In summer, the French favor the southern coasts for their vacations, and one place to stay is particularly popular… camping! They would spend around 50 million nights camping per year. The campsite, more than a land equipped to accommodate families:an institution? The outdoors, community life (while retaining its small compartment), conviviality… So many characteristics that appeal to tourists looking for a change of scenery. We have brought together five typical camping situations:for aficionados, it will bring back memories and for novices, you have been warned!
1) Struggling to set up your tent
This is the first thing you tackle once the famous red and white automatic barriers are lifted (this is the sign that serious things are beginning):you build your roof. We take out the covers containing the picks, the rods and the canvas and we try to be logical. Between the badly planted peaks that come undone, the stems in the wrong conduits and the entire structure that leans, the task is more laborious than it looks. But at least, when it's mounted, we feel (very) proud. No caravanners, we are not kidding! We also see you struggling with your awnings.
2) Cooking when it rains
Exit the barbecue that gives off the good smoke of grilled meat next to the fully integrated table/bench. We also forget the hot pasta for the cold salad… And inevitably, no stock of substantial food has been provided for dinner in the tent (which is seriously starting to drip, yay!). One thing to do:be patient, and tell yourself that we will burn the 3 packets of crisps, eaten as dinner, by making three round trips to the buoy the next day.
3) Go to the bathroom at night
Horror! Misfortune ! We have a full bladder and it's 3 o'clock in the morning. The sanitary facilities are at the other end of the campsite and let's face it:the path between the aisles with lights that barely illuminate, you don't really feel it. We turn for a moment to the darling or the girlfriends who are sleeping, but we change our minds:we know very well that no one will want to accompany us (especially after waking them up). Well, all you have to do is gather your courage in both hands, and take small strides. When we come back… Nothing happened! Nevertheless, it remains a chore and we often prefer to hold back rather than get out of the tent in the middle of the night (when we know that holding back is not good). Brrrr…
4) Be tempted by the election of Miss Camping
That's what camping is all about:entertainment every night of the week, such as paella evenings, lookalike shows, karaoke and above all... the election of Miss Camping. It's hard to escape it, when the tent neighbors tell you that they have their teenage daughter participating and that the animators are counting "really, really, really" on you to encourage the young girls. Well, basically, the guinguette atmosphere with the lanterns and the Sex on the Beach at 4 euros, we like it, we're not going to lie to each other.
5) Dare to use the communal swimming pool
Come on, today we are too lazy to walk the 500 meters that separate us from the sea so we decide to stay at the campsite swimming pool. In the morning, everything is fine. We relax, we dive into the lukewarm pool, then into the coldest before returning to our deckchair, then we repeat the same pattern. Except that at the beginning of the afternoon, it is the carnage. The enemy invades:children arrive by the thousands (yes, yes, we counted) and storm the slides. The mothers follow, of course, and a major problem appears:the number of deckchairs is insufficient, and we realize at this moment that we are sitting on the Grail. We therefore advise you not to go back to the tent for lunch, and the trick of leaving the towels no longer works. We risk finding her on the ground, trampled and dragging in the stagnant bleach water. Moral of the story:we favor the beach!
