🇫🇷 Île d‘Oléron

Stage 7 Pontorson —> Île d´Oléron 401 KM (Total 1486 KM)

As we have only roughly planned our trip, we are considering where to go next. We want to drive a maximum of 7 hours in one day, which is about 500 KM with the WW (camper) attached.

In our "first life" we have already visited La Rochelle and Île de Ré, so we decide to go to the neighboring island Île d´Oléron as our next destination.

Before we start, we need to refuel and change the main gas bottle. This campsite doesn't have one, but they tell me the nearest gas station that conveniently sells gas bottles as well.

I put the empty gas bottle in the car and drive to the gas station, which is part of a supermarket. Upon arrival, there are 4 pump stations and an exit booth, but unfortunately it is unoccupied. Unlike in 🇩🇪 Germany, only fuel and gas are sold here, so the booths seem to be occupied only during peak times. The evolutionary development from a simple gas station to a supermarket with an attached gas station seems to have been skipped by the 🇫🇷 French, or maybe postponed for later.

To my relief, there is also an explanation in 🇬🇧 English next to the 🇫🇷 French. So, I insert the debit card into the slot, enter the PIN number, and then select the type of fuel. I hesitate... I have never entered the PIN number without knowing how much I have to pay or what I will get for it! But there's no escape, if you want to refuel, you have to reveal your secrets 😊. To my relief, it surprisingly works well - fully refueled, I receive the receipt and only the amount is debited from the account 😅. Now I just need to exchange the gas bottle and then I'm done.

In a large cage next to the unoccupied booth, there are gas bottles in all colors and sizes - like colorful Smarties - but unfortunately none of them even remotely resemble our standard 🇩🇪 11 kilogram bottle. Since there is no contact person available, I try at the supermarket information, but unfortunately, it's also unoccupied 🤔 🙂. After some time, I see a dedicated employee who is engaged in an animated conversation with a customer - I join in 👍. Luckily, she speaks passable 🇬🇧 English and I explain to her what I need. After agreeing with her, I know that she understands me and we go together to the colorful Smarties 😊. I unpack my empty bottle, hoping to find the right bottle. But new problems arise, the bottles are not only different sizes, but they also have different types of gas and connections!

I can hardly believe it, the EU actually regulates every crap - the size and curvature of 🍌 bananas and 🥒 cucumbers, but gas bottles are not standardized yet - unbelievable!

After searching for a while and using a caliper from my toolbox to determine the thread diameter, I find a 13 kilogram bottle that at least has the right connection. I can only hope that it fits in the gas bottle compartment of our WW. By now, the friendly employee - her name is Nathalie - is a bit annoyed and makes it clear to me that she has limited time and cannot accept my 🇩🇪 German gas bottle in exchange. I pay, shake hands with her to thank her, and head towards the WW with one full and one empty bottle. To our relief, the 🇫🇷 French bottle fits in the gas bottle compartment, and we can finally start the next stage 😅😅😅. But before that, we still have to decide whether the empty gas bottle or our water case "Wilson" will continue to travel with us - we decide on the gas bottle. The separation from Wilson was very difficult for us - we're sorry Wilson, we didn't want it to be this way 😭😭😭😂.

The island Île d´Oléron is 34 km long and 12 km wide at its widest point. We have booked the campsite Le Suroit, which turns out to be a lively family campsite under German-French management. Mostly 🇫🇷 French families camp here and it seems that they have planned a longer stay because they bring half of their household with them. The families sit together in large groups in the evenings and talk to each other in a mixed manner. Children of all ages zoom around the campsite paths with scooters and bicycles, making themselves heard with loud noises. The atmosphere is totally relaxed and peaceful.

Île d´Oléron is a small and cute island that we have explored completely on our 🚲 bicycles on several days (about 120 KM). For French standards, there are well-developed cycle paths and where there are no cycle paths, the roads are easily passable due to low motor vehicle traffic. Allegedly, the best oysters are cultivated here, but they taste much saltier than in Normandy - which we preferred.

We spend several days relaxing on the beach and watch the sea retreat during low tide. That is the only downside of the island - depending on the tides, the water is a few hundred meters away from the beach at low tide. But this can be used to collect shells or other seafood - which the 🇫🇷 French also like to do. On the last day on the island, we plan to do our laundry and plan our next stage.