Beach hopping

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So we make our camping debut at a great spot due west from Bordeaux, in a forest and next to Pyla, a sand dune some 100 metres high. Time passes quickly without apparently achieving very much. I realised this when trying to explain to Juliet how I´d spent my day when she´d been working until 10pm ... the list of activities was so short that eating a cake was worthy of a mention (it was something pretty special though).

The dune is heaving with paragliders by day but deserted by night and after steak on the bbq it provides the best setting for some star gazing that I´ve found in the northern hemisphere, its never really done it for me before but staring up it seemed like the universe was about to fall in. Then I get spooked by the dark (I can´t handle even the remotest horror movie, even Ghostbusters required a cushion).

We play around in Pyla for a few days, bbq-ing sardines, playing in the sea and generally frittering away the hours. Next we head down to a campsite near Bidart, a few km south of Biarritz and a great find with direct access to the beach and the luxury of a warm shower. And it´s here that I celebrate 31 glorious years, sharing a couple of bottles of red as we watch the sun go down ... all very romantic if it wasn´t for Stuart´s bald pate being the available choice of beau.

Saturday sees us take in the local rugby derby between Biarritz & Bayonne, a dire match but the 40,000 proud Basques are certainly in good voice. We leave with our ears ringing and the whistle of the wind on the drive home is a welcome respite. For the rugby fans amongst you, the medics favourite Iain Balshaw started the match. His contribution totaled not looking at all keen for one garryowen, then a pass inside under no pressure, then a call for the medic, then retiring from the action ... all told he lasted about a minute. Another magnificent effort from Ian.

Sunday is a day of simple pleasures ... overdoing it at the patisserie by day and takeaway pizza by torchlight

Today we´re off to San Sebastian, a place apparently with:
* more Michelin starred restaurants than Paris
* more bars per sq metre than anywhere else on earth

The tough times continue

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