11 July, Friday. 82km, 29C (41C max)
8am departure
and cycled a coastal route most of the way north to Bayonne, which is the
epicentre of the Basque red and white festivities… not too much happening at
9:30am but cars, tents and campers set up all along the riverbank (Adour
River). Lots of side shows entertainment, but too early for them to be up and
running. Took a bit of negotiating as much of the festival setup was along the
path of the route so a bit of detouring in places. Huge number of people
dressed up in red and white pouring into the centre of town, it must be heaving
later on in the day.
Following bike
track we wound through countryside and at times back beside the Ardour River
which is a huge wide muddy looking waterway. Smooth path the whole way. Went up
the hill into township of Urt to find a supermarket… our hunt for our morning
Pain-au-Chocolates had been fruitless with any boulangerie we stopped at being
sold out due to the crowds of people.
Along a path
on top of a flood bank, still sealed, following a different channel of water
the Bidouze River.
Getting
rather hot now as we follow the route across farmland; maize, huge areas of it,
some peas, beans and kiwifruit. The last 10km on rail trail, well-sealed, and with
some tree shelter but extremely hot riding!
Staying in
Hotel du Parc in the town of Sallies-de-Bearn. A very glamorous hotel in it’s
day being built 1891, the town is an old thermal town with original baths
dating from 1858. The hotel was occupied by the Germans during WW2, the town
being on the border between occupied and free France. The hotel is now a
casino, although not very big with it appears mainly pokie machines and some blackjack
tables.
The town
itself has origins dating to 1500BC, the salt of the thermal springs having
been discovered way back then apparently. A population of 247 people in 1385
and the areas economic base being agriculture or salt. A wild boar is the
emblem of the town, based on the legend that the origin of the town is due to a
wild boar being killed by hunters so it lay on the marshes and salt preserved
it.
A beautiful
town filled with buildings from the 17th through to the 20th
century.
A walk
around, dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant which was very good. Returned back to
our hotel room and relaxed listening to the music emanating from a neighbouring
restaurant/concert. There is an arts festival on, but anyway a nice way to be
lulled to sleep.
12 July,
Saturday. 77km, 23C (31C max)
Departed
before 8:30am and after a couple of kms found a supermarket, bananas, yoghurt
and croissant for breakfast eaten in the supermarket carpark!
Following
rail path we came to a tunnel with sensor lights that flickered as we approached
and then stopped completely part way through… leaving us in the dark literally,
phone torches out and pushed our bikes. Near the end of the tunnel the lights
started working again, it was a long tunnel too!
Quiet roads
passing maize, some kiwifruit and beans. A bit undulating but not too bad.
10:45am hunting for a boulangerie in Orthez to get our Pain-au-chocolates and
sandwich. As we left again it started to rain enough for us to put on our
jackets and leggings.
Stopped at
a picnic table for an early lunch before onto track around a couple of lakes and
then back onto farm roads… had to scoot under a couple of farm irrigators. Lots
of maize, most of the farms appear to be one crop operations.
Up a rather
steep hill to the town of Lagor where we had a breather stop, then dropped down
through Mourenx which is a purpose-built town around gas plants. From there we
were on various paths going uphill the whole time although it didn’t seem like
it. Largely following the Ousse River and arriving at city of Pau.
As we
arrived a wedding had just happened at the rather large church Eglise St Martin,
lots of people milling about so a big “do”. Took a bit of negotiating along roadworks
to get to our hotel arriving around 5pm.
Out for a
walk and dinner. Pau has a grand promenade on the edge of the hill, overlooking
the river below. Very grand buildings from the 1800’s and an old castle.
A bit of rain
this evening.
13 July,
Sunday. 52km, 26C (33C max)
Breakfast
at a boulangerie this morning and then a walk around the inner city including viewing
the outdoor Tour de France museum. Ironically the tour is just a few days away
from being here… best we keep pedaling then.
Left hotel
10:30am, dropped down to the railway station, through some streets and onto the
river track to continue following the Ousse upstream. Being on the river path
means a lot of trees with glimpses of the river. The L’Ousse supports a lot of recreational
activities; canoeing, kayaking etc. It is quite controlled with concrete barriers
and drop structures to take the force out of any flooding. Also passed a hydro
station.
The biking
not too eventful, mostly following paths which are gradually going up or roads
which are a bit steeper or up and down slightly. Passing through maize and bean
growing area.
Quite a bit
of day bikers and a few bike packers going both directions. Stopped and had a
sandwich at Nay where there was some sort of bike event happening… so kept
careful so we didn’t be caught up in it.
About 15km
before Lourdes there is a cave system open to the public so appears to be quite
a big recreational area. Passed a little campground with a shop… so stopped and
had a welcome ice-cream!
Arrived at Lordes
around 4pm… Oh my Lord (well, exactly!!!)… it is just a crazy spectacle that is
impossible to describe. We just wish we had a GoPro to capture it! A stunning
and amazing transformation dropping off our tiny, quiet sealed road and down
past a large cathedral to suddenly be in the midst of hundreds and hundreds of
people.
Its like
Las Vegas… a mega town seemingly sprung up from nowhere, although Lourdes did
exist before 1858 as cross-roads of several villages dating from the Neolithic
and Bronze era of caves. Then approximately 1st century roman walls
and a castle. However, it was after 1858 that it was put on the map… after a
local girl, Bernadette Saubirous apparently saw an apparition of the Virgin
Mary. Bernadette was the only person that ever saw the “vision” but it drew a
few locals into her report… they told others and now over 6 million (!!!!)
people visit annually. They weren’t all there today but it some ways it seemed
it to a couple of bikers trying to negotiate through town, if was very, very
congested!
Busloads of
people being discharged onto the street that is lined with stores selling holy
figures, empty bottles of a range of sizes to put “holy water” in, calendars
and dare we say tat to all and sundry. There was also scores of people in
wheelchairs, sulky type chairs, being wheeled along by nurses and nuns. All
hoping to drink the holy water and/or be blessed by being here.
It is just
jaw dropping to see.
There is a
candlelight procession each night, at 8pm in summer, that anyone can join... after
spending some coin on a candle we guess… with a mass in the open area in front
of the cathedral at the end point. Huge number of people and all highly choreographed.
Certainly, a spectacle to see.
Once we
have checked into our (large, as many are) hotel when you look past all the people,
the large church and the hoopla, the town all looks a bit tired. Several hotels
closed down, traffic jams in the centre of the town etc. so it all has a bit of
a grunge look.
An added
bonus for us it is Bastille Day tomorrow (France’s National Day) and there is a
fireworks display from the castle on the hill. So. after grabbing some,
average, dinner at one of the many restaurants and viewing the evening mass
from above, we watch the fireworks, which are spectacular to see too.
A bit of
thunder rolling around so quite dramatic this evening.
14 July,
Monday. 30km, 21C (24 max)
A slower
day today, some rain overnight… and happy Bastille Day.
A walk
around the business part of town in the hunt for a Boulangerie, found one which
had 6 or 7 hikers lined up ordering sandwiches and coffees which took ages.
Finally took our order, bagged for us but then when they went to make coffee the
machine broke… an awful lot of fluffing. Finally managed to pay for our goods,
minus the coffee but then once outside realise we had an apple croissant and
one Pain-au-Chocolate. Didn’t bother trying to rectify it after all the mucking
around initially.
Packed up
and left hotel by 10:30am stopping to get a supermarket sandwich on the way.
Some
railway trail then quiet roads… up a reasonably steep hill then mostly
downhill. Through farmland of maize, beans and a few cattle plus a handful of
sheep.
Got to our
next overnight at Tarbes by 2pm and sat in the park near our accommodation where
we got a message from our host saying he would be there at 3:30pm. So, a bit of
people, and peacock, watching… didn’t seem to be much else happening in Tarbes!
Accommodation
is great, very big for a 1-bedroom flat and the bikes are locked in the
entrance hall at bottom of stairs. We did a wash in the laundry in the apartment
and hung on a rack inside hoping it will dry overnight.
Dinner over
the road at a Vietnamese place, the lady a bit harried which resulted in Caro
getting Pork with Onions along with Chicken Fried rice! rather than Ginger
Pork, not sure how that happened but all good.
Checked out
nearby Boulangerie but it is shut tonight and tomorrow so will have to sort out
other options.
15 July, Tuesday. 62km, 17C (22C max)
A bit of rain this morning as we walked to supermarket for breakfast
supplies.
Grabbed a train from Tarbes to Lannemezan at 9:48… a 20-minute train ride
which was not busy at all and very cruisy to load bikes on/off. This saved us 55km
and 900m of climbing which in the route guides isn’t that scenic or exciting.
Misty but not raining at Lannemezan, onto quiet roads down and up through
rural areas where there seemed to be quite a few houses and maybe small farms.
A few cattle and a couple of sheep with bells on, otherwise maize mainly.
Stopped at the village of St Bertrand-de-Comminges, a medieval village on
a hill. Parked the bikes in the car park at the bottom and walked up. A cute
walled town but not that much to see, only one restaurant open which was busy.
The church which stands out from miles around was closed, wandered the couple
of narrow streets. Worth a look.
Back down to the bikes and had a snack amongst the ruins of a Roman
Colony dating from 20BC.
Continued on our way, winding through small villages. No matter how small
each village has it’s own church, although some are now abandoned. The last
18km was flat to downhill following mainly rail trail and some river trail near
the end.
Tonight we are in an AirBnB at St Gaudens, not too much to see. A big church,
the overlook of the river is rather industrial with chimneys spewing smoke and piles
of woodchips. The hosts are lovely, can’t speak a word of English so a lot of hand
waving… but they even insisted on our bikes going in their garage after they
took their car out for the night!
Noel collected a hornet in his helmet today… that was a very quick stop
but still got an irritating sting. Applied anti-sting lotion and it seemed to
help a lot.
16 July, Wednesday. 63km, 25C (44max)
9am departure from St Gaudens initially on bike lane beside busy road
then onto quieter country roads. Up and down a bit through well kept villages,
it must have been a wealthy area over time as quite a few impressive Chateau as
we rode and up on the hills.
Stopped at a boulangerie in Saint-Martory and ate our spoils in a carpark
opposite watching the local police checking out a couple of cars, entertainment
and food!
Onto a rail trail with a great surface, slowly slowly climbing up hill. The
heat was coming on but we kept going until we found a supermarket in Saint
Lizier where we stocked up on dinner and breakfast supplies. As we are running
early we stopped at the nearby McDonalds for smoothies… it took a while
surprisingly, but it didn’t matter as we are running early anyway for our 4pm
check-in.
Climbed up into the old village part of Saint-Lizier and found our accommodation
in a complex that held the Bishops Palace dating from the 5th
century and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The Romans stopped here in 72BC after battles with the Spanish, and the ramparts
visible date from the 3rd century whilst the citadel was constructed
4th century. The village is very picturesque with houses and
alleyways from 15th-16th century.
A drink at the Bishops Palace restaurant overlooking the village and
towards Saint-Gerons and beyond to the Pyrenees. The mountains visible today,
still showing patches of snow. Dinner in our apartment, Chilli, and then a walk
around the village which is just so lovely, very old but well preserved.
17 July, Thursday. 55km, 26C (39C max)
8:45 on our way, quickly into Saint-Gerons so found a boulangerie which
provided Pain-au-Chocolate but not sandwiches. So retraced slightly to a
supermarket to ensure we had some for lunch.
On quiet road for a period before onto a rail trail. 2 very long uphill climbs,
and 2 long downhill. Farmland along the way; maize, unharvested wheat and some
cattle which are being annoyed by lots of little flies… over their noses and
all around, the poor cattle are constantly flicking their tails!
It was very, very hot by the time we got to Foix, found a spot to park
the bikes right beside a bar/restaurant… so sat and had a couple of Coke’s for
a recharge. We are in no hurry to get to our AirBnB as we can’t check-in until
4.30pm. Walked around the town, sticking to the shady side of streets! Up to
the impressive castle overlooking the town and which dates from 987, it is a
museum with paid entry with all signage looking like it is in French… so gave
that a miss!
Caro found an optician so got her glasses fixed again, third time for
trip, they are sticking on folding threatening to break as the screws seem to
self-tighten.
Foix is a canoe slalom destination, last weekend NZ’er Nick Collier won
an under 23 World Championship here! The roundabouts have stand up kayaks and
some of the walls around town have canoe slalom banners up whilst the butchers
shop, department store and pharmacy all have canoe window displays.
As we made our way from Foix towards Montgallard we stopped at a hardware
store to get a gas canister for our cooker and also at the nextdoor
supermarket. We are only 10 minutes from our accommodation… extremely hot, the
bike GPS registers 44C whilst stopped at the shops.
Arrived to be met by a lovely host Helga who has given us lots of hints
about what to do for our couple of days here. Based on her advice this evening
we walked 30-40 minutes to the next village following the river so in trees and
cool. A neighbourhood pizza “hut/food truck” with outside tables, a yummy pizza
and a beer and walked home again.
There appears to be everything quite close, including a restaurant at nearby
campground so we shouldn’t have to go back into Foix during our time here.
Still quite hot at 10pm.
18 July, Friday. 27km, 24C (31C max)
Quite a busy day for our “day off”!
7:15am breakfast then ready to bike, without luggage, to the village of
Roquefixade about 15km away in the hills. First stop the local boulangerie for
sandwiches, and you guess it, Pain-au-cholates!
Uphill via rural roads passing farmland and small clusters of houses,
rather than villages as such although the obligatory churches.
Roquefixade is a medieval village with not a whole lot there, a
population of 150 although we only saw one! Certainly a few visitors walking around
though. One house for sale we walked past was built 1635!
The main reason to visit is to climb up to the Castle of Roquefixade, the
ruins of an 11th century fortified castle first recorded in 1034. It
had some alterations in the 15/16th centuries before being destroyed
under the orders of Louis XIII in 1632. It seems a pretty precarious spot to
build a castle, but amazing views and looking off into the distance you can
spot another “something” also perched on top of a hill.
Got back to our house around 2pm, did a quick shop for breakfast supplies
then some admin/planning for next options going forward. Noel adjusted bike
seats a little.
6pm and we decided it had cooled enough to walk up the hill that looms
over the village. Our host outlined there is an easy and a hard way, so choose
the easy way but then met a farmer with 4 dogs who was slowly herding some
sheep, with bells, up that way. He, via had signals, asked us to go the other
way… so the hard way it was then. Once we reached the summit, fantastic views,
our host was seen in her yard vigorously waving a sheet for us to see!
Back down, showers and out for dinner at the campground… well that was
the intention, but when we got there it was heaving with people and lots more
arriving by car and on foot. We had earlier called and tried booking but as it
is “paella night” they didn’t take bookings and just said turn up… and
everybody else did too! It looked very congested and we chickened out as felt
it may have been awkward trying to find a seat and order with our lack of
French. So, we walked back to the same pizza place we were at last night, nice
pizza again and thankful for the simplicity of it! Walked back, getting dark
but home by 9:30pm.
19 July, Saturday. 71km, 19C (24C max)
Woke about 5am with thunder and lightening so quickly got up and put our
bikes under the shade canopy to protect the leather seats.
Departed after breakfast around 8:45am, Helga was teary waving us
goodbye, how nice! There is still some light rain as we headed off. Stop at the
boulangerie for the usual, and then at supermarket to stock up on bananas and
nuts. A long wait to be served, the supermarkets don’t seem to have self-checkouts
and appear short-staffed.
Initially back via Foix and some of the same route we had followed coming
in. Mostly quiet roads as we started heading towards Paniers. From there onto a
trail, ex railway, heading towards Mirepoix, which is a medieval town. We are
back on the bikepacking circuit seeing a few others going each way.
Mirepoix was initially established on the right bank of the River Hers in
the 1200’s. However, it was mostly washed away from floods, so it was
re-established on the left bank shortly after. The cathedral dates from the 1400’s.
Totally unknown to us but we are very lucky as this weekend is the
Mirepoix historic Fete so lots of things happening. A market day (crafts, soaps
etc.), sword dueling exhibitions, men’s choir, women’s traditional dancing,
singing as well as lots of people dressing in period clothing. All great fun to
see and experience. The town is also very pretty, surrounded by city walls. An ice
cream in the square as we people watched.
Another 25km and we arrive in Chalabre for the night at our hotel accommodation.
Accommodation is a bit tricky on this route and often have to adjust our
distances to work in where we can find lodgings. Another medieval town but not
quite as well cared for. Dinner at the hotel, on front verandah, Duck for us
both; Noel has Duck Confit on potato, Caro Duck Pork Haricot Bean Causselet. A
short walk around town.
20 July, Sunday. 48km, 26C (34C max)
Left hotel, stop at supermarket to buy a not very appetising sandwich for
lunch supplies. On road and onto a slow climb up to a village and then turned
to continue up to the Col des Tougnets Pass, 558m asl, then followed by a
glorious 7-8km downhill.
Stopped at the town of Esperaza which had a market on the go, not sure if
weekly or all the time. It was huge, stalls lining the streets: jewelry, fruit,
candles, clothes and much more along with huge crowds of people. Interestingly
a lot of tourists too, English and USA obvious and going by chatter a few live/stay
in the area. Found Pain-au-chocolate and ate on a bridge edge by the river
whilst listening to a barber shop quartet type of male choir.
The heat coming on as we do the next continual climb, through a thermal
village, Rennes-les-Bains which has quite old buildings and hotels. Upward the road
goes on tree covered rocky mountainous terrain, a bit like Montana or Oregon scenery.
Arrived at the campground at Bugarach 3pm but check-in not until 5pm. We
went onto the camp area and started setting up the tent, the owners turned up
from feeding some donkeys nearby and once they realised we couldn’t speak
French, nor they much English, we think they were happy enough to let us do so!
Quite a cute setup with some cabins on one side and paddocks for tents. A
small kitchen with kettle and fridge but no running water in kitchen or cooking
facilities. One toilet/solar shower room. Caro first shower which was initially
cold then started warming, followed by Noel who said it got so hot he had to
turn it down!!
The campground has a restaurant, but only takes cash… after paying for
our site we only have E38 for dinner which we calculate will be tight enough
but doable without a beer.
Had a walk to the lake located just beside the campground, a dam of some
sort, then wandered into the village in the hope there may be a cash machine but
no.
There is a pizza/bar set up just on the side road leading to the campground,
so we give that a go, and they take cards, so a beer is possible, and
appreciated! Lovely pizzas consumed too. Home for a cuppa and relatively early
night. There is around 20-25 people staying in campground in a mix of cabins,
tents and vans.
21 July, Monday. 49km, 20C (28C max)
Thunderstorm overnight, first heard thunder 11:30ish so shot to loo
before rain started and there was still a few people sitting out under the trees
socialising.
It got very stormy during the night, thunder, lightning, heavy rain and including
winds which was a bit of a concern given our tent pegs struggled going in the
hard ground. Woke up at 6am as neighbours alarm went (cyclists also) so we got
up reasonably shortly after. Packed up all our inside stuff, had breakfast and
then packed tent also… it had stood the test of the storm very well.
Headed off 7:45am which was around the same time as the other bikers but
they must have gone opposite direction as we didn’t see them again.
Immediately climbing up, up and up to cross the Col du Linas 667m asl and
then the Col du Bancard 496m asl. Not individually huge climbs but collectively
zig zagging up is tough enough. Followed by some glorious downhill riding so
great fun and lovely. We met some event vans (flashing lights) and then some 4 runners,
3 women, who are carrying some sort of baton so guessing a relay.
Turning off at Cubières-sur-Cinoble
we headed towards Gorges de Galamus. This road soon became a narrow road carved
into a cliff face with a stone wall on the river side as protection from the
steep drop into the gorge. Known as a “balcony road” it is very impressive and
dramatic. From 11am to 6pm it is controlled by traffic lights as it really is
very narrow with sharp turns; we are before 11am so no lights and pretty much
no traffic. A few loose rocks lying on the road after last night’s storm.
It seemed deserted
as we started riding through, then about after a km or so we met a family of 4
walking, not even sure where they came from! Then as we were nearing the end we
saw people walking who are wearing orange helmets, as we pass them we realise
they are river canyoners… there is a lot more of them getting organised at the
car park located at the end of the gorge. It is a long way down to the river
though!! Some dramatic cliff housing in one spot also which is nowadays presumably
un-occupied.
A most amazing
experience, likely up there as the most dramatic cycling we have done.
After dropping from
there we stop at a boulangerie in Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet for snack and coffee
before some uphill riding again. The climate has changed as there is lots of
grapes now, however the same grey rock mountains and the soil looks more like
broken rock.
Up to Col del Tauc
388m asl being easy going as we have a tail wind. Had a break for snacks, sat
watching some swallow’s carting food back and forwards for youngsters. Then some
more upward climbing before a lovely long downhill run into the town of Maury.
From there onto
rougher single land road winding its way amongst vineyards. Passed one chap
spraying the rows of vines with a backpack, one way to fill in your day!
Arrived at Tautavel
about 1pm, accommodation said arrive between 12-2 but it was actually a lockbox
so easy. A shared kitchen loune amongst 4 bedrooms, but we are the only guests
so have the place to ourselves. A bonus as we spread out our wet tent to dry
etc. A relaxing long afternoon to organise our next few days. A washing machine
and given how warm lounge is it is easy to dry everything. The bikes have also
been manhandled up the stairwell into the lounge for security (which owner
advised doing).
Dinner at a
hamburger and beer joint just around the corner followed by a walk/hike up to
the ruins of Chateau de Tautavel which is a stunning viewpoint. The ruins
pretty precarious sitting on top of a huge bluff overlooking the town, not too
many earthquakes here??!
Tautavel is the
European Centre for prehistoric research. The Tautavel Man is an early homid and
some of the oldest human remains found in Europe were discovered in
Caune-de-l-Arajo, a cave in the district/commune. It now houses a replica cave
and remnants, we think we were in the car park but didn’t go in.
An amazingly
spectacular days riding, and the hill hike this evening is beautiful as well.
22 July, Tuesday.
82km, 30C (37C max)
Mostly packed by 8am
before trip to supermarket for breakfast food and boulangerie for lunch food. Fed
and away from accommodation by 9am. A long slow hill for a start but with a
good gradient and then downhill into Cases-de-Pene to see our route had road
closed sign… we happily carried on past like we usually do but in this case were
turned back by a truck driver. To be fair the road was well dug up and big machinery
operating. So, plan B, although we didn’t have one, as we followed GPS maps
which indicated a track. It was very much a rough walking track but did get us
up and over a hill and down to rejoin our road again but involved quite a bit
of pushing as very sharp rocks so trying to lessen puncture risk.
Smooth going for a
while then got to some more road closed signs so didn’t even try and see, we just
redirected ourselves on other quiet roads to do a triangle back to our route
leading to Perpigan. The roads getting busier but good roadside bike path.
The scenery has
changed since we came over the last big hill yesterday. Much drier, crops of
grapes and olives, droughty looking scrub rather than the lush oak, blackberry and
sycamores.
Missed Perpigan by
skirting around the outside on underpasses and cycle path. Passed a substantial
area of Apricot trees that looked ready for picking, a small amount that was
happening, very tempting to grab some but didn’t.
Then onto 12km of
lovely surfaced, slightly downhill, riding beside the Agly River towards
Barcares. Stopped for lunch on the banks, no picnic tables. As we rode a chap
caught up and initially rode beside Caro for couple of kms, then caught up to
Noel for another km… chatting away in French so we had no idea, he was happy enough
though and then went ahead before turning off.
Reached Barcares and
the Mediterranean Ocean!! The long stretch of beach had a single line of sun umbrellas
but was not packed by any stretch of the imagination.
Rode past theme parks,
an animal park and several water slide parks. Stopped at an information centre
which is housed in a great big ship “Lydia”. Lydia was built in the 1930’s as a
cruise ship then repurposed by being sunk into the sandy beach during the 1960’s
to be used as as casino/nightclub. The idea was to symbolise the whole wider
Bacares area and its development during that period.
Rode on from there
following the path as it wound its way avoiding the various estuaries and parks.
A lot of campgrounds obviously quite full, school holidays? and various towns
fill of beachside apartments and some resorts.
Noel having
difficulty with GPS where the path is close to a road resulted in a close call when
we almost ended up biking into a naturalist resort! Realised we might be wrong when
catching up on a bare bummed person walking in front of us!!! About turn!!
We finally ended up
in the town of Port-la-Nouvelle and our accommodation for the next 3 nights. A
big day, we are exhausted.
Our accommodation has
a courtyard and indoor storage for our bikes can potentially sleep 10 so is
designed as a family holiday spot. It is a bit rundown, 2 stovetop elements not
working etc. It will do fine but there’s not the ‘pride’ that often goes with a
rental… it must be someones holiday rental and they are creaming a few $$ on
the side.
The town all seems
to have been built in the 70/80’s, a bit sterile. Anyway, it will do for a break,
it was going to be expensive elsewhere. Walked to supermarket for breakfast
supplies and then a walk to waterfront restaurants/bars area. Burgers for
dinner which was exactly what we needed as there was a big gap to fill!
The beach opposite the restaurant we are in has kids pay attractions, a
giant baby bouncer and climbing frame etc. There is a huge expanse of golden
sand, very flat so obviously don’t get storms. The sea feels quite cold which
is disappointing as we have visions of warm Mediterranean Sea!
It will be nice to have a couple of days off to recharge, wash, re-organise,
plan etc. Found out by message this evening when we contacted them, we have
literally just missed catching up with our 2023 house sitters Yann and Dalia.
If we had made contact a couple of days earlier we could have visited them, turns
out they are just south of the area we rode through today but too far to ride
back!
