Le Lavandou to Bormes Les Mimosas

05/10/2015

We called all the ports between Le Lavandou and Toulon but found no available spaces in which to wait out Wednesdays mistral, except in Bormes Les Mimosas.

We had started our engines at the same time as the sail boat moored behind us, so let him head out, and had cast off one line when the customs boat who had taken his space came over to ask for our papers. J tied us back on to the quay, and we made small talk while they checked our passports and boat papers with, um, whoever, before the douanes waved us off and moved onto the next boat.

It took all of 30 minutes to get to Bormes, including mooring up, for which they sent help - which was lucky as there is not a bollard in sight so tying on would have been like threading a needle in a storm, blindfolded...

Bormes Les Mimosas is lovely, and although most beach restaurants and activity centres – including the ferry over to the Iles d’Hyères, shame - were closed after an undoubtedly busy summer season, it gave us and lots of other dog owners access to the beaches and walks. 

A would love to hit this on his skateboard, show the young'uns how it's done!

The port is surrounded by apartment blocks, with every type of professional yachting activity imaginable having a shop front within the marina complex, and all around the port there is a fabulous display of photographs of marine wildlife. The Wifi was unreliable at best but at least we were sheltered for the coming mistral.

The next morning we were certainly pleased there was a swindlery nearby, as J’s tea run found us out of power, and although swapping to another quay plug got the kettle boiled, we blew that breaker too, so needed to replace our (boat side) shore power plug sharpish.    

We’re moored next to a rental sail boat, and have seen much activity preparing the boat for its next charter, but on hearing a squeal from the neighbours we found out that Roxy was a little too interested in all that activity and had stuck her head through their port hole to say ‘Hi!’ It happens to us all the time, but I can see why it was a bit of a shock to the unprepared!