Hotel Europa was a bit more modern than our previous hotel and we dropped our bags, enjoyed a shower and some internet research on the surrounding area, before leaving to visit the Domaine du Mas Baux.
It was a good opportunity to do a bit of sight seeing and was only a 10 minute drive away. Mas Baux was set back off a winding road and up a long crushed rock driveway. There were no cars in the parking lot, and with the exception of a large amorous hound, the place felt deserted in the heat. The sky was too blue, the vines too green and the dry ground too white. There was a Koi pond ringed with shade tree’s where we could see large fish making lazy circles. It was unbelievably tranquil and it felt like time had stopped here.
The tasting room was to the right and part of a long barn-like structure built of stone. To the left of the driveway was an old Catalan farm house of similar construction. It was out of this building that the owner, Serge came to greet us and offered a tour of his vineyard. Here we learned that this area of the Mediterranean had a long history of viticulture and was on the old ” Via Domita” linking Italy, Gaul, and Spain. Some of the varietals were planted 2000 years ago by the Phoenicians and later proliferated by the Romans. The vineyard was small with only 12 hectares in grape, and produced a low yield of less than a bottle per vine. It was organic and very labor intensive as all the pruning, picking, and sorting was done by hand. A French couple and their German friend joined us for the tour of the fermentation tank’s, and we all finished up in the tasting room. It continued to amaze us throughout the trip, how many languages people spoke. Serge was able to talk to us in English, and we heard him speak German as well as his native French. This was just one of his many skills, as judging by the photo’s on the tasting room walls, he was also a renowned rugby player in his youth. It was a lovely way to spend a few hours, and we returned to the Europa with a couple of bottles in hand and fondness in our hearts.
Upon arriving in the room, we promptly turned the air conditioning on (yah!), as the wind had stopped blowing and it was 90’s F. The queen bed was made up of 2 singles pushed together which is common in Europe and other parts of the globe. This always gave us the giggles for some reason. The TV worked and had a couple of English speaking channels, one of which was “Russia Today”. This station was showing stories of wonderful China and Russia in contrast to terrible America, your basic propaganda stuff which was amusing. We finished off the remnants of the pick up meal from the night before, and washed it down with a Mas Baux red. Today had really felt like we were on a French vacation.
There was a small bakery set back off the road which was attached to a Mini-golf course and was on our way to the boat yard, so the next day we stopped in. It turned out to be a great find as it had cheap espresso (1 EU), fresh croissant, baguettes, sandwiches, and the best quiche ever, plus other sweeter treats. The women running it were super friendly and we nattered to each other in our native languages, neither one knowing exactly what the other was saying, but generally passing pleasantries and establishing a dialogue that we continued for 3 months. When we got back to the boat the workers were nowhere to be seen.
With nothing to do again, we headed off to the local windsurfing area of Leucate, about 20 minutes away. Todd and I had met windsurfing back in the Mid 90’s in the Sacramento river Delta of California, and were excited to see the venue in Leucate and check out the new seasons gear.
When we got to the small town of Leucate, the street market was winding down and only 1 of the several cafes/restaurants was open when we arrived at 11.30. Mealtimes in France were a bit tricky for us to figure out and we were often too early or too late for the restaurants. Instead we opted to select some marinated olives, apricots, a chunk of cheese, and a wonderful smoked sausage from the market stalls. The guy who made the sausage reported that he raised the pig’s organically and used an extended smoking method that imparted a unique smoky flavor and enjoyable chewiness. (He also specified “non refrige!” ). We then had to dash to a local supermarket to get bread and wine before it closed for lunch.
After picking up our items, we scoured a couple of windsurf shops for used gear (eek, prices in Euro’s were freaking expensive!), then headed to the estuary and had a picnic while we sat watching the sailors scream across the flat water. Just watching made us miss the sport, but we had learned on our 2 Mexican cruises that paddle boards were a more versatile option on a boat.