“A caravan, a hammock and 49 years of happiness” – Corinne Bertrand, loyal since 1977
The pitch up top
It happened by chance, as the best things often do. In the summer of 1977, Corinne and René Bertrand were looking for a campsite by the sea. The one they’d had their eye on was full. They arrived at Esterel Caravaning. Also full, Jacqueline Laroche told them. But there were some pitches up at the top of the campsite, not quite finished yet, if they were interested. They were. Forty-nine years later, they’re still here.
What brought them back that first time? The welcome, the setting, the family atmosphere that reigned back then. At first they only came in July. Then they asked Jacqueline if they could also come at Easter, for a weekend, out of season. She was delighted. So from then on, whenever there was a long weekend, a free week, any excuse at all, off they went to Esterel Caravaning! They don’t live far away, in the Hautes-Alpes, near Gap. But this is where they loved to unwind and escape.
The home on two wheels
Their daughter spent her whole childhood here, until she was eighteen. She still comes back, for shorter stays now, but she comes back: “Because she needs it,” René says simply. As for the caravan, it hasn’t moved in years. It’s kept in storage near the campsite. René no longer wants to tow it. When they go elsewhere, they rent. But elsewhere is rare. “We don’t have expensive tastes,” Corinne laughs. And she adds: “We have all the comfort we need in our caravan, our home on two wheels. The bonus: our hammock, firmly tied to our pitch.”
Now retired, they arrive in April and stay until July. Then they come back in September. Three months in spring, the month after summer, and in between, they leave the high season to everyone else.
The same faces
What keeps them coming back isn’t just the sea or the Estérel massif – they know the region by heart – the customs officers’ trail, hikes through the Estérel, Nordic walking with Julie when her knees allow it. “Not forgetting bike rides with our dog, she loves it!”
What keeps them here is the relationships. Seeing Aurore again, seeing Jacqueline Laroche again, “that extraordinary woman”, recognising the same faces at reception year after year. Aurore planted bamboo around their pitch to give them some privacy, so they don’t see their neighbours. They love people, but they also love being at home.
Over 49 years, they’ve naturally formed many bonds with other families. “Our best friends, whom we met at the campsite more than thirty years ago, live in Le Mans. The distance hasn’t changed a thing. We have so many memories here,” Corinne says, her eyes sparkling.
Between us: The man in the big hat
Corinne remembers Jean Laroche with fond precision. She would see him walking around the campsite, always wearing his big hat. “A discreet man, with real presence. We were a little in awe of him, because of that very presence. And yet, disarmingly simple. He would stop in front of the trees, check they were doing well, that they weren’t short of water, looking over the campsite the way a gardener looks over his garden.”
Those were the early days. The campsite was still under construction, the pitches up top not entirely finished, the trees just planted. And there he was, hat on his head, watching over his domain. Forty-nine years on, the image is still there, intact.
