The Southwest of France, Part 2

30th September, 1999

However, as we pulled out of the supermarket, accelerating to catch the traffic lights and turn onto the main road, there was a sickening crunch and the car felt as though a giant had grabbed the tow hook. The clatter from the CV joint returned.   The grease had not solved the problem!   Now something had broken in the joint and was causing the drive to snatch.   We limped back to camp (which was only a few hundred yards) and called our breakdown service, Green Flag, who definitely deserve a plug for their excellent service.    Since it was late, we agreed to wait until morning for a breakdown vehicle.    

1st October, 1999

The breakdown truck arrived just as the eggs were about to be fried and breakfast had to be postponed.   After a ponderous journey across town, the car was delivered, in yet another downpour, to the local Ford dealer who could not fix it until the following week.   Since we carry a full tool kit and it's not a difficult job, we could have done it ourselves, apart from the appalling rain which we had on and off.   It is a great disappointment that the dealer network of what is one of the world's top car makers has no capability to do emergency repairs in a sensible timescale.   This was the third  dealer we had approached to try to solve the problem and none would look at it in less than a week.   After returning to finish breakfast, we called Green Flag again who said that we were entitled to a hire car while ours was fixed.   The bad news was that it had to be a particular company who, despite advertising to the contrary, did not have a depot in town and we had to go to the airport at Biarritz.   

We have been following English news on the Long Wave and had been somewhat amused by Transport Minister's 250 yard car trip to conference at which the proletariat were to be urged to leave their cars at home.   While we recognise the problems cars create, what followed is the clearest proof to us that those advocating public transport as an alternative to the car are not living in the real world.   France takes public transport far more seriously than the British ever will and the level of subsidy on the Continent generally is legendary.   Thus, while our experience was not in England, the results could scarcely have been any better.  

The airport is about 20 miles from the camp.   The trip started well with us finding the bus stop barely 100 yards away and the next bus only 10 minutes off according to the timetable.    The bus arrived only 10 minutes late and took us to just opposite the train station in St. Jean de Luz, from which a train would take us to Biarritz station, which is only three miles from the airport.   Pretty good, eh?   Well, not exactly.   Although the journey time was just 15 minute, the next train was in one and a half hours and, when we arrived at Biarritz, not a taxi was to be found and there was no bus service direct to the airport.   From the bus map at the bus stop, we could see that a No. 2 bus to the town centre crossed the track of the No. 6 bus from the centre to the airport and, thinking ourselves quite smart, we figured it quicker to go by bus than walk, though we had to wait at least 15 minutes for the bus.   

We had no choice really as we had no street map and only a vague idea of which direction the airport was.   The modern buses were equipped with moving displays that told you what the next stop was - except that they were not working.   The bus stops, however, had signs with their names on and large maps that you could see from the bus - except that occasionally they had neither and particularly in the area of the interchange at Clos San Michel that we were looking for.   So, of course, we missed the stop and when we finally got off the bus we were in the centre overlooking a spectacular if, somewhat damp, beach with large breakers rolling in.   The ride, incidentally, was slow and uncomfortable as Biarritz has many traffic calming humps.  

We had another 20 minutes to wait for the bus out to the airport, which retraced much the same route as we had come in on, including all the humps.   We arrived at the airport four hours after leaving camp on what, by road, is a 15 minute journey at best and at worst (when they closed the main road) an hour.    The cost, at about £1.60 each, was not bad.

The car hire company does not get a plug as, despite giving them a booking reference, the girl failed to look over her shoulder and pick up the waiting documentation and instead prepared it all anew.  The car, however, a Peugeot 206, does deserve a plug and was most welcome.    It caused some confusion in the camp as discerning campers spot an English caravan instantly but did not understand why a French car was parked alongside it.   

With our gleaming 206 we decided to have a look at Bayonne which sits astride the river Nive where it joins the Adour.    It too is an historic city that was English for three centuries.    We thought the cathedral interesting for its well preserved cloisters and the huge door knocker that was supposed to grant sanctuary to those who used it.    The weather had been a bit grey and, by the time we returned to camp, rain was on its way and we were getting fed up with it.     The area inside our awning which had been dry when we first arrived now filled with water each time it rained heavily.   By now, it was raining more than it was not and our awning was filling with water.    We broke out our anti-depressant video (Our Mutual Friend) and, during our enforced stay, watched a part each night. 

2nd October, 1999

At last we had some good weather and decided to tour inland and take in the "Rhune" which is a mountain peak visible from our campsite.   This has a funicular railway, shown far left, that winds up its steep sides to the top from where there are views the Pyrenees and what we thought were eagles circling.

The Spanish border runs through the the peak and is marked by a yellow line.     Thus we had our first brief trip over the border.      The ride to the summit takes almost an hour each way and by the time we had finished there was only time to do a bit of shopping for our dinner before returning to camp.

3rd October, 1999

We had got used to the idea that all French Supermarkets are open on Sunday mornings as they had been so far, so on our late visit the previous evening we had been a bit lazy thinking we could visit the big one near the camp the next day.      This is not the case as Sunday opening seems to be a bit of a lottery and we found ourselves hunting around for food on a wet Sunday morning.     By afternoon it had improved a bit and we set of for Biarritz which we had been looking forward to seeing.    So it would seem had half the locals and it took a long time to find somewhere to park.    We were then able to walk along the front past the old port shown below left and middle and watch the surf for which the resort is so well known.

On our way back to camp we stopped for a stroll round St Jean de Luz and, as the congregation came out of the church, had brief look inside.    This was a bit of a surprise as the churches in this area have the unique feature of balconies along the sides, as seen above right, where the menfolk go.

3rd October, 1999

As we were soon hopefully heading for Spain we thought  we would hop over the border to get a bit of cash ready for the move since stopping is more difficult when towing.

5th to 7th October, 1999

The 5th, Tuesday saw the return of good weather and we went for a further tour of the area near the Rhune.   Wednesday was the day our car should be ready, so we busied ourselves getting ready to break camp once we could move off.     Fortunately we had some sunshine and were able to get our awning and plastic sheeting dry.    We returned the hire car to the airport finding ourselves in a long traffic jam because a vital bridge was closed.      The car hire company had miss-stated the initial odometer reading and, after yet more delay, returned to the traffic jams and eventually back to camp via the Supermarket.     The next day we made one of our earliest starts, as we planned to get half way along the northern Spanish coast.

Last updated:  18/03/01