57 - The Lakest news - Castets, Soustons, & Hossegor

 Monday, April 15, 2024 - Soustons & Castets

It was an easy day getting myself re-installed on-site.  A few necessary repairs have pushed equipment testing to Wednesday but today was an opportunity to get caught up on what’s been happening since I’d left.  It’s not like I wasn’t in touch with the team while I was briefly back in the US but you don’t get the same level of communication with that much distance and time-shift. 

About mid-day my energy levels dipped and I took a break from sifting through thermal data to have a hot chocolate and do a tour in the field.  Not too much has changed in the field since last time but it was good to visually confirm the items that have been discussed and adjusted. 

I didn’t have much planned for the evening, the overall plan was to take it easy and rest.  I stopped by a grocery store to buy a few things in preparation for bringing a lunch later in the week and ended up eating a wedge of cheese with some wine on my patio for an early dinner. 

After eating, the sun hadn’t yet fully set so I took another stroll along the lake and the centreville of Soustons.  My route was only slightly different from the previous day’s but the light exercise and absorption of ambience were welcome.  I had my jacket zipped up tight the entire walk; in stark difference to yesterday’s warm weather, today was 15C with a brisk breeze and slight drizzles. 

The cat isn't included in my 1st floor apartment, but it was watching my every movement while I was exploring the area.

I'm guessing this means the pool isn't open yet...

Not too shabby

More platanes fusing into a continuous canopy

The arena of Soustons, I guess they get up to some bull stuff here in the summer

Tuesday, April 16, 2024 - Hossegor

I'm not sure how well I slept.  Either I had a bout of deep, dreamless sleep between sessions of having my eyes closed or I only slept lightly and time passed quickly with eyelids shut.  I need to figure out comment éteindre the bathroom fan, somehow it's function creates a massive negative pressure in the apartment that causes air to leak through the window fast enough to make a barely audible hiss but a perceptible draft 😆  I might have also kept shifting/moving based on reflexive action to perceived bugs (real or false positives).  When my alarm went off, I was both awake but also ready to sleep.

In the office, had the morning mostly to myself.  I used the time to update the folks back home about where things stand as well as come through the test data from a couple weeks ago to estimate a thermal balance.  I used a coffee break to set out the other bonbon américain I'd brought as a form of culture exchange: Hot Tamales.  Unfortunately, it seems the "Hot" in the name scared most people off as the bowl was still quite full at the end of the work day 😅 

In the afternoon, we kicked things off to validate the change in equipment but will save the real chemistry for tomorrow morning.  It's "lights, camera, action!" tomorrow as a big wig will be visiting to check in on this project.  

Found some traffic on the way home

Since we're scheduled for an early start tomorrow, I joined many others in taking off while there was still plenty of daylight.  Unfortunately, by the time I dropped my stuff off at home and grabbed a baguette to make tomorrow's sandwich, the sunshine was obstructed by dark clouds.  Nonetheless, I made my way to Hossegor (only 20 minutes away from Soustons vs ~40 from Dax) to dine on the lake.  

The tidal lake makes for a popular paddle-boarding location and pedestrian loop

I hadn't yet seen the lake at low tide with daylight

I ate at the tetrade, a restaurant I recall eating at way back in 2017 with a group of coworkers.  This was a solo experience but still very pleasant.  

When I ordered a portion of clams, I'd figured they'd be boiled, yet cold like how sea snails (les bulots) are served.  A look around the dining room showed that people were ok with eating raw clams so I also tucked in.  The clammy flavor was very intense in some bites but I balanced each bite with a sweet, hopefully-purifying swill of Sauternes.  

This pear dessert came out of left-field.  The waiter had recommended it and when I said "wauoh!" he winked and said "I told you, you wouldn't be disappointed" 😉

When I returned back to the apartment, I found the apartment ventilation was still going very strong.  I did manage to turn on the radiator in my bedroom so that should help me keep a bit warmer overnight.  But I was in for a surprise when I discovered during my shower that the hot water was off 🥶.  Apparently I'd used the last dregs of it Monday night...

Wednesday, April 17 - Soustons

I'm guessing the jet lag partially worked to my favor in the morning to find the energy to get out of bed at 5 and make it into the office on time.  Our 6am start was slightly delayed due to a leak found in the night but that wasn't going to stop us.  So we pulled the trigger and thankfully everything seemed to go fairly well.  Things weren't perfect but I think we've got something that can be refined to run smooth enough.  

During my lunch break, I got in touch with my AirBnB hostess about the apartment ventilation and water heater.  She was very apologetic about the hot water, the previous tenant must've hit the switch for it in the electrical box by the entrance and she'd forgotten to turn it back on.  At first she wasn't particularly concerned about the ventilation, it's controlled centrally in the building and I figured that it was just part of life in this kind of building; but later she touched base with a neighbor who confirmed it was acting particularly strange: constant noise and a strong negative pressure.  She eventually asked to stop by in the evening to try fixing it and was surprised by the noise and drafts; I personally didn't mind the noise so much as the draft but I'm glad she managed to coordinate with neighbors to resolve the issue.

A small snack to tide me over before the hostess arrived.

Afterwards, I made my way to the Soustons beach where I enjoyed a nice sunset walk.  It was quite chilly so I wrapped myself up but still had a nice jaunt.  Afterwards, I had dinner on the same lake from a few weeks ago but on the opposite shore.  This place had a lot of outdoor lights and décoration, I bet it's very busy in the warm summer months.

There's sculptures along an 8km path from the town to the beach!

I liked the use of chopped up gorse as a protective layer 

Someone suited up and went out to catch some waves

The beaches of Les Landes are pretty untamed and I think there's a special quality to that

Looks like I get my own eclipse here; you can almost make out the corona!  

A large stick the size of a small stick for scale

A bunch of catamarans awaiting hordes of children for sail lessons on the lake; I liked the "clinking" of the clips and lines in the wind.

Shrimp flambéed in anise liquor

Une coupe folle de la glace, featuring amarena cherries

The restaurant had a really nice mood going; if it were just a few degrees warmer I would have loved sitting outdoors

Admiring some of the stars over the darkness of the lake

Thursday, April 18 - Soustons

It was tough dragging myself out of bed today.  But I eventually managed and got into the office with my first order of business being a cafe.  Turns out being a little late this morning didn't mean I missed any of the action, there was a delay in waiting for material to warm up before we continued the reaction.  But overall, I think all signs point to good results; we just need the lab report tomorrow to confirm this feeling of optimism 😅.

I'd packed a lunch today using ingredients from the previous days with the main difference being the addition of a basket of gariguette strawberries.  I'd bought them on Tuesday with the other stuff at the supermarket as a spur of the moment choice; someone stopped by to recommend I swing by a nearby farm on the commute to work to get the freshest morning harvest of strawberries and asparagus.  Someone else added that (apparently) peanuts are grown in Soustons.  My list of local produce to try is growing...

After work, I returned to the apartment in Soustons but didn't stick around for long.  Rather than research weekend options on the couch, I opted to do weekend research on a bench by the lake wearing sunglasses 😎.  I put out a few feelers about possible reservations for this weekend but feel I have a few executable options fairly well fleshed out.  

Despite being sunny, I found it chilly in the shade of the trees.

While walking along the lake, I noticed a lot more activity and cheering than usual.  It seems there was some sort of sports event happening in anticipation of the Olympic Games.  As far as I could tell, a good number of people were running and a bunch of kids were paddling across an inlet to the lake.  In my wool sweater, I must say the idea of potentially falling into the lake sounded very chilly this April evening.

A small boat launch I stumbled across while following the water line.

It seemed like kids were responsible for hand-paddling across and back the water while the adults had to run around and obtain a candle with a bowl of water.  I think the candle was supposed to stay lit while floating in the bowl during the run but I didn't see a single runner succeed in this.  

I took dinner at the Grill du Lac.  I opted to eat outside to enjoy the last bit of sunset but was glad I wore my wool sweater.  The warm weather of my arrival day hasn't shown itself again thus far this stay.

Razor clams (les couteaux) with peanuts from Soustons

Filet of trout with a sauce of les cacahuettes de Soustons.  I chose the noodles as the accompanying side because the waitress/owner said she made them herself; I didn't have to courage to tell her afterwards that I found her pasta mediocre 😅

La veritable poire à la Belle Helene

Clear skies tonight so I took a peek at the stars; I could find the big dipper but no luck spotting the minor bear

Orion seems content to hang out over the park

Despite the cold, I enjoyed the night sky.  The occasional frog croak or the intermittent whine of bats were all that broke the silence.

Friday, April 19 - Soustons

Similar story to yesterday, this jet lag is being a real jet drag.  Good thing there wasn't a lot of important things happening today.  

Analysis of the sample came in today and the results are encouraging; it's not perfect but we're on the right track.  Another test next week should clear things up for this part of the process.  

I'd been hoping to keep this a surprise but the weekend option I'd been trying to reserve was an introductory motocross class.  There's a motocross course I've driven past most days during my time in les Landes and I figured it'd be worth a shot since it's so close.  Unfortunately, the place requires making reservations via email and doesn't seem to check their email all that often.  So when I called this afternoon to force some form of confirmation, it was confirmed that all spots had been filled for the introductory class this weekend (and the rest of April).  Soooo, by process of elimination that helped me spend some time after work solidifying arrangements for a trip to Bilbao.  

For the rest of the evening, there wasn't too much since I intend to save the excitement for the weekend: a quiet walk along the lake again followed by an uneventful dinner in the center of town at a place called Le Pekoe with a huge space.  

Duck hearts from the griddle (la plancha)

After dinner, I walked back to the apartment where I packed an overnight bag for Bilbao as well as most of my affairs for checking out on Monday.  

While I think the Basque style is more visually striking, I think there's something to be said for the "v" brick aesthetic.  

Another crisp, clear, windless night on the lake.