This campsite in Chamalières-sur-Loire in Auvergne, France is a little gem tucked away neatly in the gorges of Loire. For me and my wife, the long and tiring 1400 Kms drive from Berlin is worth every bit it because we know how to spoil ourselves, the instrumental version of “La Vie En Rose” by Gypsy Jazz Caravan is turned on as soon as we cross the border into France. By the time we’ve shortened our playlist we’re already past Lyon and the familiar winding roads through the valley peppered with these beautiful villages take over, every once in a while, the ruins of an old Château peeps through the mountains. Finally, we drive into the narrow lane that leads us to the campsite, after the customary hugs and greetings with the couple who run the campsite we pitch up our tent next to the calm waters of Loire. It’s almost become a ritual of sorts to hang a kettle on a tree next to the tent after which we set up the kitchen under the tree, we are really hungry and in no mood to do an elaborate meal so a quick-fix bowl of noodles with some tomato sauce is perfect. We settle in the comfort of our old camping chairs with a bottle of red, the next two weeks are where we are going to take it slow and easy.
We opt for a spot on the campsite with no access to electricity, which means that one is a little more in sync with nature, we rise up with the sun and are not up for too long after it disappears somewhere behind the hills. Me being a travelling artist, my day begins with picking up my sketchbook and watercolours and looking for a subject to sketch, by the time I am done with the first entry in my book it’s time for one of us to walk to the bakery and picks up fresh baguettes & croissants while the other one makes coffee. We usually go for a little dip in the river and laze around the campsite. The list of weekly markets in the region is always put up at the reception so every second day we drive to one of these markets to pick up fresh vegetables, meat and cheese. Our favourite is the market in Retornac, a nearby town. I usually sketch on these outings as well, people, architecture or whatever catches my fancy. Sometimes we simply walk to the café at Chamalières-sur-Loire, the lady who runs the café flashes her familiar warm smile, she remembers us from our previous trips. This year I decided to sketch her along with her café and she wouldn’t stop smiling.
Sometimes we take the canoes on the river to go across for a wonderful hike through the hills to Chateau d’ Artias, located over 700 meters above sea level, on a basalt block, it was built between the late eleventh and early twelfth century. Not much remains of it but it’s still worth a visit and the view of the valley from up there is breath-taking. On weekends local families come to the river for spending the day and it is wonderful to get a little taste of rural French life, they spend the day fishing, talking, eating, drinking and playing boules, a French game in which the objective is to throw or roll heavy balls as close as possible to a small target ball. Me and my sketchbook are the silent observers of this slow pace of life in the region and we have been collecting these stories for a while now.
On one of my last trips, I was sitting and watching the calm waters of The Loire, the occasional fluorescent coloured canoe drifting past, the fishermen sitting patiently and the trees swaying a little in the gentle breeze. I wasn’t really there, it was almost like I had stepped into a time machine and I travelled back in time reflecting on my childhood in North India, I thought about my journey to Delhi to study history and then moving to the Design School, studying communication design with a specialisation in Animation film making and then opting out to follow my passion to travel and sketch. I also thought about my love affair with watercolours. I thought of the first time I had come to this campsite and the owner saw me sketching and had spontaneously said; why don’t you put up an exhibition here? I did and they bought all of it, these sketches adorn the walls of the main campsite building today and that’s what makes our visit to the campsite feel like “Homecoming”. At times like these I feel the act of sketching almost gets on to a meditative level.
That afternoon I sketched something in haste and right below the sketch I scribbled “Watercolours keep me afloat!”.
Written By Allen Shaw
Week 42, Oct ‘20
