September 10

September 10th (sunny and getting warmer)
Being that we were just about the only people at the campground, we packed up early and were on the road towards southern France before 9 am. The scenery we drove through today was certainly not the prettiest we have encountered and the more south we drove, the more it resembled Arizona, even the homes.
As clean as Switzerland was, the opposite for this area of France – lots of garbage and messy piles of junk everywhere. In most of Europe, the recycling program for plastic and bottles is not like home – there is no deposit and refund program for the recyclables, therefore the incentive is not there for most people. I am sure if there was a “cash” return policy, there would not be as much lying around.
Today it seemed like we were continuously climbing with Susi, not as steep as some of the mountains, but all day. She performed perfectly again – lights blinking the whole way. At one point, it was like a light show beating along with the music.
By the time we settled at a large campground on the Mediterranean in France, the temperature was near 30. Very nice weather, but now comes the news. We have decided that since all of our planned objectives on this tour have been met, along with some unplanned side trips, there really isn’t too much left for us to see in Europe. We have decided to head north through the centre of France and come home.
Also the ongoing uncertainty with the van has also contributed to our decision as is the fact that both of us are not into sitting on the beach for another six weeks marking time. The $6,000 or so that we would be spending can be spent on another vacation at a later date.
Notables for the day: south of France must have been very hot, as it was in Greece because we passed through many burned-out areas. We saw flocks of “real”, as opposed to “plastic” pink flamingoes and the campground we stayed at on the Mediterranean outside of Sete now only charges 18E/night instead of 40E/night. However, the 1,000 pitch site is scheduled to close down the end of this week as are most sites – that could be another difficulty for us – finding one that is open.
Our plans are to be in Utrecht by this time next week – September 18th and be home approx. five days after that.