We knew after completing the hike we were going to be pretty exhausted and as our previous nights campsite wasn’t ideal we decided on a different spot just under an hour away. It was still in the same region and known for its hiking through the mountains. Unfortunately we couldn’t stay in Mont Dore which was our first choice because the campsite was full so settled on another little mountain town only 5kms down the road called La Bourboule.
Driving into the town through the winding switchbacks reminded us a lot of the Alps but the peaks and valleys just not as pronounced. The countryside lush and beautiful and it is no wonder the area is known for cheeses as we passed multitudes of cows on the way in. We were greeted by a lovely couple at the campsite who when they found out we were from Australia told us that we were only the second Australians they had ever had in the campsite and they were amazed at how good our (Tim’s) French was. Tim during the trip has been getting plenty of compliments on how good his French is, especially so when he tells them we are Australian. I feel sorry for any Australians coming after us as we (Tim) has set a pretty high standard/expectation that we can all speak French! 😂😂
Anyway we were directed to our campsite which we were told was not great (it was in the car park) but the next day was Sunday and a lot of people were leaving and we could move to another site after everyone left. By this stage we were pretty knackered and decided to eat at the little restaurant at the campsite instead of cooking. We arrived to a pretty busy restaurant and were soon seated beside a lovely couple who helped us with what local specialities we should order. A bottle of wine later and thoroughly sated we stumbled home and I was thoroughly chuffed that I pretty much followed the conversation throughout the night. Wine certainly helps.
The next day after moving we walked into La Bourboule town centre and were again greeted with some beautiful scenery. The Dordogne river runs directly through the centre of the town and on both sides of the valley there are spectacular views of the mountains. Coupled with a fairly busy main street lined with shops and restaurants and we were pretty impressed.
The reason we had origninally picked Mont Dore as our destination was to do the hike to Puy du Sancy, a peak which used to be a ski resort which unfortunately in the last few years has stopped running due to lack of snow. But we thought we may as well do one a little closer to the campsite with the benefit of views of Puy du Sancy. The trail started 3 kms from our campsite but we thought it a little ridiculous to ask for a lift to the start of a 15km hike so set off from the campsite. Pretty much from the get go we ascended steeply and I must admit it was an effort! We were hiking through some pretty lovely forest interspersed with views of the village below.
Once we finally got to the point where we intersected the official hike we were sitting atop a ridge with views towards Mont Dore city and Puy de Sancy. We then hiked down to a lake and back up again through more forest, through some cows and back down again. A pretty rewarding though very strenuous 18kms!
The next day we thought we would just stretch the legs a little and walk to Mont Dore which was about 6kms away up the valley. This track wound its away along the Dordogne and we were treated to some pretty fantastic forest views. Mont Dore itself was very similar to Bourboule and after stuffing our faces with burger and chips we walked back.
For the last night at the campsite there was going to be a little soirée with a set dinner and music. The manager assured us it was going to be fantastic and we would really enjoy it. A very French experience. So we said sure why not? Little warning bells started going off in our heads when we saw the poster which was for an “accord-duo” but again we thought well after dinner when the music comes on and it’s not great we can leave. We arrived at 8pm for what we thought was dinner but was in fact the start of the music which was a couple on an accordion and keyboard. At one stage there was even what I can only describe as a mouth keyboard. The lady was blowing into some sort of a keyboard. Dinner was served at 9.30pm and finished with dessert just before the 11pm wrap up of the music. I have never in my life wished for an intermission as much as that night, but alas these guys had stamina and they played the whole time. The plus side of the night was that we sat beside another lovely French couple from Paris and although the music did hamper the conversation quite a lot as it was ear splittingly loud we still managed to have some sort of a conversation and even got a few recommendations of little spots to stop off at on our way.
It was definitely a night we will always remember and definitely a crescendo of a finish to an awesome stay in the Auvergne region. S