28th July - Libourne

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Kms today 372
Kms to date 4,320

I had planned a route over the Pyrenees, but rain was predicted in the mountains so we abandoned that idea and headed round the coast towards Biarritz. When we crossed the border with France there was a huge queue heading into Spain that was at least 5kms long. The borders were not as free as they make out! We took off on D roads through Mont de Marsan towards Bordeaux. The roads were great, through pretty countryside and villages with very little traffic. Then I made a mistake and we  had to revert to Mabel that soon had us on an Autoroute and stopping frequently for tolls - what a pain.
Libourne is an old town with narrow streets and Cecile's house was on one of those streets. The house was delightful with art work displayed throughout the rooms and in the garden. Cecile had a boyfriend Ralph who lived at the end of the garden.
The backyard at Cecile's place in Libourne.
We walked into the centre of town for something to eat and soon a small group of dancers and drummers in Carribean style dress appeared and entertained us with  their  music and dancing - quite  a surprise.
Dancers in the main square of Libourne. Music was African beat like Mardi Gras in Rio.
We went to the tourist office and found out there was a re-enactment of the Battle of Castillion 1483 in a nearby  town and after confirming there were still tickets we decided to go that evening.
The re-enactment was held regularly at a fixed site where  the scenery was already in place and there were grandstands.  The re-enactment was very popular because it told the story of Charles 1 successful campaign to remove the English from France. There were medieval style stalls and mini plays going on to entertain us while night fell when we moved into the main stadium with 5,000 others.
A few of the combatants warming up!!
It was a full on show with 48 scenes from village life to a battle with horsemen, cannons and soldiers. Up to 200 people and 50 horses took part and it finished with lights smoke and explosions.
The battle of Castillion in full swing.
The show was about 1 1/2 hours. On the way home we saw a car with its rear sticking up in the air when it had run into a roadside ditch. The owner had left the hazard lights on.

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