Biarritz, Aquitaine - FRANCE
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The alarm went off at 7am this morning. It was raining and as dark as night outside. We decided to sleep in for another hour of course. By 9am the sky was beginning to clear and we drove down to the "grand plage" (beach) where we had our breakfast. The beach was surrounded by ritzy hotels and casinos but was nowhere near as ostentatious as say, Cannes, Nice, or Monte-Carlo. At 10 we were off heading towards another ritzy beach town called St Jean de Luz and from this point through southern pastures and valleys and across the decrepid unmanned border into Spain. We continued south through some unsavoury and depressed towns, whereafter the sun began to shine and the dirty towns full of high-rise began to fade. The scenery became more scenic and San Sebastian as we followed the coastal route through Deba, Ondarroa, and Lekeitio. The towns had colourful houses which were all tightly bunched together and the streets were quite narrow and winding. The scenery between towns was mainly green forest full of many Australian trees that were introduced years ago. As we drove along the winding road, hugging the coastline, I felt very much at home. In the searing afternoon sun we arrived to "Cueva de Santimamime", a cave with prehistoric paintings, stalagmites and stalactites. We waited for an hour and a half before the local guide turned up, filling in the time by having lunch - jamon baguette. We walked half way up a forested mountain before entering into the cave and there were only two other people with us. Unfortunately you are no longer able to see the cave paintings (as I assume human interaction is beginning to destroy them) but the cave is worth a visit in its own right. We walked through impressive passage and climbed down stairs to see a 30m high cavern. The walls and ceilings were adorned with calcite formations and the caves end is the other side of the mountain, 2km further from where you're allowed to walk. We've seen a few caves over the past months and this is by far the best as it's the longest, with intricate winding passages, and has magnificent formations. We pushed on after a relaxing late afternoon to pass the town of Guernica which may ring a bell to some as the name of Picasso's famous painting. Picasso chose this town because in April 1937, at Franco's request during the Spanish civil war, Hitler's airforce bombed it killing thousands. I didn't even know that Spain was ever ruled by a dictator, in power from 1939 to 1975!! Spain's history is quite complex and very interesting. After passing Guernica and following a high scenic coastal road we came to Mundaka, which is known by surfies worldwide for having the world's longest "left". Indeed it is a beautiful beach, located on an estuary surrounded by gum trees, and still retaining it's small village charm. The views looking across the waves back up to the estuary were magnificent although the waves weren't too big - perhaps its something to do with the tides. Although there was a campsite we did not stay as it was a bit expensive and so we pressed on south to Bilbao regardless. This turned out to be a bad move as we drove around for miles after Bilbao, looking for a place to stop. Finally we came across the beachside town of Sopeiana but we could not find its campsite. In desperation we spent the night next to a children's playground overlooked by a few apartment towers. No-one seemed to care much though. I assume they don't get too many campers in these parts. The only annoyance was someone's dog that barked endlessly through the evening. We had a simple meal of pasta for dinner and I decided not too have any liquids in fear that I'd need to go to the toilet later. As you can imagine the park was lit up like a Christmas tree and all the apartments looked down on us!! Adios! |