From San Sebastian we headed up the coast and crossed the Bidasoa river into the French side of the Basque Country. Our plan was to follow the Velodyssey cycle route up the Atlantic coast towards Nantes. The Velodyssey is part of the EuroVelo network; a series of cycle routes throughout Europe. It is a mixture of dedicated cycleways, cycle lanes on roads, and quiet roads. We were looking forward to less traffic and easy navigation.
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| Bayonne |
As there was bad weather forecast, we stopped in Bayonne for a couple of days resting and exploring the town. The highlight would have to be the artisan chocolate which was worth the expensive price tag (5 euro for two small pieces!).
We set off again feeling refreshed and completed our first +100km day (103.1km to be exact). I didn't think I would have been able to bike this far when we first started! It must of taken its toll, because clumsily managed to snap a pole of our tent that night. The tent was now rather misshapen and we were seriously concerned about its ability to keep water out. After no rain the first night, we decided to truck on and hope there was no rain while we figured out how to get the tent fixed. Our destination for the evening was the Dune du Pilat - the tallest sand dune in Europe.
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| Dune du Pilat |
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| It was a lot more fun going down than up! |
The dune was quite impressive and there was great views all around from the top. It was pretty hard work climbing up to the top, but lots of fun running back down again!
We started to see more cycle tourers along the Velodyssey route. It was a good opportunity to check out other cycle setups and I was pretty jealous of the couple who somehow carried chairs on their bikes (while we struggled to get comfortable on our tarp on the ground)! We managed to arrange some new tent poles to be sent from N.Z. to a hotel in Nantes and hoped there wasn't too much wind and rain in the meantime - thanks Zempire for helping us out!
After cycling through kilometres and kilometres of fairly monotonous scenery in +30 degree heat I had my first swim in the Atlantic Ocean. It was very refreshing and it was even worth the faceplant after being bowled over by a big wave. I guess the french chic needs a bit more time to wear off on me!
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| Atlantic Ocean |
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| Ferry across the mouth of the Gironde river |
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| Kiwi ingenuity |
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| Fort Louvois - only accessable at low tide |
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| Towers at the entrance to La Rochelle's old port |
The change of scenery when we got closer to La Rochelle, the "white city", was welcomed. We had scheduled our next day off the bikes and looked forward to a day exploring the city.
- Sarah
Loved the Kiwi clothes line Sarah :) We were at the Dune du Pilat in July 30 years ago! xx
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