s dinners -  she has a dishwasher too so that will be real treat, mind you we have cracked the washing up now as we take a mini bluetooth music player with us which amuses the other foreign campers and makes it less of a chore!

After Monday’s snow we were hoping Tuesday would be a clearer day so we could again head to the Chris-Ron run but we only made it half way up the first lift before we were in thick cloud and just couldn’t see a thing so there was no point going any higher so had to stay low where we could see but everyone else had the same idea so after a couple of runs we headed back home and planned to get early on Wednesday to catch the first lifts and try again.  Success as Wednesday morning the sun was out so we were up and out early doors and were first on the lifts and were not disappointed as again our new favourite run delivered the goods :-)  Hen & Sophie a couple of girls that has Julie met through the KB4 Girls kiting events in the UK arrived last w/e so once we had finished playing in the powder we made contact with them and headed over to Courchevel to meet and them.   It was great to meet up with some FAMILIAR FACES and do some nice steady runs and for once I was out numbered by girls!!   Another great day and this time in the sunshine so we could see where we were going.

When we got back to the van we dumped the backpack, chucked our jeans on, grabbed the camera and jumped on the bus to Meribel-Mottaret as there was demonstration going on from the pisteurs who keep the ski area safe and look after everyone & everything in the mountains.  They did a rescue from an telecabin above the crowd that had gathered, amazing to see a bloke come sliding down the cable then lower himself into the cabin then rescue the passenger and lower him to the ground.  Then it was onto an avalanche rescue showing how they find and recover someone who has been buried by an avalanche and all the time this was all going on a few members of the ESF (ski/snowboard instructors) laid on a display of jumps on skis and snowboards over a huge jump which had been built by one of my favourite toys a Piste Basher (one day I will get to have a go ) they had a few different models doing the piste behind the main arena and I don’t want to upset anyone but one was being operated by a woman!!!!! There was a few other things going on at stands and display tents so after grabbing a free hot vin-chaud it was back on the bus and home for a few beers in the bar where we met one of the locals, Jean-Paul a real character with an eye for the ladies who was rattling away in French, Francoise translated for us and apparently he said that Julie only looked 35 so obviously he had had a few!

Another early start out on the first lifts on Thursday but on the skis this time, Julie found it a bit difficult to adjust again after being on her board for a few days.  It was really sunny again but the lifts were busy so a bit chilly standing around so we did a few runs and then opted for lunch back at the van and a chill out in the sun, it was so warm.  Spring is just around the corner, the birds are singing, the sun is getting stronger and it’s still light at 6.30pm but we are still clinging onto what’s left of a great season in the snow.

The skis are due back in the next couple of days but we plan to make the most of our last day out on them and finish on a high so watch this space for next week’s blog….

That’s all for now

J&J