Arriving at the small
campsite ‘La Roquette’ on the outskirts of Châteaurenard, we were initially cautious
at its urban feel. Once through the gates though, it all looked tranquil
enough, and with a warm welcome from the owners and a heated pool bathed in
sunshine we were won over, and before long we were settled into our new home. The
plan was to stay for a few days to get on with planning the next stage of the
journey, and booking the ferry from Toulon to Ajaccio on Corsica. With free
WiFi and the pool only 10m from our pitch, we quickly fell into full-on holiday
mode and spent a couple of days just lazing about and researching our upcoming
Corsica adventures.
We’d chosen to stay near Châteaurenard
as it’s a bit off the tourist track and as a change from previous visits to
this area. It’s very much a working Provençal town, best known as the regional
hub for wholesale fruit and veg. (there’s a network of these across France,
known as ‘MINs’). We’d also been told that there was local farmers market on a
Saturday, which we were keen to visit. After a pleasant half an hour wander
through the edge of the town, we found ourselves crossing a disused railway
track that cuts through the MIN wondering where on earth the farmers market
was.
A quick look around the
enormous site quickly revealed that what looked like a group of vans and cars
parked in the middle of an open space was in fact a very small produce market,
so we headed over, having been told that it closed at midday. It would be fair
to say that it wasn’t quite what we expected as although we weren’t obliged to
buy by the pallet-load as with the MIN, the eclectic selection of produce was
largely on offer only by the carton/box/giant portion, a sort of mini-MIN – so
no good for us provisioning for just a few days at a time and so we headed off
to the supermarket instead..
Loaded up with enough food
and drink to keep us going for a few days (including a bottle of the lush and
very pale rosé this region is so good at making) we wandered back to the site,
pausing to admire the empty streets and clichéd shuttered buildings we’ve come
to love in this bit of France…
Taking advantage of the sun
by spending the rest of the day at the pool, working out where we wanted to
visit on Corsica (and in what direction – it’s safer clockwise apparently, on
the ‘inside track’ of the mountainous roads!) we were chastened to see that the
forecast had changed and our summer idyll was about to come to a dramatic end
with a couple of days of thunderstorms and heavy rain…
And sure enough, the heavens
opened, the pitches flooded and the happy campers were confined to quarters as
the temperatures plummeted from the high 20s to single figures! Never imagining
that we’d need to use heating on a trip this far south in May, we got our
little 1kw greenhouse heater out, relieved we’d brought it with us! Still, it
did give us the perfect conditions to get the blog going and to catch up with
all those van chores that are so easy to put off when the sun and the outdoors
call! After the first night of heavy rain we nearly decided to move on, but
having checked the weather for the region, quickly realised that we’d gain
nothing, so we stayed put and enjoyed a toasty warm summer version of cabin
fever instead…with the soothing melodies of The Unthanks in the afternoon and
some air guitar to Ozzie and co at suppertime. Music is usually off limits on
our summer visits with all the doors open, so it was quite a treat to turn up
the volume for an hour or two.
Eventually the rains stopped
and we packed up to head for our final stop on the mainland, a small site in
the village of Belgentier, just up from Toulon port in the Forêt des Morières.
We’d opted for Toulon rather than Marseille, as it had the better deals for our
long (7m) campervan and with a cabin (it’s a 10 hour overnight crossing). At
€255 it wasn’t a cheap journey, and prices did go up a bit during the couple of
days we were deciding on a date, but if you calculate distance and time
(compared to crossing the Channel) and the fact we opted for a cabin rather
than a reclining seat (which would have been about €70 cheaper) we decided it
wasn’t so bad – and resolved to book a little further ahead for the return leg
from Sardinia!
Arriving at camping Les
Tomasses late in the afternoon, and with a sky threatening more rain but a
chance of sun, we found we had the pick of any pitch with virtually no-one else
around. Noting the irony of a site that prides itself on its well shaded pitches
when we were desperately seeking sunshine and light, we quickly found one with
not too much tree cover right next to the stream that runs along the edge of
the site – hopefully not too noisy at night given all the recent rain!
And as it turned out,
wonderful clear dark skies with stars twinkling through the skylight for our
last night on the mainland before our ferry adventures!
S&J
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