Wednesday, June 15 was a short day's drive in search of a supermarket, Intermarché or Carrefour, the only two selling water in 5-litre canisters; then to find a service station to fill the main tank of the truck with Total Excellium diesel. This done it was time to look for a bivouac on the banks of the Gironde; that no, the banks were either inaccessible or privatized. At the port of Lamarque access is reserved for boarding the ferry and the car park adjoining a bar limiting the height to 1.90 meters, motorhomes circulate you are not welcome. But halfway on the road to the port, a shady picnic area reaches out to travellers. Mop between the vineyards is not of great interest, confirming a posteriori my decision to skip it.
Thursday, June 16 my wanderings on the departmental roads that twist between the vineyards on a degraded roadway confirmed my judgment of the lack of interest, for me, to visit the cellars. In this region Thursday, June 16 my wanderings on the departmental roads that twist between the vineyards on a degraded roadway confirmed my judgment of the lack of interest, for me, to visit the cellars. In this region some Romanesque churches are remarkable, when they are open. The church of Saint-Estèphe is closed and is not in the center of a sea of vines but wedged between medieval houses, the Green guide is faulted. On the other hand in Vertheuil the Romanesque church is worth the detour as well as that of Saint-Laurent-Médoc. I bivouacked on the banks of the Gironde, the largest estuary in Europe by the confluence of the Dordogne to the north and the Garonne to the south at the Bec d'Ambes.
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Mercy raised with the sculpture of human weaknesses Stalls of the 15th century choir, Romanesque church of Vertheuil |
Friday, June 17 along the bank of the Gironde on the south-west side, the plaice fishing huts follow one another like a troop in the July 14 parade. Then the end of the Bordeaux vineyards of Haut-Médoc is announced by the green hills of the vines at the foot of renowned Châteaux. Two disused fishing ports occupied by marinas present a memorial sketch of bygone times. Richard's lighthouse, restored by volunteers, allows you to have a 360° view after a staircase of 63 steps, of course I abstain. Finally I visited the church of St-Vivien-de-Médoc which offers an example of Romanesque art with its apse which escaped the bombardments of 1943. I bivouacked in the parking lot of St-Vivien plage opposite the eponymous Guinguette. The temperature soared to 39°C!
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| On February 12, 2021, plaice fishing in Gironde is listed as a national intangible cultural heritage |
Saturday, June 18 leaving the beach of St-Vivien I took a photo of said beach to decorate the front page of my site announcing a new publication. Well, another photo that won't be in GEO magazine. The only significant stop of this short morning was the visit of the basilica N.-D. From-the-end-of-the-Lands to Soulac-sur-Mer. Romanesque in style, it dates from the 10th century. It was the point of welcome for British pilgrims leaving for Santiago de Compostela. The Green Guide reports that in the 18th century it was entirely covered with sand, it was restored in the middle of the 19th century. I bivouacked on the track along the Gironde 100 meters from the Pointe de Grave.
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| Notre-Dame-de-la-Fin-des-Terres Basilica, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site |
Sunday, June 19, a violent storm fell in the night on the Pointe de Grave at the mouth of the Gironde announcing the end of the week of heat wave. I headed south along the Atlantic coast in search of a bivouac with an ocean view which I found north of Montalivet-les-Bains on the side of the single-lane road. There is nothing to see except maybe the Euronat, a naturist (nudist) camp! The temperature dropped from 39°C to 24°C.
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| Montalivet beach |
