Hossegor - San Sebastián

Over the border, overdue but right on time.

It is a strange and guilty feeling when the spectacular fails to satisfy, when we momentarily wonder whether we might like to swap the vistas and the freedom for a day at home. We are exactly where we have chosen to be yet sometimes we cannot help but feel we don’t want to be here at all. It is a fleeting feeling and disappears as quickly as it comes, but it is there, sometimes.

Our last week in France felt like one too many, the place hadn’t changed but perhaps we had. When Joey left he took with him some of our own energy and enthusiasm too, leaving behind a human-shaped hole that we struggled to fill. Having a guest had been such a joy, the connection to family and home was a comfort after 3 months on the road. Now alone again we felt a subtle twang of envy, a little longing to return and embrace the next phase of our lives as he was.

Then again if a change is what we desired it need not be so drastic, we didn’t really want to go home we simply needed to continue our voyage, to recalibrate and remind ourselves how fortunate we are. The French Basque had been a wonderful place to explore but now after 5 varied weeks we had begun to overlook it’s beauty and take it’s gifts for granted. Not even the Gateaux Basque, by now a daily ritual tasted as sweet as they once had.

In La Rhune at the top of the mountain peak we momentarily crossed the border into Spain and it felt like a symbolic act. We could see San Sebastian ahead of us to the west, St Jean De Luz behind in the east and we knew which direction had a greater pull. After stumbling back to sea level we found our bodies ached but our minds were fresh and excited once more. In a single panorama we had taken in our journey, looking back with renewed gratitude and forward with giddy excitement.

In the days that followed we had time to revisit and surf in Santa Barbe, Hendaye and Lafitenia with enthusiasm, soaking up the sun and the waves as we had upon our arrival here. It felt symbolic that the showers were removed from the beaches at the start of October, shops and campsites closed too. This transition gave us a sense of haste and confirmed what we already new - it was time to bid the area farewell, the Spanish side of the border beckoned us and we could feel it’s pull.