Pouzauges

Camping du Lac Pouzauges
It was quarter to nine at night when we arrived at Camping du Lac in Pouzauges. The site owners had said we could choose a pitch and they would find us later. They suggested a couple of pitch numbers that had gravel and so we picked pitch 14 that would give the best view of the lake. Tony drove onto the pitch but the ground was too soft and there was no sign of the gravel. Cleopatra really struggled to reverse in the mud and so I went to push from the front. Her wheels were spinning in the mud and I got a face full. 

After a couple of tense minutes Cleopatra was back on the tarmac road and we mulled over what to do.

The bar looked neglected
Every pitch was the same; the ground was soft and no good to drive into. We knew we had to stay on the tarmac but the only tarmac that wasn't the road through the site was a small area outside the toilet block. We decided it had to be there and just hoped our electric cable would reach an electricity point.

The 25 meter cable just reached and I was just sighing with relief when I lifted the lid and saw an unfamiliar socket. Helpfully, many French campsites have non-standard hookup sockets. Fortunately we had the adapter needed in the van and we were soon connected.

Rose, one of the English site owners came over after around fifteen minutes. She was very chatty and we began to get cold from having the van open for so long. Establishing that we'd complete a site administration form for collection in the morning, and that she would put the hot water on a timer for 8.30am, she left us to it.

Playing Ticket to Ride
Rose returned less than an hour later to break the news that after coming to use the water heater for the first time they couldn't get the pilot light to work. It would have to wait 'til a plumber could be called on Monday. We'd have to make do with cold showers until then.

So not the greatest start to our first European adventure, but somehow we were able to laugh about it and drown our sorrows with a few glasses of wine and a game of Ticket to Ride before bed.


FRANCE 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8


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