.: blayais, bourgeois, bordelais :.

After visiting the grottoes of Meschers-sur-Gironde and learning the interesting and varied history and use of the place, a pirate’s lure and lair and a hidden place for Protestants to worship, we made our way in the direction of Bordeaux, taking a leisurely drive along the shores of the Gironde where the waters of mighty river and Atlantic mixed. En route, we watched the scenery pass of lush vineyards and chateaux hewn out of cliffs and ancient churches. With a break in the weather and better boding for the rest of our vacation, there was just too much to see and we could take weeks just to explore this stretch of road. We stopped in the afternoon at the town of Blaye, featuring another of the prolific builder Vauban’s citadels. The occasion for the fortifications was to defend from the English during the Napoleonic wars. The huge garrison made up its own quarter of the town with its own residents and shops. In the shadow of the impossibly high walls was also the ruins of a basilica where legend has it that the folk hero Roland is buried. After Blaye, we went on to find a camp site for the evening, before trying for the metropolitan city of Bordeaux and discovered a little gem of a village—not in the guide books, called Bourg, and camped on the shore with a tableaux of a shipwreck and grand river under the cliff walls of the fortress. The next day, we headed for Bordeaux and had a fine time exploring the city, with its endless 18th century imperial architecture. The weather, however, was not completely cooperative. By the time we were done touring the city, however, a sunny and clear late afternoon welcomed us as we pitched camp at the foot of the massive and magnificent Grand Dune of Pyla, the largest wandering sand dune of Europe, nearly 120 meters high as it moves glacially into the pine forests that surround the beach and 4 kilometers longs. It was a difficult vertical hike up but we had a lot of fun in this unique and pristine sandbox. Today, we are off further south for a few relaxing more days on the beach.