Sunday 5^th & Monday 6^th August 2018

Cathy posting,

There’s a leak on the loo! Its leaked in to the cassette area and it stinks. Dave had taken it apart, but he can’t empty it here and a blue job becomes a pink job once he’s donned my pink rubber gloves! after several minutes of discussing the workings of the contraption we realise the seal is leaking from the loo bowl into the cassette so thankfully it’s only liquid! Sikaflex sealant out and it’s sealed in no time, we’ll buy a new seal when we get home, Dave pours water into the bowl and it doesn’t leak now, thankfully, I couldn’t stand a leaking loo! He usually manages to fix everything once we’ve thrashed out the process of elimination together.

its a s…t job but someones got to do it!

Setting off for an Aire at Le Touquet Paris plage we are going north and west back to the coast in the Pays de Calais department of northern France, it has a reputation of being the most elegant resort of northern France and the playground of rich Parisiennes,  when we arrived there is an equestrian event on and we can’t park there, head over to the other one at Marina and we have never seen an Aire so packed, many, many motorhomes and  literally only breathing space between the vans, the outskirts of Le Touquet looks like a nice place, review say town is nice and beach too but nah Dave doesn’t fancy it. We took a quick look at the other sites we’ve saved in our favourites on both park4night and searchforsites and camper contact and decided on Stella Plage at Cocq (GPS N50.47396, E001.57731) that’s full too! But there’s a bit of off street parking so we settle on that and Dave remembers he has 1 disposable BBQ so we get a couple of burgers and sausages on, sat on the car parking at the side of the road leading down to a camp site we could have gone in there but it’s upwards of €15 we are not parked in the prettiest of places but it will do.

we were chucked off here the next day

We head down to the beach after for a walk and we’re amazed by the sheer size of it, it’s packed still even in the early evening.

Next morning, we are making plans to move nearer to Calais over breakfast, when there’s a knock at the door, it’s the local gendarme, we can’t park here! Go!, toute suite! Ok Monsieur, thank you, he comes back after telling two others to move and informs us there is a space now in the designated moho parking, 150 metres, thanking him we move quickly so as not to be in trouble but also to secure the vacant pitch.

Pogo second from right Stella Plage

Once we were there we thought we may as well stay another night, its free, there are waste facilities and that beach sure looked nice with its pale fine sand. Decided to get some blogs published and managed to get 3 out as the Wi-Fi connected to the strong 4G signal. We both like the beach in the late afternoon just when the heat is dissipating so we settle down and go for a dip, I said to Dave the tide looks like its going out so shall we go in now? Bags down and walking into the water I decide to go over and put my cap back, Dave says he’ll take it for me, he comes back to meet me in the water and says that he thinks the tide’s coming in so he has moved our bags back quite a bit, the water was quite warm and this surprised both of us, we were only in for 5 mins and it’s a good job as when we got back the water had reached the bags! Our phones were in them, so we were lucky they didn’t get wet! We always sit next to a young family with kids or grandma if we want to leave our stuff hoping they will act as unpaid security!

We had a lovely afternoon sunbathing and Dave bought us a raspberry beer which was delicious but pricey at €7 so we shared one. This was a great beach, volley ball, trampolines, skate boarding, basketball, toddlers play area, you name it and it was here, great for families which explained why it was so packed.

The plan today had been to go to a supermarket but as we had decided to stay there was only soup for tea or eggs but no bread and as we had not eaten all day it was off out we go, so we wandered down the road passing some camels on the road island?? The circus had arrived in town! And the big top was over the other side of the road from the camels, what a bizarre sight in the fading light.

whats he doing there?

The first and nearest restaurant near the beach said they had stopped serving, using my best French I managed to get directed into Stella Plage town and to one that he thought might be open?  and it was open with tables outside at 9.30pm and we had a lovely meal of chicken in a creamy sauce for me with salad and steak poivre and chips for Dave, best pommes frites so far! Again, we had Café gourmand (a little tapas of espresso, floating islands, crème caramel and ice cream) a bottle of pale Cotes de Provence rose wine which was excellent compared to the cheap stuff we drink in Pogo, €60.80 not bad price for the French coast.

We ended the evening playing air hockey at an amusement arcade, I told Dave that I had won as that’s what the score said on my side and I’m having it lol!

it says I won! your goals are 7 lol!

Good night

Cathy x