Yes, beach resorts out of season have a certain air of abandonment about them and the beach town of Palavas les Flots looked a lot like parts of Florida, in the winter, when the tourists have gone home. 

We could not go into Montpellier proper because of emissions restrictions so we headed for a municipal Aire in Palavas, just south of Montpellier and on the coast.  Denise wanted to see the famed pink flamingos of that area of the Camargue marshes. Fred wanted to take his window out and see if he could do anything about the drips in the camper, as a sunny day was forecast.

The aire proved to be huge, with 135 spaces, and we were most fortunate to get one of the very best spaces in the front with a view of the marsh and the boats along the water front.  Reminded us a bit of Duluth (!) as it was right on a canal full of boats. Although there was no one playing pétanque or boss in Duluth. During the afternoon we walked through the mostly deserted town and shared the most enormous ice cream sundae we have ever seen!  Given the prices, we decided not to eat out and returned to the camper for dinner!

As promised, the following day dawned bright and sunny, so Fred took out the leaking window and we cleaned it and its mounting site.  One of our neighbors very kindly helped lift it back up to put it back in and another neighbor helped tighten the spring tension on the inner shade and screen. 

After lunch, we biked along the bike path on the edge of the marshes and Denise got to admire the pink flamingoes (and other sea birds).

Aigues Mortes is not exactly a beach resort though there are a number of boats tied up along the canal, but it is one of the main towns in the Camargue.  Denise had visited it in 1964 and it had made a big impression on her.  (Everyone wants to visit a town whose Roman name was “Stagnant Water!” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aigues-Mortes)

We stayed at a lovely aire, Le Poisson D’Argent (the silver fish), about 5 KM from Aigues Mortes, along the bike path of the canal.  The Poisson D’Argent was originally built as a fishing farm, but now makes more money as a campground. The first day we were there was chilly but there was a little sunshine, but we had a pleasant visit to Aigues Mortes in the afternoon, including a tour on the Little Tourist Train, and a short visit to the town. 

The town is interesting because it has remained within its fortifications.  All more recent development is across the canal, so one gets a real feel of history as the fortified town walls loom in front of you.  Unlike many old walled cities, the walls are intact and, on three sides, there has been no modern development.

Each tower is from a different era, which adds interest also!

Because the walls are still intact, the town inside retains much of its medieval feel.

Friends of ours, Ron and Ton Corbin were on their way back from Corsica in their camper (Their Three Island Tour – read more here: https://travelintiger.com/a-list-of-places-we-have-visited/countries-we-have-visited-in-europe/france/provence/november-2-2023-aigues-mortes-fr) and stopped off to see us for a couple of nights.  We managed a visit to Aigues Mortes the next day and a fun lunch in the main square but the weather was not very nice.  Cold, windy and quite rainy. 

We were all hunting the Weather Channel for where we could find sunshine.  We gave up on a bike ride to Le Roi de Grau as it was so bad.

But the weather was looking a little better so we headed north to Pont du Gard.