We chose a Sunday to relocate to France, the day when only a few lorries are on the move. The motorway out of Spain is a fairly exciting sort of road. Bendy and hilly, with lots of tunnels and viaducts. But as planned very few heavy vehicles. Stopped at Camping Larrouleta, just over the border at Urrugne. This town has memories. On a previous visit I ended up in a dentist’s emporium having a broken tooth extracted. As I recall the dentist said something like, “I can’t mend the tooth, best spend €50 and have it out!” Well, no dentist for me this time, but we did revisit Camping Col d’Ibardon where said tooth got broken.
The towns in this region of the coast are mazes of skinny roads with lots of plastic bollards and tight corners with limited parking opportunities. And everywhere we went there were people making horrible noises. In Ciboure (opposite St Jean de Luz) the road in the port was being ground up. Dust was flying into all of the restaurants and coffee shops. “Not stopping for coffee here, Barry!” We walked almost to the Fort de Socoa which guards the entrance of the Bay of St Jean de Luz…
… we watched the local sailing club launch 14 catamarans for a sailing lesson beside the port area and then beat a hasty retreat
The approach road to St J de L was being similarly dismembered. Single track road and one way system. Chaos on the first roundabout where an articulated lorry had got stuck in the too-narrow lanes Traffic was backed up for miles coming from the north! No easy parking to be found. So on to Guéthary. Good parking by the beach, but the coastal path was under repair. Bidart next. Parked just as a hedge cutting operation started with four workers with trimmers, all screaming like demented hornets (frélons déments)! We arrived at the peaceful square in Bidart …
… just as the clock started striking 12 noon! It’s just not our day, although we did have a delicious lunch formula in the patisserie opposite the square.
We appear to have left Spain just in time! This was reported in yesterday’s paper…
Spain’s government has unveiled an app for women to audit their husband’s housework and ensure chores are being shared equally.
The purpose of the software, being launched this summer, is for couples and families to achieve a “more effective distribution” of housework.
I mean, come on, I thought Spanish men were SUPPOSED to sit playing dominoes at the local cafe/bar all day… every day. Or is that French men? Or both perhaps!
Anyway, the coastal region is a bit busy for us. The roads are busy, the towns are full of parked cars but nothing much seemed to be open. The towns have a real “out-of-season” feel about them.
Afterwards we made a delightful tour of the skinny and bendy (but much more peaceful) roads in the country just to the north of the Pyrenees, (taking in the villages of Arbonne, Arcangues, St Pée sur Nivelle, Sare and Ascain). Now, it’s time to move on…
Let’s go to Dax!