Angers

Hi, reader

This afternoon I'm in Angers, about 300km southwest of Paris. I've had quite a time since I last wrote a few days ago. In my last post, I expressed worries about the van running into some kind of mechanical trouble and sure enough, that's what happened.

After I'd finished at the library in Abbeville, I found a Carrefour supermarket which had a decent selection of vegan items. I got some bread, some soy milk and this delicious bar of chocolate, which I'll be seeking out again in the future.

I filled up the tank with diesel and decided to press on to Rouen. My thinking is that the further south I get the more chance I have of escaping the advancing winter. It only took about an hour to get to Rouen, but to my dismay I noticed I now only had half a tank of fuel. I also got that telltale smell of diesel which I've had before; those of you keeping count will know that this is my fourth fuel leak since starting my travels. I found a suitable place to park for the night, got out and had a look under the van. It was worse than I thought; the previous leaks had been a steady drip, drip, drip ... but this time it was pouring out in a steady stream. I was gutted, but I knew there was nothing I could do till the next day, so I made some dinner and settled down for the night with my book.

In the morning, I woke up to a pleasant view of the river Seine and this lovely painting of a robin.

I got on Google and found a list of mechanics within a 5km radius. I still find it very harrowing to navigate French towns and cities in my van. There are loads of one way streets, narrow roads, roundabouts and confusing junctions. Aside from the van breaking down, another major worry I have is colliding with another vehicle. 

Before long, I made my way to this place.

There were two guys called Baba (French) and Said (Moroccan). They took a look at the van right away and told me they could fix it. Luckily for me, Said had worked as a mechanic in Shepard's Bush, London for nine years and could speak good English. Another guy showed up soon after, Sherif. He was pleasant enough, but a bit too friendly for my liking. Whenever we walked from A to B, Sherif held my arm. Maybe just a cultural thing? He demonstrated his three English phrases: 'hello', 'goodbye', 'I love you'. Sherif also told me (in French) I was welcome to stay at his house and not pay for a hotel. I explained (using sign language) that I was fine sleeping in my van.

Baba and Sherif drove me to some shops five minutes away and bought two rotisserie chickens and potatoes, then on to Baba's house where we met Baba's girlfriend, Mina. Again, Mina was pleasant enough but she also made me a bit uncomfortable. She kept making eyes at me and hugging me for too long - with Baba right there next to her. Again, maybe just a cultural thing.

Soon Said showed up at the house and announced the van was already fixed. That was a huge relief. They were all very kind people, but I was glad to be on my way.

I walked back to the van with Said and checked everything. He charged me 170 Euros (about 145 pounds). That was way more than I was expecting, but what could I do? I was in a jam and he got my van working. So I paid up, found a place to refuel and continued south. 

By night time I was in Châteauneuf-sur-Sarthe, a former commune in the Maine-et-Loire department of western France. It was very quiet and I stopped in a car park next to a cemetery (located using the Park4Night app). 

Last night the temperature went down to a bracing 2 degrees. This morning I drove half an hour south to Angers and I'm writing to you now from the Municipal Media Toussaint (public library). I'm still trying to work out how to tether my phone's WIFI hotspot to my laptop, which I haven't been able to do since arriving in France. By the way, French people call WIFI the 'wee-fee', which sounds very cute.

People keep telling me I should take time to enjoy France as I travel through it, but my main mission is to forge south and get into Spain. I've been finding it difficult to relax so far, each day being a challenge of keeping the van running, finding something to eat, finding a toilet etc. I'm aware that I'm blazing right through picturesque countryside, villages, towns and cities without stopping to appreciate them. I'm just not in much of a touristy mood. I feel like I want to reach Spain, find a safe base and then I'll relax. Maybe on another trip (or the way back) I'll take more time to enjoy France. 

Anyway, here's a small selection of pics from Angers which I took on the walk from the van to the libary:

This is a grotto where children can meet 'Père Noël'.

Some wise words I once read (on Facebook) have stuck with me and I try to keep them in mind: "Worry is a misuse of imagination". I totally agree with this, but it's sometimes difficult to put into practice. Here on my own travels through France, I find catch myself worrying about all kinds of things. What if the van breaks beyond repair? What if the van gets stolen? What if I lose my passport/bank cards/money/phone/laptop? What a misuse of imagination! I'll try to put all these worries out of my head and deal with them if and when they arise.

Actually, one real worry I have is parking the van, getting lost in a labyrinth of side streets and then not being able to find my way back to it. I've taken to snapping a pic of the street name where the van is parked, so I can tap it into Google maps and locate it again later. This is where I'm heading back to after I finish up here at the library:

One more thing I've noticed is that Yahoo's homepage has switched to a French version of Yahoo. So instead of filling me with fear and paranoia about all the dreadful things happening in the UK, it now gives me all the awful news about France.

That's all I've got for now. According to Google maps, I'm still thirteen hours of driving away from Valencia. I'm hoping to do at least three hours today.  

Thanks for reading,

Brian