Day 14, 17 June, Thursday

As we awoke around 8 it was already grey and windy. Hmmm… Not exactly the optimal conditions for a bike ride in nature, but one must play the cards one is dealt. On the positive side, it was no longer so hot as in the previous ten days.

We toyed around with our options for the coming couple of days and after looking at schedules and maps made a few changes in our immediate itinerary and as part of the entire picture, decided to spend one more night here at the beach. As it’s going to storm the entire night and into Friday morning we would rather be sitting somewhere interesting in a storm than driving on unfamiliar roads.

During our breakfast we felt a few drops of rain, but it didn’t amount to anything and by 12 we got on the road for a short bike tour through the Camargue National Park. While neither the park or the bike route were we exactly as I expected – the weather was always better in the pictures in the Internet and there were no real bike trails to speak of, just normal roads and a rutted dirt track – it was a fascinating ride.

Wow, what a landscape. At first glance one might think it’s somewhat monotone and lifeless, but with a closer look you see the incredible variety of plant and life forms. The roads were lined with wildflowers and grasses, especially lots of chamomile, and the marshy landscape contained an incredible variety of plant textures in different shades of muted green. Another aspect of the landscape it the natural salt – in many of the little waterways you could see salt buildup on the sides – or in a dried out field or edge of an Étang.

We road down a dirt track and in a short stretch got to see almost all the well-known Camargue inhabitants – wild white horses, dark brown steers with long horns and pink flamingos. I took lots of pictures but on a grey day like this one, the results are guaranteed to be unspectacular.

Back on the main road, I cried out an alarm and veered to the right as I saw a stand with produce and regional products. The proprietress plied us with samples of wine, salami and olive oil and I came out a few Euros poorer but with fresh picked tomatoes, a perfectly ripe melon, regional olive oil, rice and salt.

After 18 kilometers of riding north with the wind at our backs, the our route took us back south and we were at the mercy of the wind whipping up the mouth of the Rhone. OMG, gusts were up to 40kmh and when the territory is sooooo flat, there is no mercy. It’s at moments like these I am thankful for an e-bike. Although it’s still hard work to pedal into the wind, we are riding at least 10kmh fast than without the motor support. That means that the misery doesn’t last so long…
For the last three or four kilometers we rode eastward on a spit with the wind-whipped Mediterranean to our right. The normally calm Med had big waves! We had to struggle to ride in a straight line and by the time we reached the campsite our faces and arms were gritty with sand.

After that wind experience, we were both just beat and could do nothing but rest. The wind started blowing even stronger so we rolled in our awning and got the bikes locked up. Eventually the sun came out and we went to the pool and took a refreshing but windy swim.

Dinner was marinated chicken drumsticks I’d picked up at the grocery store’s deli counter and a tomato, bell pepper, pepperoncini, onion and olive salad that I whipped up. We had some stale baguette so I improvised and made garlic croutons. They were a tasty addition to the salad.

Donnerstag, 17.6. „Gegenwind“

Tja, nach Frühstück kein Regen nur leicht bewölkt. Radeln in der Camargue war angesagt, flach auf dem Streifen neben der Strasse, das Rad rollt wie von selbst mit. Rückenwind. Erst auf dem Seitenstreifen neben der Strasse und halt, da stehen sie die halbwilden weißen Pferde, leider auch eine sehr laute Familie mit Kindern die rumhüpfen und es wirdvden Pferden zuviel. Also langsam auf dem unbefestigten Weg nach gehen zu fotografieren.

Dann fahren Sara und ich zum grösseren Etang und sehen unterwegs die schwarzen Stiere, Foto und weiter zu den Flamingos. Man muss einen kleinen Pfad durch niedriges, kratziges Gebüsch gehen um näher zu kommen. Mein Objektiv reicht bei dem schwierigen Licht nicht aus aber Sara gelingen schöne Bilder. So zurück zur Strasse und zum Platz, aber…. Jetzt weht uns der Wind entgegen und wie, so kräftige Boen zwischen 25 bis 35 kmh. Erst Sara noch vorne, dann ich voraus um ihr Windschatten zu ermöglichen. Da werden 15 km ganz schön lang. Zum Schluss noch wehte der Wind nadelscharf Sand ins Gesicht.

Kurz geruht, Rollo eingezogen und mit der letzten Abendsonne in den super guten Pool (ca 16 x 10 m) gegangen und geschütztes Plätzchen gefunden. Das tat gut und entspannte die Muskeln.

Nach dem Essen ins Bett. Draussen Regen, Gewitter, Wind in der Nacht und die Hoffnung auf Besserung.