I left Brittany behind me a couple of days ago and it really feels like I’m in a different country now. The shoreline has changed, sand dunes stretching into the distance now. Towns are nestled in pine forests, church spires and water towers giving away their location. The water is bath like and the air stays warm long after the sun has set.

The sun was beating down on a flat sea as I left Barbâtre and I wasn’t looking forward to a day of slogging it out. For the first time this trip, paddling felt like work.

After 3 hours I stopped for a lunch break at Saint-Jean-de-Monts. I had a panini and a massive pile of churros, something I’d never had before. By the time I’d finished, a lovely breeze had picked up and it was downwind time!

I felt good so just kept going until I reached Les Sables d’Olonne, a big town with ugly apartment blocks on the seafront. My longest day so far at 63 km. The little beach I landed on was buzzing, but I was too tired to socialize. Instead, I lay on my roll mat and absorbed the atmosphere until the beach emptied and I fell asleep.