To the Bay of Biscay, from Bidache to Bayonne, day 20

Sunday, 6.8.2023, Day 20,

This morning, saying goodbye to Isabelle was really difficult for us because we had a really great accommodation with a great host there. Today, we wanted to have a half rest day because tomorrow we will be riding the first stage through the Pyrenees and we have a lot of respect for the high altitudes and steep climbs (up to 19%). So today we only rode about 40 km to Bayonne, very relaxed, very easy on the legs, always along the river. By noon we were already in Bayonne, a very beautiful little town with many old, partly picturesque houses and an impressive cathedral. While our laundry was spinning in the laundromat, we sat by the river. In a very nice beer garden, we drank a Basque beer and listened to a cover band that was playing for the guests on Sunday afternoon. Tomorrow we will continue from here to the south, towards the Spanish border, and after about 30 km we will leave France and enter Spain. Then it will immediately go steeply uphill into the Pyrenees.

Before we leave France tomorrow, we would like to express once again our admiration for the French, who are really friendly, considerate, and courteous people. Not loud, not even in traffic! We crossed France diagonally in two weeks and also got to know a wonderful country in terms of landscape. It was impressive.