I wake up around seven with the moon shining low over the vineyards of St. Emilion.

Soon enough, the sun spreads first rays over town, bathing the surrounding in warm golden light. At this time, the alleys are all empty and peaceful, waiting for another thousands of tourists’ feet to make their way over the old stones.

Standing in the little park that separates the camper parking from the heart of St. Emilion, I find myself at half distance between the Hotel du Palais Cardinal and Hector. In the long run, Hector is much more tempting due to its flexibility, but for today I decide to invest the saved money (free overnight stay, yeah!)  in luxury breakfast. Minutes later I load my plate with mini-Pains-au-Chocolat, fruits, eggs and endless refills of coffee.

Right after breakfast, Hector speeds off straight west, next stop at Carcans Plage. It is a shock to find the campsite entirely full with no pitches left – high season is not over yet. Time to change plans once more: I leave Hector at the regular parking (no overnight stay allowed, though) and spend the afternoon at the beach.

Carcans Plage

< Finally! >, I think when I dip my feet in the warm sand and let my eyes wander from South to North, seeing nothing but blue water and bright sand.
As for the seasonal crowd on the coastal campsites, I spend the night on an irrelevant camping at Maubuisson. I take a look around and find that it has not much of an athmosphere. I congratulate myself for not spending weeks of holidays in this place. Yet, it unravels a myth that had kept me wondering since long: What do the stars stand for on a 4-stars-camping? Now I know and finally can tell the secret of the stars system:
1. * Existing campsite
2. * Offering places to tourists
3. * Bring your own toilet paper
4. * Extra charge on WiFi

OK for One Night

I think of tomorrow’s destination, Camping Les Sablères at Vieux Boucau. Four months ago, it seemed a hillarious idea to reserve a pitch for the end of August, but today I am more than happy that in fact I did reserve a spot for 1 Hector, 2 camper girls and 5 surf lessons!