DAY 10: MORTAGNE-SUR-GIRONDE - PAREMPUYRE: 84.8km
TUESDAY 22 JULY

We awoke to yet another perfect blue sky - and a lovely view over the boats to the sunflower field beyond. Breakfast was, as anticipated, not substantial - just a croissant and some bread.

Dokey the young westie watched as we prepared for our departure



We left Mortagne by a track on the opposite side of the harbour

We had hoped the track would lead us along the side of the Gironde but there was a large bank between us and the estuary so we couldn't actually see anything. As the track was very rough and stony we wisely decided to get onto the lane that ran parallel before we had any more punctures. As we rode back down to the road we passed a group of walkers - they were obviously still fired up from the Tour de France because as we rode by they all stood by the side of the track clapping and cheering "allez allez".

It was good to get back on to the tarmac



The bird life was amazing



This deserted lane went on for miles



It was very different to the previous 10 days' scenery

As it was approaching lunchtime we decided to divert to St. Ciers-sur-Gironde in the search for food as the villages we thought were on our route in the morning hadn't materialised and we hadn't even had a morning coffee stop.

I also needed to go to a pharmacy as I had a blister on my lip that was beginning to cause me a lot of pain and I really needed to get something for it. It turned out that it was sunburn and I was given some cream which helped almost immediately. Considering this was the only pain I was in after more than 500km I suppose I can't complain!

There wasn't a choice of places to eat so we settled for the only cafe there was which was on a busy main road with the tables surrounded by glass panels which made it extremely hot. There were some cyclists already there and we wrongly guessed they were a local group and therefore it must be a good place to stop but it turned out that they were German tourists and weren't very friendly.

The menu included omlette which made a nice change from steak

As we had arrived just after midday we had assumed that lunch would only take an hour but unfortunately the service was extremely slow and confirmed our theory that whatever time you sit down to eat, the meal always ends at 2pm. It took us ages to get the coffee and the bill and we were conscious that we needed to get back on the road as we were heading for Blaye and wanted to catch the 4.30pm ferry.

We found a lovely lane after lunch along a water course

We spent a lot of time watching the dragon flies.

We went away from the water for a while



And then back by the water on a quiet main road



We watched two coypus for ages

We could've watched them for longer but we had to get to the ferry. Unfortunately an unexpected road diversion up a hill meant that we didn't have any time to spare when we got to Blaye which was a shame. It looked a really nice, bustling tourist town and had we known we probably would've pushed on to there and had a late lunch (there were lots of sandwich shops) and a wander round.

The ferry's horn signalled that it was time to embark


We were looking forward to a nice sit down in the sun on the ferry as we had on the Coueron ferry but stangely there was not one seat so we had to stand for the 20 minute crossing.



We would have to look at Blaye on another occasion



The fishing platforms looked lovely lining the river bank



We had a good view from the ferry



We were now in the Medoc



It was nice to have a total change of scenery

It had gone 5pm and was still very hot. We had another 20km to go before our hotel and we were both struggling. We were on a main road which was fairly busy which didn't help and we needed to find somewhere to buy some food for tea before everything shut as our hotel did not have a restaurant and there wasn't a restaurant nearby. I was surprised (and worried) that what looked liked little towns on the map were only large villages without any shops.

We were too tired to really appreciate the scenery which was a shame



We found a shop at Margaux and bought a picnic tea



Ludon-Medoc was a lot smaller than I imagined



but it did have a lovely deli - the friendly staff wanted to know all about our trip

We really struggled the last few kms on the main road and just wanted to get to our accommodation. We had booked into a hotel for the night as it had been hard to find any accommodation that fitted in with our day's mileage but we had found something by the side of the river which looked ok, although it was expensive at €90 a night being so close to Bordeaux.

The hotel looked a lot scruffier than the internet portrayed and not what I was expecting

However, the owner was extremely friendly and professional - nothing was too much trouble and anything we mentioned we needed just appeared.

The room was very nice



We were on the ground floor looking out over the pond



The grounds bordered the Garonne



The owner put out a table and chairs in the last patch of sunlight for our picnic



We sat watching the boats going down the river from Bordeaux

It was a really peaceful spot as there were no other guests around and we sat eating and drinking enjoying the warmth of the evening until it was dark. We would be going through Bordeaux tomorrow - the end of our journey was fast approaching.