Category: Around Europe
-
Day 47: Saint Maxime to Ile Saint- Honorat
Porridge isn’t popular in France, and Robin found it amusing that oats are my breakfast of choice. So at breakfast, I showed him my secret porridge making method. Not sure he was convinced! By the time I left Saint Maxime at 12, it was roasting, and I made sure to fill up with my 5.5…
-
Day 46: Port-Cros to Saint Maxime
I spent 15 minutes gathering up all the plastic on my little beach and stuffed it into a bag. The reward was finding a sealed bottle of water, still fizzy, that I actually needed, since I’d run out of water. Walking up to the top of Port-Cros, I was in awe of the beauty of…
-
Day 45: l’île du grand Rouveau to Port-Cros
I woke up and unzipped my tent to see my surroundings, having arrived in darkness. The sun burnt off the morning haze and I walked up to the lighthouse, lizards scampering off the path into a crisp bed of dried leaves. From the lighthouse, I could see waves heading in the right direction and was…
-
Day 44: Marseille to l’île du grand Rouveau
My rest day was mostly spent fixing equipment and eating. I also picked up a parcel with a new rudder and some blood glucose testing strips from Jorg, a guy I’d contacted on Warmshowers. Annoyingly, a second parcel containing insulin hadn’t arrived and we thought it had been stopped by customs. With no telling when…
-
Day 43: Port de Carro to Marseille
All night the wind blew, whipping into every corner and behind every wall. I slept in the shelter of a fish market stall, the sounds of the wind playing incessantly – the evocative whistle and clanking of masts, the creak of fishing boats rubbing on their fenders, the flap of the fish market tents, and…
-
Day 42: Saints-Maries-de-la-Mer to Port de Carro
I woke to a crisp, bright day, the sky blue and the air fresh. The wind was pumping and I was excited to paddle, the waves looking good for a downwind. Across the Golfe de Beauduc the waves lined up beautifully and I had the best downwind of the trip so far. The coast then…
-
Day 41: La Grau-du-Roi to Saints-Maries-de-la-Mer
It’s so great to properly meet paddlers who I have seen at races, but never spoken to. In the case of Nicholas, I usually see him on the podium! It’s interesting to get an insight into the life of a top athlete. What seems to prevail among all of the fast paddlers I’ve met is…
-
Day 40: Plage Frontignan to Le Grau-de-Roi
I awoke to a dreary, drizzly day. The sea, just a few hundred metres away, blended with the sky, calm and dull. I was surprised the waves had completely died but I think the Med is like that – the wind whips up waves that disappear as quickly as they appear, and that’s why it…
-
Day 39: Cap d’Adge to near Plage Frontignan
I had a night of disrupted sleep, the wind constantly buffeting me on my platform. It was immediately clear I wouldn’t be going anywhere on the sea today – 3-metre waves were smashing in. Loads of kite surfers and wing borders were playing in the shelter of the breakwater and quite a crowd gathered. A…
-
Day 38: Capestang to Cap d’Agde
I slept next to the canal and woke at 6 to the sound of a bin lorry. The sky was clear and full of stars, the air chilly. The boulangerie opened at 6.45 and I was the first in. After much decision, I chose a nid d’abielle – a brioche sandwich with a layer of…