Hello from the Basque country.

Sorry not to have written before but we’ve had a very full time as you will see, and I have been told to include photos so waited till they were sorted so get comfy with a cup of tea or a glass that cheers and read on.

We left Dieppe around 4pm heading towards Rouen, found a lovely little campsite by the river and had drinks and supper in the evening sun, little did we know that would be the last time we saw it for the next few days! Arrived in Orleans in the most awful rain so even though we got a parking place right next to the cathedral we didn’t stay long cause guess who had forgotten museums close on Mondays in France??

Our journey down to Beziers took us through some amazing mountain scenery via Clermont Ferrard then we came off the motorway to travel through the Gorges de Tarne – breathtaking and some very hairy driving for Irene though I think it takes courage to watch yourself hurtling towards a cliff face or a steep drop! We spent one night at a campsite by the river in the gorge, very special place. The next day we were on the Larzac plateau which is Knights Templar land- the whole plateau was given to them so they built a number of commanderies – walled towns that had military and religious uses but mainly for growing and storing food for the Crusades. After the Templars were abolished the lands were given to the Hospitallers but thats another story. We visited a couple of the sites which were fascinating if you’re into that sort of thing.

So, after the Knights Templar we were in Cathar country – now this is something else , the Aude region of  Languedoc – it has everything, vineyards ( producing some very very nice rose at 2e!) beaches, the canal du midi, Beziers, Castles on the top of mountains ( more Knights Templar) and best of all the sunshine!!! At last – a chance to get the swimsuit off and get some rays so we did, even had a rest day by the canal and a lovely village called Colombiers. And the weather stayed good for another couple of days while we explored the region- I really wanted to see some of the Cathar castles – one of them Queribus was the last bastion before the Cathars were wiped out so we headed there- quite a long trip so when we got there I was a little disappointed to find that the road up to the castle was so steep that we couldn’t take Betsy. But I wasn’t going to let a little thing like a 3 km hike up a mountain on the hottest day stop me- no sir! So up I went leaving Irene and Kye snoozing the afternoon away. And it was a slog but for me was worth it- stunning views and a great castle. Thankfully a very kind French chap drove me down again for which I was truly grateful.

So, after that it was time to get across to the west coast as Irene was booked on a flight   Bilbao –so on Sunday we headed off along the motorway so a very easy journey and only took about 4 hours, we ended up in a small town down the coast from Biarritz with the most stunning surfing beaches and still lovely sunshine till Mon am, not stopped raining since!. So, it was an amazing 10 days, covered over 1500 k’s, had some great food, lots of laughs and much too much wine.

And next- well I’m heading further into the Pyrenees to St Jean Pied de Port the starting point of the Camino – will blog more frequently so its not as long. Enjoy the photos and by for now.