Day 18 |
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Sète - Marseille (July 21st)
NB:
I woke up fairly early to discover that Chris had disappeared. I stumbled past the bikes over the
embankment towards the beach just in time to see him dolphin dive into the sea. Noticing me
upon turning around, he thrust his arms in the air triumphantly, shouting:
"YAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!! LIFE!"
I never had before and I doubt I ever will see Chris so happy that early in the morning.
Just up the beach we found a seaside spot to grab a coffee and a croissant before hitting the road again. It was nice, but boy was it HOT. We ended up in a lineup for a very small ferry that was just leaving...and missed it. Silly us - waiting for no reason. As bikers, you just have to forget being 'polite' and go to the front of the line!!! There's always room. It was a nice stop though - I took a nap and Chris chatted up some enterprising locals who had set up a refreshments stand nearby. We also chatted with a VERY happy and proud V-Max owner on the boat.
Like I said, it was hot. We ended up in traffic in some little town. Finally, we got going...but chris decided to stop to take pictures of some birds. After arguing about whether or not the beach was a beach, I hopped on my bike and left - I needed some air!! 5 km up the road I stopped and went into a restaurant for a cappucino. Sure enough, Chris came along 5 minutes later...and went by without noticing my bike, which was actually not THAT visible due to the large shrubbery that I hadn't noticed...
7 hours later, after a wild goose chase, 3 phone calls to Denmark and a lucky guess by Chris that I would have left a message on his answering machine, we were reunited in downtown Marseille. Oops...
Shortly thereafter we were enjoying a beer (and a shower) at Philippe's place.
CV:
When I look back, it was pretty stupid how we lost track of each other, but at the time it just
seemed like we needed some air.. it happens when you travel with someone for a while. I'll sure remember waiting
in the sun for 3 hours on the side of the D570; not a single tree in the horizon, only pink flamingos, all
this heat and I turned into an artist. It was 5pm when I got Neal's message that
he was waiting for me in Marseille until 7pm. That was a fast ride down!
The meeting point was at the cathedral. After sorting out with the locals which of the three cathedrals it was,
I followed their indications of going straight and then turning left. Of course, not a single street in Marseille
is straight, going straight involves turning left and right a half dozen times. I finally made it there at
6:45pm... we didnt say a word, we just got back on our bikes and drove to Philippe's place
Roads: Followed the N112 to the outskirts of Montpellier and then turned onto the D62 which leads
into the region of La Camargue. The D58 follows and shrinks into a pretty small road, this is
where we crossed with the ferry. Then the D570 leads to Arles, however dont stop
to take pictures. The fast way to Marseille is with the N113, N568 and finish off with the A55.
Nice arrival along the coast.
 Day 17 |
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