Wednesday 19th February

Because we are ahead of ourselves we had some time to spare so drove into Sete for a visit. We found a not too dodgy area to leave the motorhome and walked into town. For the first time it felt warm and the sun was shining. We wandered around the town, through the market, along the harbour front and then sat outside having a coffee. It was like being on holiday.

Slight hysteria whilst ordering the coffees in French – I asked the waiter for deux café au lait s’il vous plaît; JW, I guess thinking I hadn’t included him, chimes in with “trois”!! Lucky we didn’t get five coffees!! 🤣

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Back on the road and our first real glimpse of the snow-capped Pyrenees and the border between France and Spain.

We stopped at a motorway services for lunch – it seemed to have a massive Leclerc – my preferred French supermarket. The signage was massive anyway. So, thinking we can get our shopping done, we take several shopping bags together with our shopping list, over to the buildings. Turns it’s only a mini-supermarket, as you might get on any motorway. Shopping bags therefore superflous to requirement!

I didn’t book a site for tonight – I’m not sure why – I guess I didn’t want to get too far ahead in case things went wrong and, anyway, although ‘open all year’ sites are limited, every site we’d been to had plenty of space. Unfortunately, when we arrived at the site we were aiming for, the rather unhelpful receptionist said they were having some work done and the motorhome was too big to fit and she didn’t know of anywhere else we could go. I’m sure if I’d booked even the day before we would’ve been allowed in but now, at 4.30 p.m., we were stuck. You would’ve thought it might have occurred to the receptionist to mention that there was a massive ‘camping-car’ site or aire located about a mile away!

So, having done 5 minutes research and never stayed on an ‘aire’ before, it was our best option.

What is an aire? It’s quite different to the aires you see on motorways. Description:-

“Motorhome stopovers, known as Aires, are mostly public parking areas and some private land where motorhome and campervan users may stop overnight for free or for a small fee. Aires symbolise the freedom of motorhoming. You are welcomed into local communities, where you can stay overnight at unique locations available only to motorhome travellers. In turn it is hoped you will spend some money in their shops, use their restaurants and other facilities.”

“These aires are not open to caravans or tents. A motorhome is not deemed to be camping if it is self-sufficient; therefore the occupants can cook, eat, and sleep within the motorhome as long as they do not place anything outside. An onboard toilet is a necessity and waste water from sinks must not be discharged onto the ground or into containers that need to be placed outside.”

Well, we can heartily recommend Barcarès le Port aire. Barrier entry with a brilliantly easy sign up and access; an official credit card style membership card issued from the pay machine; marked pitches; fresh water, grey waste, toilet waste, re-cycling and a river view. What’s not to like?!

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On the motorway today, the motorhome indicators were clicking normally turning right but occasionally going mad turning left. When we got to the site we investigated; it seemed to be to do with the bike rack. JW found the cabling had been damaged – he changed bulbs, investigated and repaired as best he could without wire cutters or other useful tools, but it remained stubbonly broken. It was simpler if the bike rack wasn’t connected at all and, although not legal, at least the motorhome lights are set wider than the rack so were clearly visible.

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Today I’ve lost the plot – I have a general feeling of confusion about what day it is and what is booked! This must be a retirement thing!

Random moment – a new motorhome arrives around 9.00 p.m., parks near us; bloke asks if we’ve seen a black and white cat!! Lost it on Monday; parking in the same place to see if it comes back!

https://campingcarpark.com/en/shop/parking-areas/barcares-le-port/

Mileage – Vic-la-Gardiole to Le Barcarès = 115 miles