Normandy

Mileage: 158241

Today we headed to our next campsite, between Auderville and Goury.

We landed a little above the small harbor of Goury. The view was breathtaking, and a steady, brisk breeze blew up towards us from the sea. The lighthouse had been built on a small island just offshore. The reefs and gravel banks along this stormy coast had caused hundreds of ships to perish over the years, making the most important building, besides the lighthouse, perhaps the one housing the lifeboat station. An octagonal structure, which at first glance resembled a chapel, it contained a rotating ramp for lifeboats. This allowed the boat to be loaded calmly in reverse in the harbor and, in an emergency, launched into the sea in just a few seconds, as the harbor entrance was impassable at low tide and during storms.

After looking at the few houses in Goury, we hiked a little further along the coast, which here wasn't a beach but rugged cliffs, just as we expected to find in Brittany. We had to walk a bit away from the water, as entire sections of the coast were closed off to protect the sandpiper's breeding grounds.

From the viewpoint, which had simply been built on top of an old bunker, we then strolled back inland, through the small fields bordered by dry stone walls, to the parking area.

We were quite surprised when, shortly afterwards, there was a knock on the campervan and we were greeted in broad Dresden Saxon dialect with the words: "Excuse me, but you have my dream car!" followed by the question, "May I take a look inside?" The gentleman, around seventy years old, stood directly opposite us with his ultramodern campervan, equipped with all the contemporary amenities and driver assistance gadgets, and of course, he was given the opportunity to inspect Gary's walnut veneer and the rest of the interior.

We also got talking to the French couple next door and their guest, all around seventy years old. They were from Marseille and had gone north for their holiday because it was constantly around forty degrees Celsius in the south, which no one could stand. Since they spoke neither English nor German, and our French was sufficient for restaurants, shopping, and tourist attractions, but hardly for conversation, the exchanges were rather halting, but in the end we understood each other quite well.