Well, that's not quite right. We planned to go to Margaux, and we did drive 250 km round trip, but we didn't quite make it all the way to Margaux. We missed the ferry! In fact we missed the ferry three times.
There must be a story here!
This is the ferry - coming back into its dock at Blaye on the Gironde estuary, north of Bordeaux. Margaux is on the other side of the estuary, from whence the ferry has just returned. This ferry is the only way to get across the huge Atlantic estuary. So how did this catastrophe happen? Well, as the navigator, I decided we would take the green road from Ste Foye, north west to Blaye; 125 km at about 75 km per hour. We would then get the ferry across the estuary to Margaux and have a happy visit at the famous wine chateaux of the area. To return, I had decided, we would drive via the autoroute and the Bordeaux ring road - all toll roads - expensive but quick. So we went on the green road to Blaye, arriving at 1.40 pm. The ferry left had at 1.30. The next ferry was at 3.00 pm.
"Ok," says Paul. "Let's have lunch." So we found a suitable restaurant, had oysters and a fabulous seafood salad, found the loo, and by the time we returned to the car and drove to the ferry point it was ten past three. Too late!
"Ok," says Paul, never phased. "Let's go and look at the citadel."
Here is the ferry heading into its new dock at Blaye. I took this photo from the wall of the citadel. This huge expanse of water is the estuary of the Dordogne and Garonne Rivers which meet up at this point. Their estuary is huge and flows north into the Atlantic. The reason the water is so muddy is the action of the tide on the shallow river bottom. If you were airborne (or if you look on Google Maps), you'd see that the centre of the estuary, which is very deep, is very clear salty water - not at all muddy. The tides reach for many kilometres upstream. We noticed as we drove to Bordeaux from St Foye La Grande, that the Dordogne suddenly became muddy, but we didn't know why until we realised it was the tidal influence moving the water in the river.
As I have said, Blaye is situated at the point where the two mighty rivers of South West France prepare to empty into the sea, and where all shipping from the Atlantic Ocean enters France (that is, Bordeaux). So, its the perfect place to build a fortress. This one is very old and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Here's the front door!
....... and the entrance foyer. This part has been saved and is a pretty cafe and little shop..
... but the rest is so old.....
The method of making this particular site accessible has been to bank up the soil against the old stone walls and cut the grass. Quite satisfactory actually as the whole area is the size of a village.
Great views! That is the Atlantic on the horizon. No wonder they built their fortress here.
And this one is looking back to where the two rivers meet.
This is the village of Blaye, just outside the walls of the citadel and where we had lunch. And because this is the Bordeaux wine appellation, every suitable bit of dirt grows grapes, including this patch!
The best maintained structure inside the citadel - the armoury! You've got to keep your powder dry!
So, by the time we walked all the way back to our car in the village, the ferry was boarding again. Rush, rush, run, run ... got to the car, just made it to the entry road, up to the ferry dock ... and down comes the gate! Too late again! Obviously, it was not meant to be - so we limped home - along the white road. So close to Chateau Margaux - but so far!
Next - Our final night in Ste Foy La Grande.
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