Post It from Camping Ur-Onea, Bidart, Aquitaine, France. Sunday 4th September, 2016.

We avoided the A63 tolls between Salles and here but on this occasion we actually travelled along the A63 as much as we were able to between the recent additions of tolls. A strange system of toll collection along this road now as it is collected at two points only as you pass through. This was so the local people could cross easily from either side of the previously toll free A63. If anyone wants the specific details of how to do this then just ask and if I see the request I shall pass all the details along.

The busy bit of the day’s journey was along the coastal road which is inundated with popular resorts and makes for slow travelling. Had we been in a rush we would have gone along the toll route into Spain I think but we wanted to stop off at Bidart.

This pretty village is a paradise for surfers catching the Atlantic waves and given the Sunday was forecast to be a cloudy day we decided to take a break from driving and stop 2 nights. We arrived in temperatures of 35º C and it got hotter. The Sunday was slightly cooler but the hoped for overcast day ended up being light clouds only. We spent time watching that French handball sport in the village square along with a large crowd of locals. We also spent a good bit of time getting some exercise along the coastal walkers path before taking shade by a small chapel for a good 2 hours gazing out across the Atlantic Ocean. I checked my bearings and found out if we looked in the right direction we could see all the way over to where our son now lives 4800 miles away, I think, in the Caribbean. We spoke to him later that day and told him what we had done and chuckled to ourselves.

This campsite was one of the best we have ever stayed in in France and markedly better than the vast majority. The facilities were excellent, abundant and spotlessly clean in every regard. The walk into town was a matter of 20 minutes I guess and the scenery along the coast with the big rollers is captivating. I am sure St Jean De Luz is easily reached by bus as is Biarritz and other such famous resorts. We have stopped a number of times in this area and this was by far the best place so far, but there are tons more to stay at. It was a great pity it closes at the end of September and I told the lady, who I think owned it with her husband, how good it was and should be open longer! She appreciated the compliments and said she understood about the opening times for us Brits (and others) that travel back later in the year from Spain.

The unusually high temperatures in the area and Spain in particular who was having the hottest September so far on record, made us change our plans. I had wanted to make a big effort this time and visit Haro in the Rioja region of Spain for a couple of days sightseeing. It had been put off time and again but the temperatures meant we could not attempt to venture out during the day sightseeing. Instead we decided to push straight on to our first planned campsite in Spain and enjoy the comfort of the van’s cab air conditioning on the way. Glad we did as when we arrived at Zaragoza it was a staggering 42ºC and the coast near Javea was ablaze with forest fires.

This is the first time we have actually used the air conditioning for more than 30 minutes at one time on any of our previous travels and I must say the high temperatures outside were very uncomfortable.

Regards, Roy