Thursday, September 4, 2014

Mr Bricolage, Bungee and Fairy lights...

I still sound like an asthmatic donkey..improving, but not fast enough for Garrel this Saturday. It is 8 hours of honest caving with diving gear and I'm just not well enough to do it justice.
So, I called Jean last night and we agreed to put the trip back until the 13th. Hopefully I will be bouncing around like Tigger by then. Hopefully.
The Event de Fourmi Perdreau however is a much easier trip. It is still time consuming, but it is more familiar to us and the hardest part is on the surface getting kit to the entrance. We opted for this instead on Saturday.

Knotting line. My favourite.....
Meanwhile, at camp centrale I have been getting complaints that 'It's just not the same without the fairy lights'.
I usually bring a string of outdoor fairy lights to drape around the pitch. It makes it look pretty and also helps us to see in the dark. 
We didn't have any this year so we headed off to Mr Bricolage in search of fairy lights and some bungee for our sidemount harnesses. The bungee was getting a little old, pathetic and in one instance, missing altogether.
We found the bungee OK, reeled off 5m and cut it ourselves - only to get told off at the till.
Then we asked for fairy lights. Hmm. The ones on offer were quite expensive outdoor lights a little OTT for the tent.
Once at the till getting dirty looks from the cashier wench, the shop floor woman comes trotting over to us waving some lanterns on a string. They'll do!
Then we tried to find some mozzy repellent as we are being eaten alive...
We then tried to find a nice little swimming beach for lunch, but unfortunately headed the wrong way up the Herault river towards Le Vigan. The river was shallow and grubby, so we headed back nearer the campsite and went wild swimming further downstream.
Well, I say wild swimming. We did one width of the Herault river, dodging lovely blue dragon flies and trout everywhere.
My lungs screamed in protest at being plunged into cold water and the wheezing donkey was back. 

Back 'home' and Rich has cooked a lovely spag bol. 
Our sum achievement in the last 2 days has been getting gear ready for Garrel - then undoing half of it and getting it ready for Perdreau. 
Let's hope for better luck this weekend.....