Dantxarinea

 Sunday 25/09/22

We had a lovely, restful night next to the cemetery and headed off refreshed this morning.  We had planned on visiting San Sebastian but with rain forecast there for two days we decided instead to find a route around the rain.  

We were also keen to travel a different route into France as we have barrelled up the A63 many times before, which is usually very busy and not particularly scenic.

The result is that our new route took us along the Pyrenees, where we stopped on the outskirts of Pamplona for lunch and then headed straight into the mountains.

We love the vastness of Spain and the good roads.

Heading for one of the tunnels through the mountains.

Bokkie performed magnificently up hills, down into valleys, through tunnels and around multiple hair-pin bends, not putting a foot (or tyre) wrong.  

We were smiling the whole way as the views were just spectacular.  The architecture is completely different so far north; we can't pronounce any of the Basque village names and it feels as though we have entered a new country.

The cows are going home...

We could even see the sea, 17km away.

Luckily the roads were very quiet so we could take our time, enjoying the scenery.  We were expecting the village we were aiming for to be as quiet as all the others we had passed, but were shocked to find huge shopping centres with bustling car parks and many people milling about.  We are on the border of Spain and France, with this village being the 'final frontier' of Spain.

When we got to the aire it was completely full of French motorhomes but we waited for a while and luckily one left after a short time.  We have since found out that the town offers cigarettes, booze and petrol cheaper than in France so the French stream across to stock up.  

We went for a walk and both commented that it was as though we had entered the largest airport duty-free section in the world.  People were buying like mad and weren't restricted to carry-on luggage so had trolleys full of booty.  Very funny to watch!

Expecting a small mountain village, we were somewhat surprised at how busy
it was on a Sunday.

This was a mix between Duty Free and Vegas!

There is something for every vice here.

Tempting???

Tomorrow we think we'll head to Bordeaux, another city we always motor past but haven't visited yet.