We decided to cross France from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic on the autoroutes A61 and A62 which are called the Autoroutes des Deux Mers or the routes of the two seas.
Essentially this meant a very long drive from Marseille to Royan, just north of Bordeaux, a distance of 731 km taking 7 hours and 31 minutes. That's 7 hours and 31 minutes at 130km per hour in three lanes of traffic, with tolls. France is a big country!
So we decided to take it easy with a stop over in Agde, scintillating star of the salty lakes of the western Mediterranean, famous for oysters, mussels and eels.
There were traffic jams on the autoroute outside Montpellier. Traffic was at a standstill at 3.30 pm on a Monday afternoon. I'd hate to see it at 5.00pm on a Friday - and this is the "toll road" where you pay for the privilege of congestion.
Back in 1998 these roads were 'state of the art'. Sixteen years later there are just so many cars and trucks on the road that the system can't cope. And this is in the land of frequent, high speed rail. One suspects that they can't fund and build the roads fast enough to cope with the ever increasing traffic, especially at the height of summer.
We crawled into the port of Agde in the late afternoon and miraculously found a car park in the public area adjacent to the summer holiday carnival and amidst the stalls setting up for a night market. This was summer holiday camping mayhem.
Our hotel was a quaint affair charging exorbitant rates for last minute bookings in rooms with little more than a bed and a toilet. But we were at the very mouth of the Hérault river and the seafood restaurants floated on the water in front of us.
We had a dozen mouthwatering Bouziges oysters each followed by Le Parillade - a plate of fried fish and seafood. I didn't take a photo but it looked much like this and included the best cuttlefish/squid I have ever tasted.
Without much to hold us in town, we set off next morning on our long, fast drive across southern France. Three toilet and coffee breaks and 500 kms later we arrived on the Atlantic coast at a tiny town called the port of Mortagne-sur-Gironde.
After installing ourselves in our apartment (white building on far right) we fought our way through the crowds to look around. The tide was on the way out and the canal needed a good swill to clean the mud away after a number of small tides.
It seemed to be a pretty relaxed place compared to our life on the Cote d'Azur...... a few boats, a few camping cars, a few people and ....
Ducks have Priority
Cars slow down
Dogs to be kept on leash.
Ducks, eh? Oh, there they are!
Catching the last of the sun.
The silly woman with Paul said, "I wonder how they are going to get into the water, there's no ramp for them and the banks are very steep?"
"This is how", said Paul. And off they went! He's easily amused.
We wandered out again about an hour later to find the tide almost out and the small craft moored in the canal, sitting on the mud.
A pretty place.
And the reason we came here - fabulous Marennes oysters from the Ile d'Oléron, just up the road. Doing it the local way - outside, on plastic chairs, with a glass of rosé, a squeeze of lemon and a grind of pepper.
Heaven - $20AUD
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