Day 7: Navigational Success

Route : Berneval le Grand to Le Crotoy
Distance : 65km
Ride Quality: Tail-wind-a-riffic
Accommodation : B&B Villa St. Georges

We had a WONDERFUL sleep last night - the bed was comfy and everything was peaceful. And since we had a heater to dry all of our clothes, everything was dry by the morning. Breakfast was also delightful. One of the first places where our hosts sat down with us for breakfast. They filled us in on what to expect on our ride today (several hills as the land slopes down to the beaches, then back up again) and they helped us find another B&B to stay in tonight. We were sad to leave - especially since it was another cloudy, windy day.

Fortunately, the rain never arrived, and it actually got pretty sunny by the late afternoon. The wind was very constant though - but fortunately again, it was at our backs just until we rounded the bay to head into Le Crotoy. I'd read a few blogs that said the wind can be pretty brutal if you're heading south, and it seems they were right. Both of our faces are a bit red today, but I don't think it's as much from the sun as the wind, if not more!!

The navigation also went really well today. Coincidentally, it was also the first day we left Garmi off. Just a couple of different roads - most with low traffic, although higher speed limits, and then a nice surprise bike path into town for the night. Hopefully the trend continues for tomorrow.

We had two sight-seeing stops today. The fist was in Le Treport, where we stopped for lunch along the water. The town had some great cliffs and nice scenery, including some brightly colored houses along the water which had survived the war.

The beach in Le Treport. That cliff in the distance? Yeah,  we climbed up that sucker on the way out of town. 

Penguin posing by some lobster traps. Behind him are the cliffs leading in to the town of Le Treport. It was a stunning view coming in to town,  with the ocean before us and the church nicely framed by the cliffs. Unfortunately,  we were white-knuckling it down a super steep Hill with traffic piled up behind us,  so we didn't stop for a photo until we got to the bottom. 

Colourful pre-war houses along the beach of Le Treport. 

The second stop was in Saint Valery sur Somme, which was a lovely little town on the bay. You could actually see Le Crotoy, our destination for the day, across the Bay. The water gets low enough at low tide that you can walk across the Bay at points - there were even some sheep in the middle - but the tide can come in pretty quickly. They even have an old-timey steam train that goes around the Bay to Le Crotoy. We almost managed to beat the train, and it wasn't for the head wind at the end we might have succeeded!

Penguin enjoying a little blue sky in Saint Valerie sur Somme. 

The B&B for today isn't nearly as nice as where we stayed last night, but it does the job. Dinner was again hard to find tonight. Being a Friday night on a long week in France meant that all the nicer restaurants - which seem to only have one sitting per night - were all booked up. But we found a decent place by the water and out of the wind to have a nice dinner. We also stocked up on food in case we get stuck on a night where everything is closed again.

No seal sightings tonight so far. We saw one Shag in St. Valery, but we'll check again in the morning along the water before heading out. :)

We think this a Shag... it was eating a fish. 

-Penguin

PS: Saroja has fallen asleep beside me while I wrote this so it looks like picture uploading will be delayed by another day.