Al actually set an alarm this morning to ensure we got to our next location with plenty of time for all our activities. I had read about a little village named green Venice where you can hire a boat to paddle along the canals and then take a bike ride through the forest.
When we got there the place was empty so we needn't have worried but at least it gave us enough time as we opted for the 2hr boat and 4hr cycle package with some local delicacies to taste. The boat was very peaceful and for a lot of the time we couldn't see anyone else around us.
Robert spotted some ripe blackberries so we pulled alongside them so he could have a few.
It was very surprising to see so many uprooted trees along with way and we even saw a few cows in the adjacent fields.
As we were almost back to our starting point having completed a loop we saw some guided boats where they were setting fire to the water where they had discover some trapped methane in the water.
We went back to the van for our lunch then back to the cycle hire place that was also the local restaurant. We hadn't been told that we needed to wait until 2pm to collect the bikes but thankfully it was 1.40pm and they sold ice cream so the kids were OK with that. In a very random change of events Liliya opted for vanilla rather than chocolate and was subsequently very pleased with her tidy eating 😂
We got the bikes and was given the most useless of maps, the lady told us the route would be just over 20km and as we had 4 hours we figured this was very manageable even with Liliya.
The first 1km did not go to plan, it was a little hilly and Liliya's bike didn't have gears so it was tough work to be fair to her. Al tried to give her a push whilst cycling besides her and they ended up almost having a collision which ended up bending the mudguard on Al's bike so he had to cycle back to swap it. In the meantime the rest of us walked up the hill then on the flat I got Liliya cycling again then within a few minutes she crashed into a thorny bush. I thought it would be game over but a few scratches and tears and she got back on and did much better. At the crossroads we couldn't decipher the map but did see a bike arrow so figured that would be a good guess. It was not, more hills, bumpy tracks and we ended up on a main road.
Google maps isn't great at the cycle routes but we turned back to the crossroads and tried again.
Once we picked up the correct route it was so much easier but we'd lost quiet a bit of time so did try and find a shorter route which again failed us as we ended up in a field on the wrong side of the river.
Unfortunately because of the river there weren't many crossing points so we had no choice but to go the full way round. There were a few moments Liliya almost cycled into the river when the path got a little narrow and we were starting to worry that we wouldn't make it back in time as we'd been going for a long time and Liliya was starting to get tired and have a little moan. Fair play to her though she kept going and we were back for 6.05pm.
The thought of the French treats we were then going to get once we'd finished had kept them going the last couple of miles so it was a huge disappointment when they turned out to be half a biscuit, some sugared angelic root, one chocolate bean and an aperitif 🫤 At least we'd also ordered them a fizzy cold drink and they enjoyed that.
Back at the van we enjoyed a roast chicken and salad, very handy to buy the ready cooked ones as it would take ages to cook one in our oven! Within a few minutes as expected Liliya fell asleep and we continued driving to a cute little village called Fougere.
After some of the recent aires being busy we were hoping they had a spot but needn't have worried as we're the only ones here. The bakery according to reviews online is very good so that's breakfast sorted and there's also a little park that Robert spent some time on before going to bed.
