La Flotte - Île de Ré

A pleasant short journey of only 80km took us over the 2.9km toll bridge from La Rochelle to the island. The middle part of the bridge allows for a clearance of 27m above sea level.

Arriving at the campsite, we were greeted by a large sign indicating that the campsite was full. In true German fashion, we still inquired and luckily got a spot, with the condition of moving to a different place the next day. We accepted that and the next morning, we only had to go straight across the road to the new spot.

On the first day, we took a bike ride to Saint-Martin-de-Ré and checked out the small harbor and the fortifications of Vauban, which are star-shaped and completely surround the entire city.

On the second day, we took a bike ride to Sainte-Marie-de-Ré, which was much farther away and quite exhausting because it was very hot. When we arrived, we had another nice picnic and lounged on the blanket.

On the third day, we rode our bikes into La Flotte and continued on foot. Per came along in the backpack and we walked along the entire promenade, past the harbor, and wanted to continue on to the fortifications there. However, we had to stop after 3/4 of the way because it was simply too hot and there was no shade anywhere. Just before the bikes, we found a shady spot and took a break before heading back to the campsite and jumping into the cool pool. Per always gets very excited when he sees the pool and has so much fun splashing around.

We spent the evenings playing Rummykap and on the last evening, I had my first glass of red wine since December 2015. And then we went to bed with a light buzz.