As we moved steadily south we expected the weather to warm up, but have been disappointed so far as the coastal climate has been mostly cold, cloudy and wet. But regardless, in Arcachon we decided to brave it and make the first use of our camping gear. Luckily we found a beautiful campsite in a wooded area only 20 minutes walk to town and the beach.
In general, European camping is more built up than we were used to in California, i.e. campgrounds outfitted with stores, bars, restaurants, and swimming pools (even including a water slide in this case), but here we had a good balance between these conveniences and the feeling of more natural camping – the sites were well placed among trees and fairly private. In any case, we had a blast cooking our first outdoor meals and for day one at least, the weather was great. It rained off and on the next two days and anyone who has camped in the rain will hopefully appreciate our impromptu tarp rig.
Thanks to Kristina’s EKF colleagues for the headlamp and woolen neck/hand/hat warmer thing. Both came in handy (luckily we haven’t used the first aid kit yet).
Yup, that’s our Roskilde Festival tent from last year
Irreverent gnome with tent
The sun did shine a little
But soon we were preparing for rain
Hey Alex, Just got back from Peru (and poor internet coverage). Really like the tent and statuary here. You guys seem right at home — and so does the VW.
Tarp looks good – better than the rigs Sawyer used to make for us in high school. Something does need to be done about those camping chairs though. They don’t look comfortable.
Yeah, those chairs came as part of a festival kit we bought back in 2010. Pretty basic. And the real tragedy – no cup holders.