Day 33 - Luxury Almost Within Our Grasp

Despite a visit from the pigs during the evening we awoke to discover that our camp was unscathed. It was back to a breakfast of toast and jam. We then walked to the Intermarche Express, where Jackie stopped to buy our dinner for that evening. I continued to our spot on the beach and set out our stuff. Jackie joined me about an hour later having taken her shopping back to camp before joining me.

The only thing to report was an American woman with her young family said “Bonjour” to us as she had also done the previous day. I informed her that we were actually English to which she then enthusiastically introduced us to her three children and her husband, Brian. Her name was Jena and she had a physiotherapy business in Chattanooga. Tennessee. They were very impressed when we told them we had been there. The oldest daughter kept saying “I’ve never met anyone else who has been to Chattanooga”.

Jena went on to tell us that her husband was half French and they were coming to the end of a 7 week holiday in France and looking at the possibility of moving to France for a couple of years in the near future. For their last week they were having a splurge in a 7 bedroom villa with swimming pool and a huge garden with a beach house at the end that was bigger than our house in Cuckfield. Apparently a rich friend who had paid half was supposed to be joining them, but had then cancelled. We told her we were in a tent up the road!

She tried to sound excited by the prospect of camping, so I kindly offered her the opportunity to swap. She laughed off the suggestion, then promptly told us that we could use their toilet and outside shower in the beach house and help ourselves to ice. Sadly we had already finished our drinks and she didn’t get the hint when we subtly mentioned it.

They had two paddle boards & Jackie asked if I could have a go. They agreed, but I declined on the basis that the sea was too rough for my first attempt. A short while later after asking when we were going home, they vacated the beach to meet the French nanny who was on her way by train from Paris. We had been hoping to get an invite up to the luxury villa but it didn’t materialise!!

Jackie overheated again during the afternoon and left the beach just before 6pm. I stayed on a further 40 minutes before heading back to camp.

Jackie made me quiche Lorraine, chips, coleslaw and salad, whilst she had chicken, 3 chips, coleslaw and salad. It wasn’t our best meal, in fact Jackie hardly ate a thing. My quiche needed cooking and the coleslaw was disgusting.

We went to bed exhausted just after 9pm. I think we were both suffering a bit with dehydration hence the lack of appetite and lethargy.

At 3.45am, we were rudely awoken by crash, bang, wallops, snorts and squeals. The sound is definitely amplified in a tent. The pigs were rampaging through camp again. It sounded like they were running amok in the rubbish bin shed. I was feeling slightly guilty because I hadn’t locked the shed door earlier that evening when I dropped off our rubbish before going to bed.

After some shouting and clapping, the pigs came down the stairs into our camp. After a quick clatter, they departed before I could get out of bed. They then caused absolute chaos in the pitch below where they crashed and banged until the German ladies and several other campers came out to scare them away.

The chaos had lasted over 30 minutes and Jackie and I were now wide awake. We sat up and researched accommodation for Saturday night on Booking.com. I still couldn’t get back to sleep and started fantasying about luxury villas and no pigs. It prompted me to google Jena and Brian, hence the attached screenshots of them.

Song of the Day - Luxury by The Rolling Stones.Read more