Ariège stage...

On the way back from Portugal towards Nîmes, motorhome owners like to take their time, so we leisurely skirt the Pyrenees and plan a "France Passion" stopover so as not to cover 600 km in one go from the Spanish Basque Country...

The concept remains very well adapted since you can choose a geographical area to search for hosts in the early afternoon, depending on your location, which preserves the roaming atmosphere while offering the certainty of a peaceful stopover in the heart of nature...

It's up to everyone to choose whether they prefer to stop at a winemaker, a breeder, a farmer, etc.

It will therefore be a stopover... in Ariège, near the tiny village of Saint Ybars, where Marie and Cyril's farm is located. Their smiling and attentive welcome makes you feel welcome and allows you to hear the stories of happy people, pleased as they are to have made the choice to live and work in the heart of nature...

The campervan pitch is superb, and we're completely alone there at the end of May (well... apparently there are a few more people in July/August... like everywhere else!)

Before us, this bright yellow irresistibly evokes a field of rapeseed... but the app informs me: not at all... it's wild mustard... which I wasn't familiar with.

Difficult to distinguish from rapeseed, its use is very different since it's a "cover crop" planted between two crops to improve the soil: wild mustard won't be harvested!

It's good for decoration, just as photogenic as rapeseed.

We're not dealing with large-scale intensive farming here: there are still hedges of flowering shrubs where pheasants can shelter (and too bad if they don't pose for the photo!)

The multiflora rose is also photogenic and obviously appreciated by bees... but it seems to have earned a bad reputation as an invasive species, to the point of being called a plant pest in some countries!

And who's putting on a show on the thistle flowers around the camper van? The Painted Lady, of course!

Also called the Painted Lady (no less!), it's the most widespread diurnal butterfly in the world: it's true that we've all seen one at some point, but here, it agrees to keep its wings spread for the photo...

Fascinating animals since it's a migratory species that comes from Africa every year to live and breed in Europe during the warm season: this little creature crosses the Mediterranean and can fly up to 500 km per day!!!

 

Then I discovered Marie and Cyril's farm: they raise donkeys for milk production, which they then sell in the form of cosmetic soaps, lotions, and other moisturizers, whose benefits convinced Marianne, a few days later!

These benefits are not only cosmetic but also medicinal for eczema and various dermatoses, and even as a probiotic for the digestive tract. Cyril told me, the busy gastroenterologist, that research is underway for Crohn's disease: we learn something new every day ;-)

I met animals who were visibly unstressed and familiar with the presence of visitors: did you know that if the mother and calf are separated, milk production stops within 48 hours? They will therefore stay together all year round for the 10 or 12 months when the precious liquid can be harvested.

The small mammals are all adorable, but it's true... the donkey is definitely in this category!

The icing on the cake (sorry, on the aperitif!) is a small "guinguette" area where Marie prepares delicious Ardèche platters upon reservation.

Frankly, if even the taste buds are stimulated, what more could you ask for from an overnight stop?

The next morning, as we set off, the gentle hills of Ariège with the Pyrenees in the background are reminiscent of the Lauragais leg of the outward journey (it's true, we're not very far!), and we take home with us the memory of a peaceful place and a warm encounter...

Thanks to our charming hosts and, definitely, "France Passion," we couldn't live without them.