Before we arrived in France we had a certain vision of what this place would be like. Our expectations were very much met in the first couple of months spent here. Normandy and Paris is just as chick and sophisticated as France should be. After having spent the past weeks in Brittany a new side is emerging.

Britt's are a very proud people - and rightly so! The area is geographically stunning with the Atlantic Ocean building up a swell in the Bay of Biscay, hitting white beaches and islands along the coast. The towns are old, the houses made of stone with doors painted bright blue. They also give the finger to the rest of France - like Spain's Catalonia or Scottland the Britt's will identify with the region long before they identify with the rest of the republic. Their music is louder - in the streets and in the bars - the traditional crâpes are everywhere and the cider is ordered by the carafe. In many small towns you would be forgiven for thinking that the indoor smoking ban in bars and cafés were never put in place and don't try to be PC about allergies and hygiene - dogs (and not just the petit ones) are embraced as part of the family at any restaurant table.

At the moment we're hanging out between Camaret-Sur-Mer and La Rochelle, trying to catch the right winds and keep the propeller shaft, which is playing up, in one piece. What we've heard about the Bay of Biscay turned out to be true; with almost no wind the sea builds up rollers that rearranged the galley.

We have two new crew aboard, Gunter from Belgium and Christina from Chilli, but still looking for people to join us after La Rochelle. The past two months have been a bit on the slow side but as the weather is getting colder and the Sangrias are calling we will step on it towards San Sebastian.

You know where to find us...