The southern coast

12.9.11
Awoke on top of the mountain, quite cold. We were not so far from Nant, where there were a number of campsites -mostly closed already. Shortly after hitting the road, we did need a toilet stop and a conveniently located tap meant we could also replenish our water supplies. Such a pretty, little town -full of flowers.
Winding through some more gorges, but not like yesterday we saw many vineyards along the road. At times we were slowed by a tractor towing a trailer full of grapes into the coop ready for processing.
Around lunchtime we passed through the town of Moliere, and noticed the ancient city within. Parking here was reasonably accessibly, so we decided on a stop for a 'plate du jour' (duck breast with rice) and a wander. Buildings, including a chateaux which now is divided into a number of shops/studios for artists dated from the 11th century. We stopped to buy some small pieces of souvenir pottery from a local artist before heading off to the coast.
Although we had started the day with quite cold weather up on the mountain, down near the Mediterranean it was exceedingly hot. We enjoyed a swim on arrival at Valras-Plages, though the water was much colder than I had thought it would be. It contained a sandy beach (albeit dark sand) and many older people. Obviously there is a different attitude towards this, as many older and larger ladies than I appeared to have no concerns about wearing a bikini! We also noted that we were extremely white by comparison to most! Sun cancer must not be a concern! The Spanish influence here was very strong. There seemed to be a mixture of Spanish and French speakers on the beach.
After our swim we drove along the beach because although it seemed that a number of camper-cars were planning to stay in the carpark for the night, we found this too hot. There was little shade evident, so we headed about 5km inland to a canal lined with large trees. This is to be our camp for the night.