Back to France for 4 months of House-sitting!!

Thursday 1st November

Our stop today is about an hour away to a carpark over looking the Bay of Biscay so we can take the walk to San Juan de Gaztelugatxe.  We are undecided if we should wear full winter coats, scarves, etc because its still really cold, about 7 degrees.  We decide with our winter coats, which we ended up carrying most of the way because we got so hot during our 2.5 hour walk up hill most of the way.

We walked along the old coastal road which overtime has deteriorated so much that’s its no longer safe for vehicular traffic but its great for walking.  We walked along the road to the start of the path that would lead us down to San Juan de Gaztelugatxe.

The path down is really steep and played havoc on my knees because I was trying to make sure I didn’t slip on the wet leaves.  Once we got down the path we then walked across the man made stone footbridge which connects the small island of San Juan de Gaxtelugatxe to the mainland and then a very steep climb up the 241 steps to the chapel.

Keith found the steps tough and he wasn’t the only one there were lots of tourists here today and all manner of fitness levels, some struggling more than others.

When you get to the chapel you are to ring the bell 3 times and make a wish or 13 times to ward off evil spirits, we wished for a helicopter to fly in and take us back to Eugene lol.

We’ve still not seen the film a Game of Thrones but this place featured in the film as the ‘Dragonstone’ so we are told.

Back at Eugene we drove to the town of Bermeo which has a free Aire in the town carpark.  When we arrived there were cars parked in the Motorhome spaces so after an hour we decided we didn’t want to stay and moved an hour up the coast to to a free Aire at Urdaibai.

Friday 2nd November

It rained all night and its still raining this morning, but at least the temperature is up to respectable 14 degrees with very low cloud.

After a shower we head across the driveway to the Urdaibai Bird Reserve which opens at 11am.  Entry is 5 Euros each and is well worth it if you’re interested in birds we spent 2 hours here.

This morning is still foggy and drizzling but luckily we can see the birds on the wetland from inside the center.

On entry you are given a pair of binoculars and there are many high powered telescopes dotted around so you can get a good look a the many thousands of birds that arrive each week.  There are also bird experts on hand to give advise on the birds that can be seen.  The new arrival today was a Purple Swamp Hen which was causing quite some interest in the keen bird recorders because it was the first time its been recorded at the reserve, sadly to far away for a photo.

After a bit of lunch we took the 3km walk to the Oma Forest in the natural reserve of Urdaibai.

Oma forest is the home of the artwork by Agustin Ibarrola, a Basque sculptor and painter.  Ibarrola painted a large number of trees in the early 1980s. Apparently if you look at them from different perspectives, they give the impression of different geometric, or animal forms, err no we couldn’t see it.

After the mushroom painted trees a few weeks ago we felt a little let down because we just didn’t get it lol.

It was a tough walk of 12km up to the top of the forest and back to Eugene, but in all it was a lovely walk.

By the time we got back to the Aire it was absolutely packed and our neighbours were parked so close we could hear them snoring during the night, but at least we were able to keep them awake with our snoring lol.

Saturday 3rd November

No rain today and a nice 12 degrees so we set off up the coast for couple of hours drive leaving Spain and heading into France to Barritz.  After leaving the coastline we headed in land and up the mountains, we had a great drive today.

The Aire is paid 12 euros for 24 hours with electricity and its secure.

Sunday 4th November

We had a great night nice and warm with the heating on full blast all night.

Today its glorious sunshine and 20 degrees. After a shower we head off to explore the coastline and its beautiful.  Biarritz is a major surfing destination, with long sandy beaches and tons of surf schools.  As soon as we got down to the beach the roar of the Atlantic Ocean and the crashing waves were mesmerizing, I took so many photos of the sea I lost count.

A symbol of Biarritz is the Rocher de la Vierge a rocky outcrop topped with a statue of the Virgin Mary which is reached via footbridge and we had to time our crossing just right so we didn’t get soaked by the crashing waves.

We stopped at a restaurant overlooking the sea and had a fantastic lunch, we could have sat there all day watching the sea.

The coastline of Biarritz is easy to follow and we had a fantastic day of walking, eating and sitting and watching the world go by.

Monday 5th November

Today is a long drive over 4 hours to the town of Pomarez to an Aire which has free services including electricity.

The Aire is next to the recently renovated Bull Ring unfortunately it was closed today so we couldn’t have a tour.

Tuesday 6th – Saturday 17th November

We’re back in the Dordogne to look after KC and Carter again for the next 10 days.  we looked after KC & Carter at the beginning of October and as usual they are a dream to look after.

We spent our time playing with them and 2 walks a day in the beautiful forest which surrounds Nicki & Jim property.  Both dogs have great temperaments and they adore Keith always looking for him.  Both are beautiful, but Carter (Black) is so cute he needs a big hug and kiss every day, which Keith was glad to give him.

Dog farts though are in a league of their own!

They are not allowed on the furniture, so they like to sit on your knee, we’re not sitting on the sofa, are we?

It was great to be able to just chill out and not have to think about where we were heading, what we were doing and did we really have to take another walk around another lifeless village.

I forged for mushrooms in the paddock and didn’t die.  Keith didn’t eat any in case he had to take me to the hospital, that’s so good of him.  (I didn’t eat any of these mushrooms in the photos!).

We ventured out to the surrounding villages and took a couple of walks on our own in the forest, its a lovely area to explore.  France is absolutely beautiful in the autumn the colours are unreal.

We’ve loved being here although Keith says next time we’ll come in the summer when the leaves are not falling off the trees.  We’ve had 7 ton bags of leaves in 10 days, its never ending.  We rake them up one day, next day it looks like we’ve done nothing!

 

Nicki & Jim are on their way home early so we can set off by lunchtime on Saturday.  There is a national strike in France over the cost of fuel, and I don’t blame them really.  There will be road blocks at garages and toll roads.  The strike is supposed to last 1 day but the french can be a little unpredictable and it could last all weekend.

We are heading to northern France to Cotes d’amour to look after Babe & Miah for 3 weeks.  Its gonna be cold up there, eekkkk.

Our days with Eugene are numbered, between now and when we come home in February we’ve got about 8 nights with him in between our house sits.  Just as well really because it will be freezing.

House sitting has been so much better than we had anticipated, so far we’ve had great hosts and amazing animals to look after it has been so easy for us for relax and enjoy the walks with the dogs, something we hadn’t done before, no we’re still not having a dog when we get home.

Thanks so much for sticking with us, our blogs will be fewer now as we’re not moving very far and have 2 more house sits before we come home, but thanks for following and your messages, we love getting messages.

a la perchoine

Shirena & Keith

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