motorway aires: 2

motorway aires[1]
Mas d’Agenais, A62

Motorway aires are designed to provide a suitable environment for relaxing, refreshing and recovering during the long, hard journeys. As well as facilities of often dubious nature, picnic tables and seats, a telephone kiosk, there are often optional extras such as a play area or a display related to some local interest or event.

Mas d’Agenais aire
sketch map locating mas d’agenais aire

The aire of Mas d’Agenais, near Agen on the A62 autoroute, is a large, relatively quiet aire comprising a large open, grassed area, with literally cooling showers, and a wooded area. Under the trees and elsewhere are varnished picnic tables with seats. In summer, some of these are in deep shade, but flying insects can be a problem in some seasons and some times of day. As a feature, there is also a palombière - an area for dove raising and housing. [Report applies to the northbound aire.] However, this was closed when we visited and it was not clear when it might be open for visitors. This aire has no café, petrol station or shop.

In the southern, hotter regions of France, there are often what the motorway company calls “refreshing showers”. Outside the hot season, the water is turned off and the showers are bleak metal sticks. But come the blasting summer heat, le canicule [2], the showers work - press the button to set off a mist of cooling, invigorating water. (Because of the heat, damp clothes are no problem.)

"Refreshing shower" at the Mas d'Agenais aire, A62

Aires have picnic areas with tables, benches and waste bins. At Mas d’Agenais, these are placed under the shade of a deciduous wood.

Picnic tables nestled under the shade of the woods

Aires often offer an inventive solution to an everyday item. Here, a relaxing chair becomes a sculpted sine wave. Remarkably comfortable for a lump of shaped concrete.

Concrete lounging chair in the shade

The Mas d’Agenais aire reviewed on this page is only accessible from the northbound direction of the A62 autoroute. There is also a twin large aire on the southbound side of the autoroute, but without the spray-mist showers and the (likely closed) palombière [abelard.org has not yet visited Mas d’Agenais Sud].

The Mas d’Agenais aire is in Département 47.

end notes

1. aire: in this context, an area —
   aire de loisirs: recreation area;
   aire de pique-nique: picnic area;
   aire de repos: rest area;
   aire de services: services , motorway (GB) or freeway (US) service station.
   
2. canicule: heatwave. Very hot weather generally arises when the star Sirius, the dog star, is visible in the sky during the day. Canicule is derived from the Latin for dog, canis. In English, there is a similar reference with “the dog days of summer”. Depending on the year (and on the source of information), the canicule period can extend from 22 July to 22 August, or 24 July to 26 August.
   
   This period corresponds to maximum heat in the Northern Hemisphere because of atmospheric inertia. After heating the atmosphere since its zenith on 21 June (the Summer Solstice), the sun begins its slow descent, but the air still maintain that heat despite the reduction in the duration of the day, the atmosphere retaining the heat like a giant storage heater. So from late July to late August is statistically a period of intense heat, but not necessarily a canicule in the meteorological sense of the word.
   

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