Dune du Pilat at Arcachon

From our campsite in Port-des-Barques, we visited and explored the 'Île d'Oléron'. We started at the 'Citadelle du Château-d'Oléron', then continued to the 'fort Boyard viewpoint', which is located on a beautiful beach (where, of course, dogs are not allowed, just like everywhere else here!), and then visited other sightseeing spots until we reached the 'Phare de Chassiron', a lighthouse at the tip of the island.

From Port-des-Barques, we have now traveled further south of France and are staying at a campsite in Arès, which is located on the Bassin d'Arcachon.

Last week, we had days with temperatures up to 33 °C and enjoyed the warmth in the shade of the pine trees 😎

On Friday, it got a little cloudy with temperatures around 24 °C ⛅, which we took advantage of to explore the area from here, through Arcachon, to the famous sand dune 'Dune du Pilat'.

The steep climb through the soft sand was really exhausting, and our poor physical condition was evident once again 🤪 Even Triene struggled, although we took breaks. Thomas carried her the last few meters (in her old age, she shouldn't overexert herself).

As a reward, the sun came out while we were on the dune, so we had a magnificent view 👍 And another highlight was going down the dune. First slowly and then running 😁 It was almost as much fun to go up again and experience it all over again, but only almost 😆

The Dune du Pilat, awarded with the label 'Grand Sites de France', is the highest sand dune in Europe and a gigantic natural phenomenon: Here, the sand towers up to 100 to 115 meters. Due to the wind and tides, it moves between one and five and a half meters inland every year. Gradually, the maritime pines of the pine forest disappear under the sand of the dune. On the seaside, the dune is flooded by the Atlantic Ocean by 1 to 3 meters every year, which leads to its 'migration'. An impressive natural spectacle that attracts around 1.5 million visitors every year. A true tourist attraction.

The dune has been under nature protection since 1994. But it's not only its size that is impressive. From its ridge, it also offers an astonishing 360° view of the Bay of Arcachon, the sandbank of Arguin, the lighthouse of Cap-Ferret, and a huge forest area.

Yesterday, we visited a tennis friend of Thomas who has a beautiful house in Biscarrosse. Many thanks again to Monika and Michael for the delicious homemade plum cake 😋

Although rain was forecasted for the past days, we were lucky that it wasn't too bad at around 22 °C ⛅. But today, after a heavy shower, it started raining heavily, so the pitch is somewhat flooded ⛈. Originally, we wanted to visit 'Cap Ferret' today, but so far, the rain has persisted, so we're enjoying ourselves in the motorhome...

Warm greetings to all of you 🤗

PS: To match the weather, we had hamburger Labskaus for dinner today 😋