We have, on many occasions now, offered up thanks for our little French visas. Firstly, when Missy Bear was delayed, and we spent a few weeks waiting for the boat itself. Then while waiting for various bits of equipment to show up in Canet and then Barcelona.
And we are thankful again now, becuase we can stay in Aubeterre without the old Schengen clock tick-tocking in the background.
We’ve not heard anything yet about progress on MB. The boatyard is owned by a young couple, and she was about to give birth to their first child when we were in Arbatax. It will be what it will be. Is this where we start singing Que Sera? So, although the blog is strictly about Missy Bear, here’s a bit of a landlubbers’ interlude.
I tried so hard to get our passports stamped when we left Olbia airport in Sardinia (in order to stop the clock) but failed miserably. I also failed to get them stamped when we landed in Paris ar Charles de Gaulle airport. I asked an official, who actually grabbed the airport police for us as they walked past. I won’t bore you with all they said but the gist of it was; "no-one cares". The chap told us that we could arrive in Greece and they wouldn’t care.
We arrived back at the house to a very lovely welcome from my sister and her husband who were staying here. Somehow the discussion that evening escalated into a very heated debate, with the two of them (and R) telling me that no-one cares, and me, with my regulatory compliance hat on, saying we had to stick to the rules and be able to prove it.
There has since been a posting on the Cruising Association, where a UK couple, who had not got their passports stamped in to Schengen, tried to exit the Schengen from Greece. The Greek border police asked for proof of their entry into Schengen, and they were able to show their flight boarding passes. The border police calculated they had stayed 3 days over the 90, and gave them the choice of a fine coming to well over 600 euros, or not being allowed back into Greece for 4 years. They also said that if that if they could get the boat to Italy, and leave Schengen from there, they probably wouldn’t get fined, because (in their opinion) the Italians don’t care.
From our passports, we are still under the Schengen clock, but we have our boarding passes from our flight to CDG. I’m going to lead on that one, not Richard. The gaffer tape may find a new use...
We’ve had a lovely time so far, with the exception of a few days when we did some heavy-duty cleaning, most of which was wiping off spider poo. It’s a trade-off - let the spiders remain in the house and catch flies, but then suffer that fact that they poop everywhere. Apparently, September is the month when spiders mate, but I think our lot are like bunnies, and are at it all year long.
It has been interesting to visit our local markets. The big one in Riberac used to have three large fish mongers, but it has dropped to two, and as they were both on holiday last week, we couldn’t do our usual fishy Friday. I’m hoping they will be back this Friday, as I have dug out my Rick Stein’s Spain (courtesy of the Cirencester Oxfam bookshop), and look forward to doing some clam dishes from it. Tonight, we will have gurnard fillets, care of our newly re-opened Intermarche. It’s been shut for 6 months – the shop had just replaced all its fridges and freezers, and then swamped in a flash flood of the river Tude, that flows close by.
The weather has been nice enough to bbq, and we’ve sat out the front, waiting for the pad-pad-pad of paws. Farouk, next door's spaniel, always comes to visit when we have dinner. He doesn’t beg, but just sits and waits for nibbles. He’ll eat meat or fish, but not tapenade. He also likes to mark his territory and always has a squirt on the bag of charcoal. He also pees on the corner of the patio where we eat [Ed – and that I have just jet-washed]. Doggies, heh?
We’ve also taken the opportunity to catch up on a few programmes – University Challenge and Only Connect, although we did watch Silent Witness, which was a real bundle of cheery laughs. But we’ve both been reading – Richard has just finished a Michael Portillo history book, and I’ve just finished Robert Harris’ Conclave, which is making me google all sorts of things about previous popes.
It’s also a good time for trips in France. Places are still open, but schools have gone back. We went for a trip into the Dordogne on Sunday to a lovely little auberge, and once the thundery weather passes in a week I’d like to head down to the French Basque country. But otherwise, we are enjoying being lazy – lots of coffee, books, and cribbage. And great food – what more could you want?