Within sight of the Pyrenees, Castets to Bidache, Day 19

Saturday, 8/5/2023, Day 19
The accommodation last night was really basic, the older couple as landlords were sweet as sugar. Breakfast was included and Monsieur served us grapes from his own vineyard and homemade brioche. We set off quickly and had a wonderful day (no rain, lots of sun, no headwind, but 750 meters of altitude), at the end it was so steep (about 20% gradient) that even with an e-bike, I could hardly manage it, meaning: maximum heart rate and hardly able to turn the crank.
We drove along quiet country roads again, mostly on the Camino de Santiago (Chemin de Compostelle), only stopped for a quick coffee once and almost drove straight through the first 50 km until lunchtime. Just before lunch, at kilometer 999 (saddle kilometers), we had the first panoramic view of the Pyrenees. Magnificent.‼️
1 km later, we stopped again to celebrate 🍾, 1000 km in the saddle in 52 pedal hours, 1350 km from Cologne (1000 saddle kilometers + 350 km by train), after 19 days we have completed half of our tour, there are still exactly 1000 km to Cadiz.
Shortly after, we arrived in the town of Peyrehorade and were greeted by a brass band at the entrance. We could clearly see that there are already a lot of pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago here. We then had our lunch break in the sun by the small river Gaves Réunis and only had to ride another 12 km until we reached our destination Bidache. And then the aforementioned 20% gradient came, but we got a fantastically beautiful accommodation in a country house on the mountain with a view over the landscape and even a small pool. And then our landlady offered us a three-course dinner, which we gladly accepted: first apetizer with a nice Chardonnay, then a fresh salad with warm goat cheese, main course, fresh pink duck breast from the region with rosemary potatoes.