The heavy traffic and crowds dressed in red and black clearly signalled this was no ordinary day as we approached St Jean de Luz. Coincidentally we’d arrived on the weekend of “La Fête de Noir et Rouge”, a Basque festival of music, dance and bonfires.
La Fête en Noir et Rouge, St Jean de Luz, France
Luckily there was still one small space left on the campervan park in the centre of the town.
St Jean de Luz, Pyrénées-Atlantique, France
The small seaside fishing port was alive with music and dancing as we took a walk through the centre and up to the seafront.
La Fête en Noir et Rouge, St Jean de Luz, France
This is the heart of French Basque country and the town’s narrow streets are lined with the characteristic red and white buildings of the region.
St Jean de Luz, Pyrénées-Atlantique, France
After a stop for lunch we returned to the camper to pick up the bikes. Luckily we were in no hurry to leave as some fairly creative parking by others had left us, and around 10 others, completely boxed in. Figuring we’d worry about that later we cycled across the Pont Charles de Gualle to Ciboure and the beaches beyond.
St Jean de Luz, Pyrénées-Atlantique, France
At the headland there was a group who had set up an impromptu tightrope walk between two rocks.
St Jean de Luz, Pyrénées-Atlantique, France
Several attempted the crossing with varying degrees of success! We stopped for a swim at Fort de Socoa and walked around the small harbour.
Beach at Fort de Socoa, Pyrénées-Atlantique, France
Fort de Socoa, Pyrénées-Atlantique, France
On returning to the campervan we were pleased to see the van next to us leaving which enabled us to negotiate a way out of the park. We headed north up the coast to Ondres. There was a large Aire here right on the beach with a small surf club, bar and cafe. The atmosphere was really peaceful and the location made a perfect base for visiting nearby Bayonne and Biaritz.
Ondres Beach, France
This became our home for the next two nights and there was something quite quaint about the local gendarme passing through each night to collect the very reasonable 7 Euro/night fee. With early morning swims followed by an excellent petit dejeuner from the beach front cafe this was a place that would become hard to leave.
