Escaping the rain

  Banyuls-sur-mer, Languedoc-Roussillon, France
Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Just when you think things couldn't get any worse - they do. The rain continued all night and at 2.30, I could no longer resist the urge to venture forth to the facilities. I got dressed and opened the door - to find my flipflops sailing gently on 4" of water. I rounded them up and waded out. The good news? The rain is warm in these parts, but no doubt that just means it's easier to get trench foot. Returning to the lake, I rescued our chairs, which Ralph had laid flat on the ground in case it got windy, and were now mainly submerged. I climbed back in and used half a kitchen roll drying my feet. What did I do to deserve all this?

I am reviewing and re-writing this entry at a later date because my mood next morning didn't favour a reasoned account of the camp site! By morning it had stopped raining and the lake had diminished to a squelchy patch. The facilities were fantastic - for me this was the best camp site we have stayed in all holiday, and we will definitely go back (when the weather's better). The showers were very roomy and each cubicle has its own washbasin, shelf and shaving light - an absolute luxury for camping municipal. The grounds are wooded and tidy, and would be perfect if it weren't for the flood. The lady who runs it is very friendly and very kind. There is a guest book and a large collection of tourist leaflets in a covered area next to the facilities, which has been filled with picnic tables for larger parties. All the entries share my view, and there are many local shows and celebrations that people have enjoyed over the last couple of years. The town is also a perfect starting point for Avignon, Arles, Aix-en-Provence or Marseilles. The day dawned cooler and brighter, but we could see that it was not settled.

The conditions of the night had reduced us to new depths of despair and we gave up on our trip to Provence. Instead we made a mad dash to Banyuls-sur-Mer, an old stamping ground of ours and one we are very fond of. We hoped it was far enough away from our present location to escape the weather system, and we could always head south over the Pyrenees to northern Spain if that didn't work.

We visited Monteux to buy our bread, and made the obligatory tour around the medieval bit, then set out on the long journey. We had fantastically sunny spells mixed with heavy downpours for most of the journey. It was a long run and we used the toll roads for some of it. It was looking distinctly cloudy once we passed Perpignan, but we were pleased to finally arrive at Camping Municipal La Pinede, in Banyuls.

La Pinede

I don't know why, but I love this site, so I've added more photos than any other on our visit. The showers are adequate but not exciting, the camp site is large and can be busy - we couldn't get a pitch when we turned up last year in July. It's on a hill above the town, and is steeply terraced, which helps to stop you feeling overcrowded.  There used to be a little catering van just inside the entrance, that would serve a daily dish of something fresh and local, for a reasonable price. There was a seating area beside it, and we met many interesting fellow travellers when we ate there.  Sadly this has gone, and extra pitches have been put in its place.

There was no-one at reception so we went to suss out the best pitches.

La Pinede

They have installed cabins on the higher pitches where we normally park, which was also disappointing. We met the lady who has been running the place for at least 9 years that we know of. She looked cold, wet and miserable, and confirmed the weather had been bad for a long time. She showed us the pitches available on the lower levels and left us to make up our minds.

We settled on pitch 71, but when we went back to reception, she had seen our camper and, as it was so small, told us we could park in the tent areas. We drove up and looked around, and all the pitches with views were gone, except one. I stood on the hill enjoying the sea view in one direction and the mountains in the other, then I was hit by an icy blast of wind, so we moved down to better shelter and a lesser view.

La Pinede

We set up camp and I had a rare bout of tidiness. Everything that we didn't need was tucked away in the footwells, the food was prepared for the meal, coffee was in the percolator ready for tomorrow, and I had even selected clothes for the next day, and put them ready. Ralph went down to tell reception the pitch number and pay, but came straight back, telling me to pack up as he had found a much better spot.

He was right.

Our view

It was lower down the hill and still reasonably sheltered but had a fabulous view over the town and the sea. I carefully rearranged everything - luggage from the footwell on the drivers side, all the bits and pieces on the roof ledge, opened bottle of wine and half full glasses in a bowl on the floor, full wine bottles tucked behind cushions on the seats, prepared meals on the floor and supported by other items to stop them sliding around. It took several minutes to get sorted.

Ralph then started the engine and lowered the roof. As he moved away, I grabbed the chock and walked down to the pitch with a couple of items I couldn't find a home for. I heard him stop for a second on the slope and thought 'I bet the wine's gone over'. Then he came down and we spent a few minutes getting the new position right. When he had put the roof back up he didn't come out of the van immediately and I found him mopping the window and moaning about all the 'bloody rain we had last night'. He thought the roof must be leaking. 'Great', I thought, 'What else can go wrong?'

Our view

Then I discovered the broken bottle of raspberry cocktail that I had tucked into the bedding in the roof - and forgotten. Closing the roof had obviously broken it and our bedding was nicely soaked, as were the electrics round the cab roof lights. Deep joy!

We now needed a major cleanup, as we were looking at 'sticky' not just 'wet'. Luckily the bedding had only caught the liquid at the corners. We sponged it with loads of kitchen towel and left it outside to air for as long as possible. If it had been alcoholic Ralph would probably have sucked the bedding dry! We finally got our meal at 9.30, and missed a rare beautiful evening.

We went to bed soon after, both in a fairly evil mood, and I only slept for an hour before being woken up by the wind flapping our awning.

Our pitch

I was unable to sleep at all after that, feeling sure the awning would be pulled out of the ground by the wind, or we would all be blown down the hill by a hurricane. I reached a major low at this point. My hands were throbbing with eczema, which normally clears up with sun and sea water. This holiday though my fingers have been blistered and cracked the whole time, and now I'm hardly able to bend them at all - just to add to the general misery.