Travelled : 53 miles from Negra to Foix
Visited : Foix, Chateau de Foix โฌ11.60 double, Grotte Labouiche โฌ19.60 double
Stayed : Foix camper car parking area, no service but free. Du Lac Camping, Foix, all the usual services โฌ17, N 42.58.229, E 001.36.279
Budget : 37 days @ โฌ74 per day
Sadly we say our goodbyes to our shipmates and leave the canal and Lattes behind. We travel by taxi to Gare Montpellier then by train to Toulouse. The intercity express takes 2 hours to cover the distance we travelled by penichette in 2 weeks. Then the local train to Negra and we are packing ourselves back into the Hymer. It’s like coming home from a holiday, it’s good to be back.
Avoiding the tollway we head south toward Andorra. The road is slow and winding, but there is little traffic and where just happy to be on our way again. We re-enter the motorway just out of Foix and decide it’s time to find a supermarket and restock the Hymer. Job done we drive over the hill into Foix to be confronted with the sight of the 3 towers of a castle on the hill overlooking the town. It’s another postcard moment and we decide Foix will do nicely. The GPS finds a free camper car stop and you know by now it doesn’t get much better than that. We hit the tourist information and plan a visit of the citadel (not castle sorry) and a local cave tomorrow. Then we find a nice little pub with wifi and settle in.
The citadel was constructed in the year 1000 as a fortress, then converted into a chateau in 1217. The Counts of Foix must have loved steps ! Anyway it has a very interesting museum and fabulous views from the towers. Sunday mass has just concluded as we walk back down the hill and pass the abbey, so we pop in for a wander and Pam lights a candle. We spend the rest of the morning wandering the old town, it’s half timber houses and stonework. Then it’s back to the Hymer and we drive out to the caves at Labouiche. It’s an interesting afternoon the cave tour is done by boat. As the cave or grotte follows an underground river.
When we entered the cave it was hot and sunny as we exit it is cold and threatening. By the time we return to Foix it raining. We need water to do some washing and to empty what must be emptied, none of this can be done at our free camper stop so we opt for the campsite on the edge of town. So while everything is on charge and the washing machine doing it’s stuff, we dine in on BBQ chicken and home cooked risotto and listen to the rain.
By the morning the mist lifts to a clear blue sky, the washing on the line and it’s a late breakfast, we head for Andorra today through the valley of the prehistoric.
Michael and Pam
