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We wake to a beautiful sunny morning, the air full of the sounds of cuckoos, cicadas and kites. We leave Auberge d'Imbes at 11:05 linked by 2-way radios Nick + Grete brought with them, and drive back through St Genis then Grete plotted a scenic [narrow winding] route towards La Roque Gageac.
We find ourselves driving up and up on steep roads with rocky faces and huge trees towering above. We call up the radio and suggest a stop. Immediately Grete comes back with "OK, Wow!". Seconds later we round the bend after them and Wow indeed! We pull into the layby looking directly across aa wide valley at a chateau growing out of the rocks a mile or so away.
We continue in convoy on high roads with limestone shoulders jutting out threatening to snag the vans at a moment's lapse in concentration. We descend into valleys, cross rivers and streams and sometimes run alongside them.
At midday we reach La Roque Gageac. Alongside the Dordogne the town rises up the ochre and grey rock face, the buildings appering to grow from the rock itself. We easily find parking in a 'stationmen de camping car' [motorhome car park] where it is €2 for 3 hours or €3 all day. We set up table and chairs in the picnic area beside the vans and have salad, ham, bread and cheese in the sunshine. After lunch we get our tickets for our boat trip on a Gabarres Norbert boat. The boat is a suedo-replica of the old trading barges which used to be man hauled in 7km relays, or sail-assisted where possible. The fast flowing river runs deep and green, and once out of the town it is flanked by thick woodlands of ash and oak. In places the automatic audio guide describes the various chateau and features we see, including the old quarry from where stone was hewn to construct rooves known as 'laws' rooves [need to check spelling on that one]. 'laws' rooves typically weigh 5-800kg per square metre and need huge timber structures to support them. High above us kites wheel and scream as they pitch at one another in mid air.
Back off the boat we wander along the river bank soaking up the sun and the warmth radiating from the soft stone buildings. We sit on the wall overlooking the river to eat ice-creams before getting back to the vans and discussing where to go. Our original plan for somewhere near St Emillon is abandoned as it is over 100 miles away and it's now 16:00. Instead we agree on another Passion 65 miles distant towards St Emillon. We're on the road again at 16:15 and after a fuel stop for both vans we travel the last 4-5 miles on single track roads arriving at Le Roc du Plaisance near Pineluilh at 18:10. We are given a warm welcome and parked beside the wine producing shed, right on the edge of 35 hectares of infant Merlot otherwise known as grape-vines. The owner then invites us for degustation [tasting]. The ground into the tasting room is very uneven and cobbly so Nick doesn't go in, but every so often a small glass of wine is brought out to the van for him to taste. The vineyard produces mostly Merlot but some Rosé and sparkling white.
We were then told we were the very first camping cars to visit here since they joined France Passion only this year, and could they take our photo to put on their Facebook page? After we have bought some of their wine they give us the remainder, about three-quarters, of one of the tasting bottles to have with our dinner, which incidentally was sausage casserole cooked by Grete.
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