The big sedan, yellow plate marked “NL” is parked next to the tent. In the driveway, caravans line up for the reception. We are at the campsite Heaven in Saint-Léon-sur-Vézère, full to bursting at the end of July, Jap and his wife Claudia finish the barbecue, shirtless on their deckchair. The Dordogne is precisely the paradise of these two Dutch people from The Hague : “The weather, the landscapes, the nature… I can take my bike, see the splendid castles, it’s magnificent here. It was friends who invited us one year, and since then we come back every year”explains Jap.
60% Dutch out of the 800 campers
His friends, it’s Ronald waving from the caravan opposite. Tim, who emerges from the tent next door. Here everyone has been coming for years, everyone knows each other they even have a word for it – obviously intranscriptable here by the French journalist given the pronunciation: “There is no equivalent in English”smiles Tim in the language of Shakespeare, “it’s when you’re with others and you have a good time with others, that’s it.”
You speak of Périgord to a Dutchman, he does not know, on the other hand you say Dordogne, he says: oh yes, I have friends, family, where I have already been.
Of the 800 occupants of the campsite at the moment, 60% are Dutchaccording to the boss Gé Kusters: “Especially in July, the French come more in August, and it’s also because the Dutch book well in advance”. His parents came from the Netherlands to open the campsite in 1967, on the banks of the Vézère. “The Dordogne has a real aura in the Netherlands”, he confirms: “It’s not so much from a cultural point of view, more for the good living side, the landscapes and the active side. A lot of Dutch clients go canoeing, walking, I cycled with a group customers this morning. On the other hand, we passed in front of Lascaux, and half did not know”.
“40 years ago, some people arrived with their potatoes”
In the Netherlands, there are 495 inhabitants per square kilometer, the Dutch come in search of peace and quiet. The only problem here is the food: “Cheese”smiles Jap, the tourist. “Only brie. I don’t like the others”, smiles his wife Claudia who shows a trunk. They brought back everything necessary for breakfast from the Netherlands: “Peanut butter, gingerbread and chocolate sprinkles”. Some Dordogne campsites even have products from the Netherlands in their grocery store.
“It was a reality 40 years ago, when I was little and my parents ran the campsite, some Dutch people arrived with their potatoes and what they used to eat at home”smiles Gé Kusters: “That’s not the case at all today!” Nevertheless, he still sells the Dutch snack par excellence at the campsite restaurant: the croquettes, and the “Frikandel”.