Saint Jean de Luz

We are in Saint Jean de Luz, close to the border with Spain. We don’t find much in this place. It is too oriented towards tourists, and unfortunately, the Basque or French culture has not been well-preserved. At least Marina was able to replenish her stock of fresh chicken at BioCoop. Life in the camper has become a bit exhausting after more than 2 months. We're constantly working and rarely have a moment to relax. This is mainly because we can’t just go out to eat in a café or restaurant, and we have to reinvent cooking and baking (gluten-free) for ourselves. At least, or rather, most importantly (is that even a word?), we can avoid Marina’s annual pollen-induced super crisis, and that’s really what it was all about. From the very beginning, it was clear that this would not be a relaxing holiday, even if it looks that way in the pictures. Being outdoors and moving around does help one appear more refreshed overall. A rear tent for the camper brings order to the chaos and makes our everyday life easier. So far, we've been lucky with the heat: Whenever it was particularly hot, we happened to have a vacation apartment (Bordeaux, Bayonne), where it is much easier to tolerate the heat than outdoors under the tent awning. In a few days, we will continue on to Zarautz in Spain. The campsite will at least have a bar/restaurant again, so I can enjoy a quick coffee for relaxation. France is always a joy; how well everything works: The infrastructure has been excellent everywhere we’ve been (even in rural areas like here in Urrugne), the country is crisis-proof in that it doesn’t rely on foreign workers, the people have been very friendly and open everywhere we’ve been, and public transport with buses and trams is well organized even in small towns (good network, closely timed, easy payment system), and the healthcare system seems to be very effective.