Our aim today was to reach France. Last night we looked at the ACSI book and the Aires book (both available (and in our opinion invaluable) from www.VicariousBooks.co.uk) and decided to head for the Aire at Ondres Plage. The Aire book indicated that it was open all year and could accommodate units of our size, so we punched in the GPS coordinates and off we went.
The journey was about 4.5 hours long and we went via Pamplona, then onto the border via San Sebastian and onto Biarritz. We toyed with the idea of stopping off at the Aire here but thought it might be too busy, or too much of an opportunity for thieves so we went a bit further along the coast and were not disappointed.
When we arrived there was one other ‘van there but they soon left and we were on our own until late into the evening. For about an hour we chatted about an ‘escape strategy’ if some idiots bothered us, but we trusted our instincts and felt safe, eventually chilling out and started to enjoy the evening.
Before we settled in for the night we took the two minute walk to the beach and watched the tide roll in. As we stepped onto the sand we looked at each other and both grinned and said, “"We love France!”.
There were fishermen on the beach with their lines all cast into the sea, with their dogs nearby playing and couples walking together just enjoying the beauty of the place. It was really cold but the last of the sunlight gave us great views along the coast.
Right by the plage there is an Equestrian Centre and we were treated to the sight of a horse and rider on the beach. We spent as long as we could just drinking in the scenery, but eventually it got too cold so we had to admit defeat and make our way back to the ‘van.
Through the night we could hear the waves rolling in and it reminded us of our time spent on the West Highlands of Scotland. What a brilliant way to live!
