The only sound this morning is that of water drops and leaves falling on the roof from the trees behind us. Despite the early sun it's only 7C and porridge seems a good idea for breakfast. We leave around 11:00 and have an easy drive on dual carriageway alongside mostly flat landscape lit beautifully by the sunshine. Coloured trees, bright grass and dark earth stretch for miles. The aire at Nozay didn't seem to have services so we divert into Mauleon where th...

Last night it rained, really rained. It rained so much that on one side of us the rugby pitch was waterlogged and on the other side, just over the wall, the Calcium Cup match between the Ribcage Rhinos and the Tibia Tigers had to be postponed. Anyway at least the skylights are clean. We refuel across the road and start another long drive to get us well on our way north. We start out through the national park, Landes De Gascogne, flat straight roads through pi...