Petit Trécelin to Sables d'Or les Pins

All of the guests in the hotel yesterday were walkers but I didn't get to speak to the ladies from New Zealand at dinner. I enjoyed saucisse lentilles, bread, butter, cheese and a very nice tarte of pineapple and coconut. Washed down with a local beer, it was perfect (and the first 'real' meal I've had!)
My washing was already dry and ready to be packed. I'd sorted out my shortcuts for today, should I feel the need, and I had my Factor50 ready.
Bed beckoned, but I woke at midnight and there were owls outside twitting and twooing like mad! A surprisingly comforting sound 🤗.
Breakfast was a simple affair, and I'd ordered a pique-nique lunch, so I was on the road by 0850.
The start of today's walk was glorious. It led me through a wood where I walked all on my own, and all I could hear was the birds singing. I identified (thanks to Merlin!) robin, chiffchaff, wren and blackcap. There were lots of wren eggq shells on the path, they were tiny and very crunchy when you stepped on them🙄😂.
I'd decided to take the shortcut, so cutting off at Port St Géran and heading towards Plévenon. The route took me through arable farmland and some lovely little villages, and I was glad I'd decided to make that choice as a lot of the walk had blocked my view of the sea.
In Plévenon I was amazed to find... a butchers, a bakers, (no candlestick makers, although there was a potter, who I'm sure would've turned a few if you'd asked!) and a Tabac/restaurant where I enjoyed an Orangina and a Bounty. It felt a little like civilisation ☺️. Then I was off again to meet the GR34 at Grèves den Bas. I was now in sand dune territory and there were quite a few of them. I don't really like walking on sand - I'm slow enough as it is, but there was no choice! The views were amazing, though, and one dune led down to a beach bar😃. There, I ate half of my baguette for lunch and washed it down with a ginger beer. I also enjoyed an ice cream (I asked for it in a tub, rather than a cornet, until I thought she was serving it to me in a mug!🤢😂. I quickly changed my mind, but it seems the mug was for the water to wash the scoop in 🙄 - but that was bad enough 😂).
Sand dunes soon matured into heather and I felt like I was walking back in Surrey, on the heath. I even heard a few cuckoos today, for the first time on this walk. Cuckoos have marked each of our caminos (whether real or recorded 🙄) and their sound is a very nostalgic but happy reminder of our camino companion and joker, Nigel 🥰🥰🥰
The route was now pretty flat and made its way down to Sables D'Or les Pins, where I'm staying for the night.
Apparently the area was purchased by an entrepreneur in 1922 as he wanted to develop it to rival the likes of Deauville, which isn't far from the pad. Unfortunately, he went bankrupt in 1930 so he never realised his dreams. Today, however, there are so many new apartment blocks being built, plus new restaurants plus a Renault car dealership, it looks like his dream may be coming true! The area is beautiful and the beach is wide and long. I took a walk to the water - it was way out, and very cold! Sid tried to dip his toes, too - with disastrous results 😱😂
There isn't much here to entertain visitors, apart from a small fun fair, a nautical centre, and a huge casino (and a gym if you're that bored!😂), but I can really see the attraction of the place as a 'do nothing and spend loads of money doing it' place! The price of hotel rooms is astronomical - even my apartment was OTT, but it's a fab place for the evening! Supper was burger and chips, not my usual menu, but it was very nice and I felt I'd earned it.Baca lagi