Sandie's air bed went down as well, but not nearly as much as ours had.
Chris, Liz, and Bethan arrived after having driven through the night.
Today, Christian was to have a short trial cave dive with John. Originally, we were going to leave early, but then we weren't, so we lugged a stack of stuff down from upstairs in the barn. And then we were suddenly leaving that minute.
We went via Harald's to drop off a spring from a dump valve that he'd asked John to replace, and then went on to Marcilhac-sur-Cele. John and Christian began to prepare, and Rachael and I walked into the village in the warm sunshine. We chatted about various things, including photography, the publishing industry, and diving. In the village, we looked at the huge, half ruined church, tried to understand an exhibition in French about pilgrimages, walked along the river to a mill and waterfall, and then bought some decadent pastries as post-diving treats.
We headed back to the river, and by this time John and Christian were in it, but had only just finished doing some drills, and were about to head into the cave. I watched them submerge. They were only down for about 20 minutes, and then emerged into the heat, packed up, and we left for St Cirq. It had been a good experience for Christian, though he was a bit discouraged by the drill coaching that John had given him.
While we were gone, Stumble and Lita (Annalise's mum) had arrived. We had lunch, and lots of people decided to go to the 'beach' (the Dordogne river) at Grolejac for a swim. Stumble came with Christian and me. The road to the river was bouncy and dusty. We found a spot on the fairly dirty bank, and bravely got in the cold water. Christian and I tried out our fins, and I tried out my mask and snorkel. They were fine, but I need to get used to breathing underwater again. The visibility was nonexistent John inflated his dinghy (with a diving cylinder), and Christian and I monkeyed around in it for a while, trying to propel ourselves around in it with nothing but kayak paddles. John did a bit of exploring in a cave directly opposite, but we didn't get a chance to do proper dry caving in a cave further up as we had to be back at the house for 6pm.
I ran for the shower, getting waylaid by Sandie asking me to shell some boiled eggs. John and Christian set up the PA system, and many Elliots arrived for a dinner for 22. It was set up under the marquee, and Sandie had asked us to mix up. We listened to her iPod mix, which included Gershwin and lots of jazz. I approve. Dinner was delicious, with prawns for starters, and cous cous, spicy smoked chicken, and tagine for main.
There was a giant storm in the distance (thankfully it stayed in the distance) that was producing some very dramatic lightning, and Christian snuck off to get some great long exposure photos of it. There were also some fireworks being let off nearby. Just before bed, I lay for a while, looking at the stars, and saw at least three of the shooting variety.
Christian and I headed for bed at about 11, but the party continued loudly until about 4pm. I slept fitfully, but poor Christian didn't sleep at all.
Chris, Liz, and Bethan arrived after having driven through the night.
Today, Christian was to have a short trial cave dive with John. Originally, we were going to leave early, but then we weren't, so we lugged a stack of stuff down from upstairs in the barn. And then we were suddenly leaving that minute.
We went via Harald's to drop off a spring from a dump valve that he'd asked John to replace, and then went on to Marcilhac-sur-Cele. John and Christian began to prepare, and Rachael and I walked into the village in the warm sunshine. We chatted about various things, including photography, the publishing industry, and diving. In the village, we looked at the huge, half ruined church, tried to understand an exhibition in French about pilgrimages, walked along the river to a mill and waterfall, and then bought some decadent pastries as post-diving treats.
We headed back to the river, and by this time John and Christian were in it, but had only just finished doing some drills, and were about to head into the cave. I watched them submerge. They were only down for about 20 minutes, and then emerged into the heat, packed up, and we left for St Cirq. It had been a good experience for Christian, though he was a bit discouraged by the drill coaching that John had given him.
While we were gone, Stumble and Lita (Annalise's mum) had arrived. We had lunch, and lots of people decided to go to the 'beach' (the Dordogne river) at Grolejac for a swim. Stumble came with Christian and me. The road to the river was bouncy and dusty. We found a spot on the fairly dirty bank, and bravely got in the cold water. Christian and I tried out our fins, and I tried out my mask and snorkel. They were fine, but I need to get used to breathing underwater again. The visibility was nonexistent John inflated his dinghy (with a diving cylinder), and Christian and I monkeyed around in it for a while, trying to propel ourselves around in it with nothing but kayak paddles. John did a bit of exploring in a cave directly opposite, but we didn't get a chance to do proper dry caving in a cave further up as we had to be back at the house for 6pm.
I ran for the shower, getting waylaid by Sandie asking me to shell some boiled eggs. John and Christian set up the PA system, and many Elliots arrived for a dinner for 22. It was set up under the marquee, and Sandie had asked us to mix up. We listened to her iPod mix, which included Gershwin and lots of jazz. I approve. Dinner was delicious, with prawns for starters, and cous cous, spicy smoked chicken, and tagine for main.
There was a giant storm in the distance (thankfully it stayed in the distance) that was producing some very dramatic lightning, and Christian snuck off to get some great long exposure photos of it. There were also some fireworks being let off nearby. Just before bed, I lay for a while, looking at the stars, and saw at least three of the shooting variety.
Christian and I headed for bed at about 11, but the party continued loudly until about 4pm. I slept fitfully, but poor Christian didn't sleep at all.
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