10th September 2023

Quite cool in the morning, the higher altitude does make a difference makes a difference. Breakfast of Pain Au Raison and cereal. I am in trouble, apparently, I should have eaten the Pain Au Chocolate.

This region has a large number of small extinct volcanoes. Several within easy walking distance of the camp site. The first on the list was Puy de la Combegrasse This vocanoe has two peaks and is not covered by trees. There is a well-defined pathway up. There is also an observatory on the way up, so the skies must be dark, despite the campsite.

A small number of groups of people made their way to the summit, where there was a good view of the Puy De Dome. Paragliders were flying around above the Puy De Dome, where I have flown once before. Later we saw one paraglider near to us, whether it had flown from Puy De Dome or elsewhere, we don’t know.

Cheese and bread for lunch and planning our Tuesday getaway when the weather turns worse.

After supper, breast of duck, pan fried divided between the two of us, the par boiled potatoes are then fried in the duck fat, while the duck rests, then after the potatoes are cooked and removed, the juice of a tangerine is added to the pan and reduced for a sauce. Unfortunately, a separate saucepan was required to boil the green beans. All done on one induction hob, one saucepan and a frying pan.

If I was converting a van today, I would definitely install a lithium phosphate battery, solar, and an invertor to generate 240 volt AC and an induction hob for cooking, totally dispensing with gas.

After supper I walked back up the hill to the observatory to try and take some pictures of our galaxy. A sight not often seen in the UK. I was yet again amazed at how good my Android mobile phone is at sky shots.

Yet to download process, and backup the pictures from my camera. Actually, I could probably have done that, the internet at this site works well on the mobile phone, though the laptops seem to fail. No issue; can hotspot from the mobile phone. I do believe the French have got their act together and have rolled out FTTP (fibre to the premises) in quite remote regions.

Back from my nighttime walk well past 11. Thankfully most of the lights at the campsite are off, except the blinding light that is switched on by the motion detectors at the entrance.

Some young French girls kept us awake until midnight with chatter and laughter. Oh, to be young again.