Aigues-Mortes

  Aigues-Mortes, Languedoc-Roussillon, France
Saturday, May 31, 2008

After some rain in the night we woke up to an overcast day. Having slightly over-indulged on the falling-down juice the night before we were a bit slow to emerge!

The Germans had gone and we seemed to have the camp to ourselves. We decided to get breakfast in the town, after a quick shower, but the camp commandant had already cleaned the facilities and put the broom across the entrance to repel all boarders. We did our washing up and tried again, but there was nothing for it - we had to cross the barrier. The showers were good and hot though, and apart from the toilets we would have no hesitation in going back. The town has a central market square and everything you need. There are lots of old buildings and probably a great deal of history if you probe beneath the surface - but we were off to Aigues-Mortes. We had decided to head east in search of warmer weather in Provence.

Just inside the main entrance. Aigues-Mortes

Aigues-Mortes is an enormous fort, in the middle of the Carmargue, with an entire town inside. It's well taken care of and the bright colours of the shops and restaurants bring it to life. For a small fee you can get into a museum and from there you can walk the walls.

A street inside the castle

We wimped out of that on account of the wind coming off the sea. We arrived just in time for lunch and settled down in one of the squares for some delicious fish, with a carafe of local rosé and a chocolate mousse for after. It's great how you can enjoy a meal abroad and walk away feeling not too bloated to move after.

East gate

This was a good choice of venue for the day as the castle walls offered a good deal of shelter from that cold sea
breeze. We only saw occasional glimpses of the sun, and according to the proprietor of tonight's camp site, tomorrow is set to be no better.

An idea of just how big Aigues-Mortes is

We are staying at L'Oliviers, a 3* camp site at Junas, which is halfway between Montpelier and Nimes. There is another site in the village, which we checked out first - Les Chenes - which is 2* but only slightly cheaper. It had the advantage of internet access but wanted to charge €4 for the night. Add the €3 for electricity and it makes for a very expensive connection.

We are in the corner of this camp site, overlooking horses so I am in my element. It is also more sheltered from the cold wind. As in so many other camp sites at the moment, some of the facilities are locked, but at least they have a loo you can sit on! All is very rustic but very clean. We decided not to pay for electricity unless we could have an internet connection, because I charged up the laptop last night. The battery lasts 2 hours which is enough to load up my photos and write up some notes.

L'Olivier, Junas

We've paid €13.80 including taxes, so not too bad for a 3*. We are well placed for Nimes, which seems like a good place to visit tomorrow - particularly if the weather is not good.