Lost & found, broken & repaired!

After Twiglette turned up yesterday we hit the road. This coastline has so much natural beauty. Dunes that merge into pine forests, beautiful wide sandy beaches, rugged rocks, and just inland from that pretty salt marshes. The landscape really does look different here, I really do feel like I’ve cycled a long way. There’s something about those sandy trails that I love, Heimlich just seems to ride faster along them, and if I listen to music at the same time, the crackle of the sand below my tyres gives a beautiful effect, like I’m listening to old vinyl.

With the beautiful landscape and beaches though, comes huge hordes of holidaymakers. Crowds on the beaches and bustle through the seaside resort towns. It’s nice, but I much prefer it in the spaces between. A little remote bench here or there with a perfect view and nothing but the sound of the sea crashing on the rocks. The little French I know is gradually coming back to me. I bought a pocket dictionary a few days ago (which actually fits into my skirt pocket because my skirt pockets are amazing and did I mention my skirt has pockets??), looking up words as I hear or see them. I’ve had some chats with people today, people are interested in my journey and like to ask about it, and it seems that wearing a ukulele across your back opens conversation! It’s nice if I find someone who doesn’t speak English. The majority of people here readily step into the English language as soon as they realise I’m not French. So if someone doesn’t speak English it forces me to try harder! I need to work on my pronunciation. A man explained to me yesterday how there’s very little difference between ‘I’m travelling alone’ ( ‘je voyage seul’ ), or ‘I’m travelling drunk’ (‘je voyage soûl’). The man laughed when I told him about my drink-fuelled journey! And helped me to correct my pronunciation. (If I’ve made any mistakes in those translations please correct me!)

Although, I think one of the best conversations I’ve had since being here, was a few days back. I was doing some handstands by my bike in a town square, I saw a little girl watch me, and then she started doing them too. She did cartwheels, so I copied her. Then I tried some forearm stands and headstands and she copied me. We kept smiling across at each other across the square. Some conversations don’t need words 🙂

Some fair hitches yesterday. I lost my jumper, and I broke my tent. The jumper I noticed missing just as I was chasing the sunset for another perfect camp spot. So I turned back on myself and retraced my route for several miles until I found it carefully laid on a fence post. Phew! When all you own is packed into three bags then every item becomes precious.

As for the tent, I’ve snapped the porch pole at its apex. It’s the weak point where it takes the most stress. It was already late at this point and I’d had to find a spot in the dark, but there I sat and patched it up with duct tape (a very handy stock item) and a stick I happened to be carrying with me. Don’t worry, Twiglette is safe! It’s a bit of a bodge, you can see the wonky doorway in the photos! But, at the end of all that, I finished the day in another beautiful spot. I put the tent up in the moonlight, and laid there and watched it shine across the sea, onto the rocks below, onto boats that are passing in the distance. I just had to remember to not walk too confidently forwards out of the tent when I needed to pee in the night, bit of a drop off over the cliffs right near the tent!

Rebecca

My castle atop the dunes, Heimlich and I watching the sunset.

Twiglette loves a smoothie! ~ Les Sables-d’Olonne.

All’s well that ends well. A bodged tent pole, jumper safely inside. And the tent pitched to watch the moon shine over the sea.