Saturday, April 27 - Bayonne
Today was a much-needed rest day. Despite sleeping without setting an alarm, I awoke around 9 AM with a stuffy nose and a soreness around my eyes. I pushed myself to sleep some more but ultimately made it out of bed before 10AM.
The view from the window
Thunderstorms made up much of the day's forecast so I intended to take it easy and enjoy the slower pace while in the city center. I took my time walking around the weekly market by Les Halles where I picked up some groceries: fresh asparagus, kiwis, strawberries (two varieties - maré bas and charlotte), un peu de pain, some pastries, and then in Les Halles I procured cheese and sliced donkey meat.
The market was buzzing with people, though it thinned out periodically with the rain coming in waves.
Asparagus and strawberries (les asperges et les fraises) were flying off the shelves! It's the seasonal harvest for these two so everything was real fresh.
Inside les halles was also quite popular, if not from people buying groceries or eating/drinking, then taking momentary refuge from the rain.
This place was roasting its own beans
Deux barquettes des fraises. ~€3.5 per carton
After bringing the groceries home, I went out for lunch at a resto called Impressions. I was seated next to someone who came in with a backpack and hiking gear; he was planning to start a 2-week journey tomorrow along the camino through the mountains, I don't think he was a pilgrim but he would be using their trails.
Oh boy, off to get some lunch!
After lunch, I decided to take advantage of being in the city and do a little shopping. I'd come here with plenty of space in my suitcases for clothing. I was enroute to the stores when one of the thunderstorms arrived. I took shelter / sanctuary inside the cathedral; I was really impressed with some of the restored painted sections.
The massive vaulted ceilings of the church made for interesting acoustics of the rain and thunder, but the color of this part of the cathedral really captured my attention.
It took me a moment to realize that there was a walkway by the windows with small throughways cut out just before the arch pillars.
Ooh
Ahh
This chocolate store had some impressive chocolate sculptures for show in the window display; further examination showed these were basically only visible from outside the store.
The market cleared out pretty quickly in the afternoon.
After making mes achats (some new shoes and a small cloth basket), the sky finally started to clear. Just when I'd about hung my jacket up for the day, I decided to make one more foray into the city and I wrapped around the outer ramparts back to home base.
This palm tree caught my attention. I'd noticed this in San Sebastian too, but I guess the weather is warm enough for palm trees but humid enough for ferns to grow in their shady bits.
Turns out there's a botanical gardens nestled in part of the outer ramparts! I showed up just a few minutes before closing so I only got to do a quick lap.
Now that's a big fern. Maybe even royal
This was a weird looking thing
And it only gets weirder the closer you look...
There was a rugby game happening in the stadium so cars were parking just about everywhere. I guess the police just give up when they know something's happening?
The rest of the evening was spent relaxing in the apartment and catching up on the blog, researching activities, correspondence, and planning my next living arrangements. Oh, dinner was eaten from my morning grocery shopping.
I feel Freud might have something to say about these asparagus spears...
After an asparagus course, donkey salami (it tasted like salami, and I guess that's better than it tasting like ass), goat cheese, and bread. With a bottle of cider.
Sunday, April 28 - Bayonne & Itxassou
I slept in again. I also returned to Les Halles hoping to have a cafe but ended up simply eating my chocolatine before the waitress came, so I returned back to home base without a coffee. There, I tidied up a bit, packed my lunch, and set my sights on the day's hiking destination: Itxassou (eee-shah-sue)
This small town is nestled against the mountains and I ended up cutting my drive short when I came across a parking lot for Pas de Ronald. I'd realized that I could get a very good hike at this location rather than spend another 20 minutes snaking my way through a road only wide enough for 1 vehicle. Fortunately, the warm up walk from the parking lot (along a section of la Nive) led me to a restaurant where I could use the restroom before the climb & enjoy a café au lait next to a table of guys singing.
The narrow road followed the river and included very small reliefs in the rock face for cars to pull over and allow oncoming traffic to pass.
It was nice contemplating the stones while the table of guys to my right cycled through a seemingly endless list of songs to croon. Singing ensemble seems to be a big pastime for Basque men.
My coffee enjoyed, I topped off my water supplies and made for the mountain. The hike started off following a paved path and different really mark when it wanted me to turn left and start climbing, but with AllTrails I pieced it out enough to continue the climb.
I'm glad I brought some good hiking boots cause there were some sections that the trail had become the stream.
The soft fuzzy textures on this stump caught my attention
I'm sure he'll grow into it.
Keep an eye out for a big bad wolf.
After clearing the tree line, I entered a zone of grassland before attacking a steep section of gorse and stone. From there, it was more grassland with sheep and potxocks before attempting a very steep incline of grass and wildflowers. After cresting the steep slope, I finally was able to view my destination: a civilian aviation station atop Artzamendi.
I wasn't sure what was the hiking trail and what was something the animals had carved out.
The trail among the stones is much more apparent when you're walking it compared to looking at it from a distance.
The vultures were out today but I'll take it as a good omen that I didn't draw much of their attention.
Now you don't see that everyday. It looked like this prop plane was towing one of those low power gliders.
Coming to a relatively flat break in the climb, I caught my breath by capturing what I considered a fairly striking scene.
The big bad wolf strikes again.
My original plan had been to hike those mountains; apparently there's the ruins of a castle on the taller one?
Turns out there were quite a few of those gliders circling this mountain.
Maybe the wind was good for those gliders and vultures, but it made it particularly difficult to get a photo of this little mountain flower despite it being so close to the ground.
The view here was excellent, if conditions were better I probably could have seen a few more snowcapped mountains to the east but I settled for a view of the coast and La Rhune, Les Trois couronnes, et Jaizkibel. I quickly went from sweating from the hike to bundling up due to the wind atop the mountain.
I'm not sure what animal this was or how it met its end here, but I'm sure the vultures appreciated it.
Looking out to the Bay of Biscaye and les Landes
Neat, from this peak you can get La Rhune, Les Trois Couronnes, and Jaizkibel in one frame.
The pottocks were good sports about the people but eventually moved on. This particular little foal appeared to have just learned it could use the post to scratch an itch.
From the other side, looking south and east. Turns out there's a road and parking lot to the summit; it makes sense, this view is for everyone.
Bundling up to have my lunch: kintoa ham sandwich, plus a kiwi and some brebis cheese. I even packed a knife for peeling the cheese and fruit.
Looking around a bit, I noticed a peak that had drawn my attention when I visited St Jean Pied de Port back in January. With that in mind, I realized I was looking at the other side of some cliffs I'd thought impressive when looking out from the fortress there.
This station explains all the gliders; it's a civilian aviation station. I guess it monitors conditions and tracks/advises aircraft?
After soaking in the view for a good amount of time, I began the descent but with a new perspective of my surroundings.
A little springtime spring
The trail is an out-&-back one but there's a slight loop in this section that lets you mix up the views up vs down.
The red of the lady bug caught my eye in a field of green.
This place rocks. This place: rocks.
The Nive winds its way west from the Pyrenees to join the Adour river in Bayonne.
This green bug was very skittish but also kept buzzing ahead to where I was walking.
Looking back at where I'd originally thought to hike, it looks so small compared to where I'd ended up but still magnificent.
A sawdust toilet?
There's a small beach here, I'm assuming this is the Pas de Roland?
Cooling off my feet after a nice hike.
This stretch reminded me of parts of the Colorado river in the Grand Canyon, though the temperatures were very differnt.
Some succulent growing on the cliff/slope side of the road.
Looks like some kayakers were taking a break and enjoying the water slide effect that off-shoot provided.
After the hike, I quickly returned back to home base to have a catch up call with my family. We've got plans in the works for many of us meeting up in France later in the spring!
After the call, I took a stroll about town to find a nice spot to eat. This place was empty but looked impressive so I gave it a go. The name, Rotisserie du Roy Leon, led me to think the roasted chicken must be a specialty. And you can see my chicken roasting!
Now that's a roast chicken.
The place works on a menu system: aperitif, entrée, plat, et dessert. The dessert description hinted at a platter and I figured the waitress would bring a tray with the selection of desserts. Turns out, I didn't need to choose my dessert, my menu included the WHOLE tray. (＠_＠;)
If you're looking to stuff yourself silly on good food and a ton of dessert, I recommend le Rotisserie du Roy Leon.
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