30 April

I arose today after waking at 5:30 with the rain falling heavily. By the time I was out at 8, it had stopped and the sky was clear. However as I went to go in for breakfast, I looked for but could not find my little electronic translator. I had it the previous morning and that was the last I remembered of it. I asked whether I had left it at the breakfast table yesterday, but apparently I hadn’t. After finishing breakfast (again getting little baguette slices of toast for my vegemite), I looked through everything again, but still not luck. The only other place I could have had it would have been the laundrette, and I had to post a letter in Lourdes, so I went into town. I found a parking spot (good) and found one of the ladies in the laundrette (good) but it was not there (bad). I posted the postcard (found a letter receiver easily) and then left Lourdes. I was beading towards Biarritz, as it looked a nice seaside town. I was aiming to spend the night at a little town called St-Jean-Pied-de-Pont, so I would be near the Spanish border for my entry into Spain tomorrow.
I took my now usual route of asking the SatNav to direct me via no motorways. That way I get to look at the countryside and sometimes find some interesting places. Today was no exception. I found myself in a town called Orthez, with a Post Office right beside my route. I dropped in with the (hopefully) second-last parcel, found it was under seven kilograms (the limit for the cheap postage to Australia). I filled out the Customs declaration and handed that over, all was pronounced okay and I left. Fran should get another parcel within a week and there is nothing special inside, so it can wait until I pick it up.
Buoyed with this, I had another look for the translator – no luck. As I had got a ticket for an hour, but only used about fifteen minutes, I thought someone else could some luck, so the lady who took th spot after me gratefully took it and placed it on her dash. I headed out (about 11:30 at this stage and around the first corner was a … Macca’s, with WiFi! So I had an early lunch and updated my photos and blog, checked emails and sent two, plus the bulk one, out. All the while doing this, there was a baby sitting just over from me who seemed fascinated by me and would giggle each time it looked at me. It ignored the parents and older brothers, and food, so I was trying to concentrate on two things at once. I’ll know if I didn’t succeed if I get correcting emails tomorrow.
I headed out of Orthez and expected to get to Biarritz about 2, and did arrive there on schedule. Along the way I saw an E LeClerc and wondered if they stocked electronic dictionaries – and after ten minutes of waiting as there weren’t any staff, and finally having to ask a security guard, the answer was – no.
At Biarritz, I could not believe the umber of people around. It seems that the season is starting and so people (and cars) appear from nowhere. Whereas in every other town I have been able to find parking in the city centre, this time I had to head out. I stopped at a oceanside road, where waves were pounding the rocky shore. I had a quick look around, but so many people are now a distraction. I headed back towards Bayonne, whereI had seen a E LeClerc bookstore (DVDs, electronic devices, etc.) so I thought I would try that – no luck. However I was just heading back towards the road (I was on a service lane) when I couldn’t believe my eyes – a Rip Curl shop, with a little explanation about the company at Torquay (Victoria). I stopped, took some photos and spoke to the staff there. They said it was the beginning of the season and they expected to be very busy within a week or two (hence the people at Biarritz and the waves). There were four outlets in the area.
I rang up about accommodation and had success with the first, amazing as the lady speaks Spanish and a little French, but no English, and me, well. I said I would be there about 5, but when I programmed the SatNav with the address, the time was only about an hour. I headed off anyway, still in amazement that the car was giving me a projected range now of about one thousand seven hundred kilometres from this tank. Along the way I stopped in a Lidl supermarket to stock up on munchies in case I am travelling all day tomorrow in Spain and can’t find somewhere to have a meal. As usual, there was only one checkout operating and the line of three stretched to twelve before another opened. The woman behind me shrugged and I said it was the same anywhere in the world. Finally I left.
I got to the town and found – crowds!
Memo to self: when choosing a small country town to stay in, check to see if it is the hiking capital of the Pyrenees first.
I eventually located my place for this evening, but got no answer when I knocked. I thought I would go to the Tourist Information Centre (seen while going through the town) and get some info on the town and sights to see on a few hours stop. Could I find a parking place near there? Not on your life! Things do work out with a purpose and I tootled around until I found a parking spot and found I was at the base of the Citadel, variously a hostel for travellers on pilgrimages and a fortification in time of hostilities. While I was walking through the citadel area, it also struck me that I had seen a lot of crude signs along the way with one common feature – Basque!
Memo to self: when choosing a place to stay, remember to check if it is a hotbed for revolutionaries.
After an exhausting uphill walk (I don’t know why they needed all the fortifications in most of these places – attackers in armour and with weapons would have been too tired to fight by the time they got to the defences), I got a panoramic view of the countryside and an appreciation of how rugged the Pyrenees are – and that, even today, shutting a few roads would block an area off completely. Needless to say, the walk down was more pleasant.
I drove back to where I was to stay and had just parked when the lady of the house came out, we introduced ourselves and she showed me the room. It was very comfortable and modern, the any difference between it and most of the last ones that it doesn’t have a dual-flush toilet (I’m obsessed by how much water is wasted now – and McDonald’s in France has a lot of waterless urinals).
I unpacked and set up with the laptop in the lounge, intending to do my blog, process the photos and write some letters. Things have a way of changing and my hostess came in, I had photos up and she saw them, and I said I would show her photos of Australia (the work last night was paying off already). She said to wait a minute and came back with a teenager who was staying here and lives in Biarritz (he recognised the pictures of it and the Rip Curl shop). I showed them pictures of Australia and had the map out, then showed them some pictures of France. Then he had to go, she had to cook and my battery was flattening. I went to my lonely writer’s well-appointed accommodations and charged the batteries for the camera (two sets), plugged the laptop in and finished this.

One other interesting sidelight I’ve picked up on is to do with bus stops. On some narrow roads you wonder where the bus stop is – and the answer is – the road! The bus just stops, drops and picks up passengers and then is on its way. The same happens outside hotels in towns. The bus stops, and so does the traffic behind it. You either wait until all the passengers and luggage are unloaded, or hope there is a break in the traffic the other way and everyone passes on the wrong side, usually over double lines.
Also, the difference between a forest and a wood. A forest looks as though it actually has some natural aspects to it and has undergrowth. A wood, which may be as few as three trees, is planted with precision and is clear in the middle (although there may be undergrowth around it, giving a semblance of privacy for those who enter it).
And there are car stops before intersections. In many small towns, there is no room for traffic to turn a corner and pass a waiting car. The traffic light can be anything up to twenty metres back from the intersection so traffic can turn, straighten up and then pass the waiting cars. It seems to me that front-wheel drive, with its larger turning circle, must have exacerbated this.

And now, tomorrow, the adventure continues as I enter Spain, using my EU passport to hopefully smooth ways (and my Australian passport if that gives a better response).
My concerns are: WiFi; accommodation, language (in that order).