Over Yonder Mountaintops!

17/11/10


Biarritz, near Bayonne, France (30 km from the border)


Yesterday, we got our act together, seized the day, and put another 150 km of North behind us. It was glad to go, even gifting us with beautiful weather! The skies were clear, the sun was shining, and the wind was at bay, a rare and welcomed occurrence. What's even better is that the day began in a surreal, misty haze that chilled us despite our best attempts to stay warm. The fog hid the pines that have been surrounding us this side of Bordeaux so that we were flying through a white tunnel and into a far-off white wall. But the fog only hung around the ground leaving the tunnel ceilingless, and the blue skies we glimpsed told us we were in for a treat.

We caught our first glimpse of French ocean today (well, it's everyone's ocean, I hear). Sitting on a sandy ledge watching some magnificent waves crashing 100m ahead with the sun beating down on us is something I wish I could do every day. And if I lived in Southern France, I certainly could, from 13:30 till 15:30, as entire towns shut down for lunch during these vaguely defined hours. Let me explain: We had in our possession some muesli that we were craving hardcore. The only thing missing from the scene was, other than the Jack of Hearts, a nice jug o' lait, (aka Vitamin R Malk). The first town we passed through had four shops, including a chain supermarket, that would normally sell milk, but at 1pm it was all closed, with the shades drawn for good measure. The next two towns we visited had the same story, with some stores not opening until 4:30pm! The other striking characteristic of this part of the world is that the towns thrive on tourists that come during the summer to catch some rays and waves. November renders these towns deserted, with every other storefront, selling surfboards or renting bikes, being shut down for the season.
However, when we finally came to that last town in our search for milk, we understood the purpose of these prolonged lunch breaks as we sat with our feet in the sand watching the waves erode the beach. A combination of already having ridden 100km, feeling the sun on our faces, and watching a stray cat rub up against everything around told us that this was the right way to spend life, even if it was a "working" day.
The rest of the ride brought us at last to Bayonne, the last major French city before the border. Coming over a rise, we caught a glimpse of some mountains off in the distance, our first concrete sign that we would actually be in Spain the next day. After checking out the cathedral, we set about reaching a very nice woman's house who offered to put us up last night. Ah, but rush hour traffic had other ideas than us continuing the pleasant ride till the very end. Riding with cars is fine in general but becomes exponentially less fun as the amount of traffic and the percentage of commuters increases. But we made it and had a very relaxing night, thanks to Alex. But more on her and the program she is involved with soon. For now, we have a job to do, which involves crossing some mountains (I hope we don't make them cross...). Take care, and the best best best wishes to all!