When English tourists have to endure the heat in the Dordogne

It was 38, 39 degrees and even 40 in Terasan on this Friday August 12th. The Dordogne is on heat wave orange alert, and the department is (again) facing a major heat wave. It is the third in France From early summer according to Météo France. If most Perigordins seem to be used to it, it is more complicated for others and especially for foreign tourists, who do not need to expect such high temperatures. John, Jackie, Noah and Scarlett have spent five days in the Dordogne in their van across France since the beginning of the summer. The small family hails from Birmingham in the heart of England.

“My parents are Scottish, so we burn easily”

This Friday, August 12, they stopped for a sandwich on the side of the road. 10-year-old Scarlett suffered severe sunburn on her thigh while kayaking. “The sun was shining hard, there was no shade, I’m used to the heat, but I always overheat quickly, that’s why I’m red”, she explains. At home in England, It rarely gets above 30 degrees And although they inquired about the weather before arriving in France, they did not expect it to be so hot. Everyone is covered with cream 50, we drink a lot, we shower, twice a day in the morning and in the evening. “Plus my parents are Scottish, so we’re very pale and we burn very easily.”Jackie, Mom explains.

Four in a van

To make matters worse, the family decided to travel and live in a van, a van fitted with only ten square meters. At night, it’s okay, the temperature drops and it’s bearable “But the worst thing is the van is in the sun all day. You get in and it’s really hot. It blows in your face and it’s hot. Luckily we have mini electric fans so we run them at night.”, explains Scarlett. To cool off, there’s swimming and ice cream!