So we take the ferry from Portsmith to Caen or Ouistream which takes about 5 3/4 hours. Brittany ferries are our favourite so far. Their food is good and not overpriced like some and they are clean and comfortable. The French definitely know how to do good food. The sea was calm and the crossing enjoyable. We arrive at Ouistream at 9.30pm and drive off the ferry to park up in the closest aire which is right at the port. We dont have a good start as Scot thinks the entry is down the road and when i realise we have gone past it, i attempt a turn around but as we begin to head back the other way i realise it is a one way street, with a car coming towards me, oh shit, so i stop, back up and head down the first street i can to get off this one way one. Its bad enough having to start driving on the right hand side but then driving down the wrong way puts the wind up us both. Anyway we head around the block, go in the correct entrance, which as we are paying, a lady comes over and says our back light isnt working. It was checked before we left, so crap, we dont know quite what has happened and we hope its not serious. We park up and get some sleep after the last ferry leaves for England at 11.30pm.
The next morning is a slow get up and after breakfast we check out our light. The French we have been told are very vigilant at picking up GB vans at the moment due to Brexit and anything not working will give them a good excuse. We had already had a clean air sticker sent to us from France as they are now required of all vehicles regardless of whether you are going into Paris or other cities or not. We were told they are picking up anyone without one so there we are safe with that one. We cannot figure out why the light wont work as the bulb is fine, but as Scot plays around with it, the plastic surround breaks and now we decide that we need a garage. Trouble is these parts are not available anymore so not sure what we will do here. We sit and discuss our plan for the day. We havent even decided where we are going or which direction to head so discussions take place. We figure it would be nice to stop a couple of days in familiar territory to relax and get some idea of where we are going to go. Cabourg and Holgate were favourite areas and there is a large camping aire there so we head off.
Close to Cabourg we come across a Peugeot garage and decide to see if they will have time in the morning to look at the light. So in we go and in my best French i say we have a problem with our back light and could he look at it in the morning. I am feeling quite pleased with myself at being understood, when i then dont understand him telling me to come back at 9 oclock – now not feeling quite so clever. I had hoped when i said La Derriere Lumiere that he didnt think i meant the light shining out my butt!
We arrive at the site which has a lot of vans and just happen to park next to probably the only other GB one. A nice couple at the start of a long adventure around Europe. The site is just gravel and you really arent allowed to put out chairs but a few have. There are no facilities except a toilet dump and you can pay for water – 5euro to fill your van. The good thing about these places is that they are free which helps to keep the cost of travelling down to food and gas only with occassional water and electric costs. We could probably continue all year if we were frugal here in France.
Scot went for a quick walk up the road and back and we had dinner. The next morning we headed back to the Peugeot garage to have the light looked at and the guy fixed it very quickly for us. The light wasnt touching a small metal piece on the side where the plastic had broken and he put in a new bulb. Voila! He then didnt charge us anything which was nice, but he could have at least charged us 10 or 20 euro just for his time. It was really nice of him. We then headed into the area of shops near the aire and saw a laundrette so stopped to do our washing. I helped an elderly lady there who didnt know what the machines said. Although she knew my French wasnt good she chatted away to me anyway and i got the general gist of her conversation. I figure that the longer we are in France this time the better my French will get. After finishing the laundry we headed back to the aire we had been staying at.
Scot biked down to the Lidl near by for a baguette for lunch and we then decided to bike into Cabourg as we hadnt actually seen much of the town centre. Unfortunately everything closes for lunch anytime between 12 and 3 or 4 so we window shopped. A lovely place and at the end they have a Grand Hotel on the beachfront. We both felt like a swim as the day is very warm but in an aire where there arent any showers we are more reluctant to get sandy and salty. Yes we have a shower in the van but we have never felt like trying it out.
After heading back to the aire we sit in the sun reading until dinner and time to head indoors. Unfortunately the next morning i have a massive headache, but despite that we head into Holgate on our bikes for a walk around. We stop at a cafe we went to a year ago but we are disappointed with the coffee as it is nothing like it was last time here. Thats ok, it helps the headache which the heat is doing nothing for. It must be at least 28 degrees today and again we feel like a swim but decide not to bother. It is nice to sit and relax with a good book after buying a couple of things at the Carrefour in Holgate. The souvenirs here are quite funny as it must rain a lot. We see nudist characatures with raincoats on, scuba divers with umbrellas etc, so it obviously does rain a lot here in Normandie.
The next morning it is pouring rain. We knew the forecast had said this and it is ok, we feel we do need to move on. A large number of other campervans head off as well, as do the Brits beside us. We are heading due south to a green belt area.
