Les Gorges du Tarn

  Millau, Midi-Pyrénées, France
Tuesday, May 27, 2008

It rained all night and was still going the following day, so we packed up and got breakfast in the village.
We never saw the attendant the whole time we were there, and left our €9 for the pitch in the letter box when we left.

Outside the cloister - Chaisse Dieu

After breakfast, and during a break in the weather, we stopped at Chaisse Dieu, an old town founded around a large church. It was 'out-of-season' quiet and probably still early, but the butcher was open, so we bought some
pork chops and some deliciously stinky pate.

The cloister - Chaisse Dieu

  The rain was almost constant, so we didn't stop too much. Instead of continuing to Le Puy en Velay, we followed signs for the Gorges de la Loire. It sounded worth the diversion, but - maybe we're getting blasé - we found them pretty but not spectacular.
In the afternoon we decided to give Les Gorges du Tarn a chance to do better, and they did.

Les Gorges du Tarn

The scenery was everything you could wish for in a French gorge, but the weather was even more dramatic - disgustingly so. The wind was howling, nearly sending Bongo off the narrow roads and down the mountain. The rain came down sideways, and the views disappeared into the clouds. The river was swollen and dirty but the rocks were beautiful reds, browns and blacks against the rich green of the trees.

St Enimie sur Tarn

The sun actually appeared as we drove into Sainte Enimie sur Tarn, but as soon as we parked another shower hit us and we dived for cover under a shop awning. When it stopped, we headed up the hill through the winding medieval lanes. They are amazingly steep, and not easy to walk on, especially when the cobbles are wet. They are definitely worth the challenge and the town has made an effort to tell its history - if your French is up to it. The overhanging buildings gave us shelter from the next few showers. When we returned to river level, we saw that the lower car park was under water.

Flooded car park at St Enimie sur Tarn

With the amount of rain coming down it was only going to get worse, and it was getting late and time to find a campsite.

A summers day in the south of France

We headed for Millau, where my book showed there were a number. The terrain looked more open on the map, as well, so we were hoping it would be less likely to funnel the wind. There were some very nice 3 or 4 star camps but they were no drier than the 2 star ones so we settled on 2 star St Lambert and - guess what - it has an unsecured network, so I've been able to update my blog. It cost us €12.36, but we have paid for electricity tonight. If the campsite is dark and gloomy it's mainly because of the weather - on a hot day in August we would be glad of it. It's very wet underfoot as well, but what can you expect on a river bank in a storm? The toilet block looked unattractive on the outside but was clean and pleasant inside. We haven't tried the shower yet.
As we sat listening to the rain and uploading photos, etc. we had a long discussion about the rest of the holiday. We used the internet to get weather forecasts for Nice, Marseilles, Perpignan, Barcelona, Milan and even Portugal, but it seems as if the whole of Europe is in for a deluge over the next 5 days. It's times like this when a Bongo is just too small. We have an awning to protect us from the worst of the elements and extend the living space, but with ground as soggy as this, and the wind chill factor to consider, it was only any good for storing our chairs and table. Given the shortage of warm clothes and welly boots, we are thinking of coming home early. If we time it right, it shouldn't be any more expensive than the money we would have spent on pitches and diesel.