Arromanches to Falaise - Day 47

Date: October 4th, 2009
Distance: 86 km
Country: France
Song of the Day: The Scientist - Coldplay

This morning I rode along the harbor at Arromanches. This was Gold beach during the Normandy Invasion. It was also the site of one of the Mulberry harbors. You can still see a lot of the harbor left. The concrete caissons that were sunk out to form a breakwater are still there. Some of the pontoons are now stuck in the sand and rusting away.

That I think is the main reason that the Allies won the war. Don't, get me wrong, I am not trying to diminish what the men on the front lines did. More then just their bravery, it was the ability of the allies, and mostly America, to just out produce everybody else. Plus the ability to organize and over supply our troops that made the victory possible.

From there it was up the coast to Juno beach. This was the Canadian sector. It didn't have the high bluffs that Omaha did. But With the fortifications that were still around, you could see why the Canadians here had a high casualty rate.

By this time it had started to rain. I should mention that the weather for the last two weeks has been amazing. I don't know what I did to deserve such good weather, but I got it. Like all good things it had to come to an end. Still, the light rain was nice and cool.

Last stop along the shore was Sword beach. There wasn't much left of the assault beach. Just a few markers and memorials along the way. Now it is mostly a quiet resort community. I know the south of France gets a lot of press, but the Normandy beaches are quite nice. I would definitely recommend a visit. The beaches are lovely.

From there I headed inland along the Caen canal. Stopped by Pegasus bridge. Once in Caen, I stopped by Le Chateau Ducal. Wow, that is another neat castle. I relise that it is half destroyed. But the remaining half is pretty cool. Very similar to the castle at Dover. Then again, as the king of England and the duke of Normandy were the same during that time, they would.

I was hoping to get out to Falaise before nightfall, but that didn't happen. When I did get in, the camping site was closed for the season. I thought not planning aheah might come to bite me, and it did. I was going to go to a hotel, but the only one that was open wanted 60 euro! No thanks.

I ended up at McDonalds again for desert and to use their free wi-fi. Google maps satalite view was great for locating a couple of places in the area I could pitch my tent.

I found a little clearing right off the freeway and made camp there. It wasn't a nice lawn, but it worked. I am glad I did because a few hours after I got in, it started raining. Warm and dry, I slept well.

-Dravis