Sete to St Honore, Bourges

Mandy:  The next leg took us over the spectacular bridge which, being a general knowledge duffer, I have never heard of before.

Joanna:  Inserting a few interesting facts about the bridge ... The incredible Millau Viaduct bridge was opened in December 2004 and is the highest bridge in the world, standing 270 meters (890 feet) over the Tarn River and is more than 340 meters (1,125 feet) in height at the top of its highest mast. It is slightly taller than the Eiffel Tower in Paris and only 38 meters (125 ft) shorter than the Empire State Building. It is a cable-stayed road bridge designed by engineer Michel Virlogeux and British architect Norman Foster. It cost approximately € 400 million to complete the Millau Viaduct.

Back to Mandy: 

As we approached with mounting excitement, so did the fog - which was excellent as in unison, all camera batteries died as we made what would have been eye contact.  Funny how something which would have been taken as a disaster was seen as a relief!  No camera, no view, no matter!  As we had been advised that the best view was from the town below anyway, we decided to hang a right and stop there for battery charge and coffee and hope that the sun might shine.

By fluke, first right was actually a viewing point, coffee house and power hub.  Jo was in heaven!  I pottered about looking for a good Ark shot.  I found it - though it meant Jo had to hold up traffic coming into the carpark whilst I drove the wrong way down a stretch of road to put the Ark in the right place to take the shots.  The sun dutifully broke through and, although we managed to miss the ultimate bridge spot, we found our own Ark with bridge view which I personally think beats the postcards!  Interestingly, it would transpire there was no turning point from here onwards so it was a fortunate bit of luck that we turned right when we did.  Random is definitely a Rally watch word!

The last evening was our destination, party and prize giving.  Having charged batteries, phones, caffeine levels, flasks and every piece of equipment to the hilt (and tummies to boot), we set off with a fairly direct route in our sights.  The Ark flew and stepped up to cruising at 80 much of the time!  We stopped for photos and giggles on the way arriving at yet another lovely site by early evening.  The prospect of endings never sits well for me, especially as the overwhelming camaraderie had made its mark in a very short time.  The bawdy raucous spirit of Screwball which embued hints of 'What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas' had got under my skin.  Prizes were awarded, Best Dressed car was a unanimously popular victory for the Pirates, most money raised by the Zombies and hardest work behind the scenes a worthy marshal.   A fabulous buffet was provided before the Pirates then struck up with their own plugged in 'Unplugged'!  


I had asked one of the old stalwarts of the rally how last nights went.  He surmised that once all over, everyone just got up the next day and left, dispersed on the wind ... all over for another year. It reminded me of the sweet sorrow in making friends on the water.  You wake up one day and they have just gone with the tide and the wind.

Mind you, we still had Paris between us and all over!