Day 15 - Stage 3 Begins

We said goodbye to San Sebastian this morning and our wonderful pension owner Jon. 

The Spanish know how to make a BIG croissant, even when the day starts with a train not a bike ride. 

Good bye beautiful San Sebastian. 

There's a Spanish train that runs between... (Chris de Burgh song)

Our first venture on a Spanish train and it was great. From San Sebastian to the border town of Hendaia, roll them on, hook the elastic around the seats, and relax. 

Once in France we got on a TER. Which was equally fine, but a little more hectic getting on - down stairs to platform 6, up stairs to the train, down the platform to a bicycle car.... But actually it was no problem now that we have some experience, and others helped. 

Tomorrow is a national holiday, so we are heading into a loooong weekend. Ascension Day. The train actually filled up with school aged kids and suitcases. I guess there are a lot of trips happening.  

Fascinating how a country border changes things. Spain has a different vibe to it. Somehow coming back to France felt good, like coming back to a known, a more familiar language yes, but also something more. We are happy to be back.  

We spent no time in Bourdeaux other than a trip to the grocery store. It is a big beautiful city but busy today with the day off tomorrow, so headed for La Lac. 

Camping tonight at a busy campground, with some fellow cyclists basically sharing the area. Both single riders, which is.always interesting. Imagine doing all this alone, navigating, finding food and shelter, everything. Alone. No thanks. We count in each other for so much. It is a lot of work everyday, and doing it alone I can't imagine. 

Another great camping dinner. Salad. Bread. And yes, we did get some of that famous Basque cheesecake after all!  Such simple pleasures of fresh veggies, a can of tuna and fresh bread. We need to find a way to carry more olive oil. 

Stats for today 

2 trains and 12 km.