Tuesday, August 24, 2021

Saint Jean de Luz

Bike Route: San Sebastian to Hondarribia to Saint-Jean-de-Luz (France), 25 miles, 1300 feet of climb

Today is absolutely beautiful--perfect weather. We had a short day on the bikes, most of it on very busy highways. We did have a good shoulder, and we were able to hop on bike paths part of the time, but we got tired of the truck traffic, especially in the first 5 or 6 miles.

We had lunch in Hondarribia, a little fishing village just on the Spain side of the border with France. After lunch, we crossed the border into France. On the bridge at the border, the French police had a checkpoint set up and were stopping all cars and checking documents. We still have not received our QR code from the French government, and we were not sure if we could legally cross the border. But the police ignored us as we crossed on our bikes, and so far we have not been arrested.

Saint-Jean-de-Luz is a sparkling medium-sized town with a beautiful beach and harbor. We dropped our bikes and bags off at our room at 3:00, changed, and headed for the beach. On the way to the beach we saw a restaurant serving heaps of grilled seafood with rice at outdoor tables, so we stopped and indulged. After an hour on the beach, swimming (Ken) and wading (me), we bought crepes spread with chocolate, and jelly candies, and made our way back to our room and showers.

Our host, Yolanda, is very, very thoughtful and lovely. She has four grown sons and one grown daughter, plus eight grandchildren. We struggled with switching to our limited French, but managed with Google Translate to have a bit of a conversation. Everyone is so patient with us. We wish we were better at languages.