La Mer, le Canal & les Pyrénées

[VPS]

Next we were heading to Jaca on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees and there are basically two mountain passes that could be considered: the Col de Bessata and the Col du Pourtalet. The Bessata route goes from Pau via Oloron-Sainte-Marie and Canfranc and is the route that the railway line used until it was closed in 1970 after a major derailment destroyed one of the bridges. More here: Pau–Canfranc railway - Wikipedia

Canfranc is reached from the french side through the 7.8km Somport tunnel. The station at Canfranc was featured in one of Michael Portillo's Great Continental Railway Journeys and is said to be where Hitler met Franco in 1940 (see https://glintoflight.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Canfranc-_-What_Stories_It_Could_Tell.pdf).

Note that there are other reports that state that Hitler and Franco met at the station in Hendaye in 1940. I'm not able to confirm whether they met at both stations or whether one of these "meetings" has been misreported. Either way, the station at Canfranc is quite spectacular and has a lot of history. After the line closed, the Somport tunnel was modified to take road traffic but the station was left to deteriorate. However, recently it has been renovated into a luxury hotel Canfranc Estación, a Royal Hideaway Hotel - Huesca - o Guia MICHELIN

Currently there are public consultations about reopening the line: SNCF Réseau begins public consultations to reopen strategic France-Spain rail line

With all this history and proposals I wanted to travel via this route and check it all out for myself however, I was disappointed to find that the road was impassable following heavy rain in early September that washed away large sections of the road: Pyrénées road connecting France and Spain will be closed for months

So it was the route over the Col du Pourtalet for us...

That’s a shame. It looks fascinating

 

[drron]

We enjoyed our couple of hours plus lunch in Canfranc. We got there from the Spanish side. Good scenery on the drive up.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Col du Pourtalet



This mountain pass has only been crossed by Le Tour de France once so it is not as well known as some of the other mountain passes. The climb starts just south of Laruns and continues virtually non-stop for the next 29km. The gradients do not get above 9% but it is the length of the climb and the magnificent scenery that are the significant features of the Pourtalet. Perhaps Le Tour prefers shorter and steeper climbs, perhaps it is difficult terrain for the TV coverage or perhaps closing this road for Le Tour causes too much disruption to traffic between France and Spain.

It's a great drive although the road is quite narrow and perhaps a bit dangerous in poor weather.




Getting past these guys can be interesting and there are quite a few of them, including some that look like they haven't been on a bike for many years. You need a lot of patience when following a bike uphill at around 10kmh and waiting for an opportunity to overtake...




And these are an even bigger challenge:
















The customs house...







A hydro-electric reservoir...

 

[Jacques Vert]

Col du Pourtalet 2

Of course, on the other side of the dam wall there is a lake and a ski resort...








Continuing up the Pourtalet...


















After 28km we are approaching the summit...

 

[Jacques Vert]

The summit of the Col du Pourtalet is at an elevation 1,794 metres. Immediately after crossing over the summit into Spain there is a small village with a couple of shops and basic cafe/restaurants...






We stopped at this place for lunch, nothing special but reasonable prices and warm inside:








The opposition across the road:

 

[Jacques Vert]

Heading down the Spainish side of the Pourtalet the scenery is quite different...

 

[Jacques Vert]

Jaca

Jaca has a population of around 14,000. We found a nice new appartment in the old city and I was impressed with the architect's efforts to have it blend in with the existing buildings:

 

[Jacques Vert]

Some photos from around Jaca...























It's been a long time since I've been in a bar with prices this good...

 

[drron]

I am more familiar with the Spanish side of the Portalet as it has been used in the Vuelta a few times. i usually watch the 3 granr tours.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Heading east from Jaca towards Ainsa we were treated to a nice drive with some beautiful scenery:

 

[Jacques Vert]

Ainsa

 

[Jacques Vert]

We had always intended to head south as the weather got cooler so after Ainsa we spent a couple of weeks in Spain and Portugal. As this TR is about our 6 months in France I won't be covering those couple of weeks here.

We returned to France by crossing the bridge from Irun to Hendaye thereby avoiding paying any tolls (perhaps a small point but I'd already made a significant contribution to improving the European road system).

And yes, we had to pass through the new border checks for entering France that were introduced at the beginning of November. This consisted of a sole police officer who had parked his patrol car blocking one of the lanes on the bridge and who stood beside it waiving everybody through. It seemed to me that the only thing he had achieved was to create a traffic jam stretching back about three kilometres. Hopefully they have some way of identifying what they are looking for but I suspect this is mainly for show.

Apparently we didn't look like illegal immigrants so we were waived through along with everyone else.

We had intended to stay in Hendaye which is generally considered to be the western end of the Pyrenees but the place we were looking to book was on the third floor and the lift was out of action as it was being replaced. Instead we found a place near Saint-Jean-de Luz, about 15km to the north. Our accommodation:

 

[Jacques Vert]

Saint-Jean-de-Luz

Situated about half way between Biarritz and the Spanish border, St-Jean-de-Luz has a population of around 15,000. While it is a fishing and pleasure port, it heavily relies on tourism and retirees. It's a very pretty place.

Looking over the bay to St-Jean with La Rhune in the background. (At 905m, La Rhune is the most western of the significant peaks of the Pyrenees.)
















An interesting feature of St-Jean is the way they prune and shape the trees:

 

[Jacques Vert]

le Marché

Quite a nice market in St-Jean but unfortunately a lot of fruit is out of season; I do miss the strawberries, rasberries, blueberries and blackberries that were everywhere, and at a good price, when we were in La Rochelle. Still, there is lots to like about this market...










Perhaps you fancy rabbit for lunch?




Or a pigeon?




Or perhaps quail?






What wine pairs with pigeon?

 

[Jacques Vert]

Xareta

According to Wikipedia:

Ainhoa and Sare, together with the two Spanish communes of Zugarramurdi and Urdazubi, form a cross-border territory, called Xareta. Straddling the border with Spain, it is a passage for the Way of St. James (Baztan way) from Bayonne to Pamplona.

We visited all four villages as well as nearby village of Espelette. All are within 30km from St-Jean-de-Luz. Ainhoa and Sare are listed on the https://www.les-plus-beaux-vilages-de-france.org/fr/nos-villages/ website. They are also on the GR10 hiking route that goes from Hendaye on the Bay of Biscay to Banyuls on the mediterranean.

Ainhoa

A very small village of only a few streets close to the border with Spain. Almost all of the buildings date from the 17th and 18th centuries and are in excellent condition...












Churches all become somewhat the same after you have seen lots of them but in this area they are a little different, especially with their galleries:






Lovely countryside...

 

[Jacques Vert]

Espelette

With a population of around 2,000 Espelette is about three times the size of Ainhoa. Unlike most of these small villages where everything is closed this tme of year, there were about 10 shops open, even at lunch time (most unusual for France). Espelette is the "pepper" capital of this area and most of the shops sell numerous variations of paté slightly spiced with pepper/chilli, as well as cheeses (some with pepper), various charcuterie items such as chorizo, prosciutto, etc. and, of course, gâteau basque...

 

[Jacques Vert]

Zugarramurdi

From Espelette we drove across the border into Spain and onto Urdax/Urdazubi, one of the four villages of Xareta mentioned in post 275. While Undax is quite pretty, it is very small and there is basically nothing there except some 17th & 18th century houses that are very similar to those in Ainhoa so we didn't stop or take photos. There are caves nearby but we decided to continue to Zugarramurdi.

Crossing the border was interesting given that France has reintroduced border checks. As noted previously, when we crossed from Irun to Hendaye there was a single policeman standing on the border waiving cars through. However, when crossing the border between Ainhoa and Zugarramurdi there was noone, nothing; not even a sign. The only indication that we had crossed the border was that the language on the road signs changed.

From 1609 to 1614 Zugarramurdi was the centre of the Basque Witch Trials during which as many as 7,000 people were examined for witchcraft. Of those, only 11 were executed, six were burned alive while the other five were burned in effigy after dying in prison from being tortured.

Basque witch trials - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

There is a Witches Museum that we would have liked to visit but it was closed the day we were there. At least the pub was open....






We did visit the cave (entry EUR6) that is said to have been the main meeting place for the local witches. Apparently the cave was also a favourite hiding place for those involved in smuggling back in the day. Each year on the summer solstice, fires are lit in the cave to "commemorate" the day of the witch.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Sare

The last of the villages mentioned in post 275 is Sare, another village listed on the "most beautiful villages of France" website. Again a typical Basques village full of 17th and 18th century buildings.






One of the more interesting war memorials I've come across:

 

[Jacques Vert]

le Petit Train de la Rhune

Earlier, I posted a photo of La Rhune, a 905 metre mountain just inland from Saint-Jean-de-Luz. There are two ways to reach the summit: you can either hike or catch the rack & pinion train: Le Train de la Rhune

The train runs from March to October so we were not able to take it and no, we were not up for the climb. And as the train was not running we were not able to take photos. However, I do have some photos from a previous visit that I will try to remember to post once I get back to Australia. For now you'll have to check out the website but I can assure you that if you are ever in the vicinity during the season, it is a great trip and the views from the summit are stunning.

The train is 100 year's old this year and is fully restored.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Biarritz

About 15 minutes drive to the north of St-Jean-de-Luz is Biarritz, so we took a day trip. We were last here in 2010 and there doesn't seem to have been much change except that the number of surfboard riders has increased.
I came across this quote from Victor Hugo who visited in 1843: Biarritz is amazing. My only fear is Biarritz becoming fashionable. Whether this happens, the wild village, rural and still honest Biarritz, will be money-hungry. Biarritz will put poplars in the hills, railings in the dunes, kiosks in the rocks, seats in the caves, trousers worn on tourists.

He wasn't wrong: it certainly became popular. From Wikipeadia:

Biarritz gained renown in 1854 when Empress Eugenie (the wife of Napoleon III) built a palace on the beach (now the Hôtel du Palais). European royalty, including British monarchs Queen Victoria and King Edward VII (who caused a minor scandal when he called H. H. Asquith to kiss hands at Biarritz in 1908 rather than return to London for the ceremony), and the Spanish king Alfonso XIII, were frequent visitors...

Biarritz's casino (opened 10 August 1901) and beaches make the town a notable tourist centre for Europeans and East Coast North Americans.

The launch of the Paris–Hendaye train led Biarritz to become one of the most outstanding tourist areas in Europe. The queen of the beaches became the beach of the kings and queens: Oscar II of Sweden, Leopold of Belgium, empress of Russia Maria Feodorovna, mother of Nicholas II of Russia, Empress Elisabeth of Austria, Natalie of Serbia and her son Alexander I of Serbia, George V from Britain, Edward VII and Britain's Queen Victoria, Alfonso XIII of Spain, as well aristocrats, rich people and actors from Europe and South America.

Empress Eugenie's palace: