Day 12: Mortagne sur Gironde to Bordeaux 117 km. The pointy baguette incident.

Long day to make Bordeaux and have a rest tomorrow. Terrain has changed from the orchards in Normandy to sunflowers and corn and now vineyards. Arrived late because of a long wait for the ferry across the Garonne Canal from Blaye to Lamarque. I'll follow this canal now through to Toulouse and then on to Sete. The route is the Canal des Deux Mers and links the Atlantic with the Med. 

Wildlife update: it was a beaver and not a marmot that I saw. The clue was on the roadside this morning, sadly in kit form. I could make out a leg with a webbed foot. So that's two and a quarter beavers I've seen and no marmots. The sunflowers looked really poor wherever I saw them. They were short with small flowers. Clearly the drought is taking it's toll.

I made the mistake of trying to go into a small shop in a village one minute after closing time. The owner barred the way pointing at his watch. It was 12:31. Despite my pleas he was having none of it and was holding a baguette and looked prepared to use it. It crossed my mind to make him angry enough to throw it at me but it was one of those pointy baguettes that could have someone's eye out. His takings that day had now been reduced by about 20% given the size of the village but the rules had been followed.

A day off. Might go on a bike ride. Naaaaah.