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Monday 31^st October: THE LAST DAY: We were all ready to move – surprising how many jobs there were still to do – by 11.30 –

Oi – oi! Who said you could take over?

They’re my postcards, and I’m on the road again.

Big bully!

Tais-toi, petite crevette!

Crevette ! CREVETTE ? Who are you calling a little shrimp, you big, battered –

Do you want to go home or not?

It’s going to be a long way with nothing to look at but your back end – which is not a pretty sight just now.

That was HIS fault.

We didn’t go far – just over the road to the nearest picnic site for a planning meeting. The need to shop seemed urgent but Intermarché in Labenne is closed at lunch time so we headed for Leclerc at Capbreton. Then lunch in a lovely picnic area that they had seen last week when out with my little friend, and since the weather was again as predicted, meaning an exceptionally warm afternoon, we made for the nearest beach, not far from the ‘ghost village’ described in an earlier ‘postcard’. We were lucky to find a large, almost empty carpark without height limiters where we parked easily and THEY went for a last laze on the sand. HE did go into the water, but didn’t tackle the waves – those rollers were BIG! He came back muttering something about discretion and valour – I didn’t get it …

The final view of the Atlantic as they came off the beach:

 

Then we drove a fantastic 57kms to a simple service area  – a big lay-by, really, – off the N10, where caravan parking was well designed (drive in – drive out) and separated from the lorries by a 3.2m height limiter, where we parked up for the night. While shopping at LeClerc they had bought some Merlu à la Basquaise  which they enjoyed as a farewell to the Pays Basque (for now).

Merlu is a fish but we don’t know which one – and we’re not going to ask Google Translate – they’ll probably tell us it’s a wizard! And as for basquaise, don’t go there!

Now here’s a surprise; of all the unlikely places, on the wall above the basins in the shared area of the ‘acceptable’ loo block in that lay-by was an Esperanto sticker! No contact details, just a sticker with the green star and the words ESPERANTO, LINGVO INTERNACIA. Nobody speaks it, of course; everybody speaks English. Where are my memories?