September 20, 2017
Day 2 - Royan to Marennes
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We were up at a decent hour despite ourselves. We had a lovely breakfast in the hotel, retrieved our tandem, and rode out of town, mostly on bike paths.
The bike path system in this part of the country is pretty amazing.
After a very pleasant ride along the ocean, we arrived at a "corner" where the coast turns north. We had been going west until now. This corner is marked by a large lighthouse, the "Phare de la Courbe".
We saw many other cyclists on the paths, despite it being a weekday morning. There was even a large club of mixed men and women out on what looked like an organised ride.
After the "corner", the bike paths got a little wilder, but were still pretty amazing. We were in the forest most of the way to Marennes.
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Finally we crossed over La Seudre - the river just south of Marennes.
We made our way to our hotel, helpfully called "Dormir sur la Plage" (Sleep on the Beach). It's upstairs over a restaurant called "Manger sur la Plage" (Eat on the Beach). They're keeping it simple, I guess.
Our room wasn't ready yet because we were so early. So we ate lunch, dropped our bags, and continued on to today's goal - the "Cite des Huitres" (City of Oysters). We were treated to a very informative demonstration of how oysters are cultivated. There were exhibits that showed us the history of the industry. Finally, there was some tasting of oysters, AND we got instructions on how to open the little suckers. I've been doing it wrong all these years! It's so easy when you know how to do it right.
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We then rode back to the hotel and chilled until dinner, which we ate downstairs while being attacked by mosquitos. Luckily the restaurant had repellent available.
Today's ride: 63 km (39 miles)
Total: 137 km (85 miles)
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