Pyrenees : Part 12 - Day 6 Morning : Biarritz

Day 6 (Morning) of Pyrenees Drive

Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 6.

Route: Biarritz (Morning Walk) -- Rock of the Virgin

Must-Incur Costs :

(1) Petrol - EUR56.15 (last filled in Orleans on Day 4) 

The Story

060915: Last night, Prof Sweet Tooth drove all the way from Dune du Pilat to Biarritz, taking the toll road which allows us to reach slightly after 1am. I had researched on designated free parking spots in Biarritz. The place is Avenue Notre Dame - it is in the GPS. It overlooks Plage de la Cote des Basques. I had no idea what Plage de la Cote des Basques was until I woke up in the morning, and opened my eyes to the endless blue Atlantic Ocean! It was not cold. There were people jogging. The sun was bright. I welcomed the heat. There were many cars and camper vans parked along the road too. About a 5 minute walk down the road (it is a one-way street), we saw a toilet facility. Time to freshen up. 

Biarritz is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées Atlantiques department in southwestern France. It is a luxurious seaside town and is popular with tourists and surfers. (Source from Wikipedia).

Did you read what Wikipedia described? Pyrénées Atlantiques. We are entering Pyrenees after this! The purpose of this trip!

We walked into town and it was about a 15 minute walk, as I stopped a few times to snap photos of the blue green ocean. Close up, it was green. Further ahead, it was blue. We could see the famous status - Rock of the Virgin from afar, and decided to head towards that direction. Sunbathing and surfing are common here. For very obvious reasons!

The Rocher de la Vierge (The Rock of the Virgin Mary) named for the statue of the Holy Virgin placed on its summit in 1865, was used by Napoleon III as an anchoring point for the Port du Refuge (The Port of Refuge) dike that he planned to create. Hence, the rock was made accessible to land via a wooden bridge and a tunnel was drilled that enabled the delivery of stone blocks used for the construction of the dam. The wooden bridge didn't withstand the test of time and Gustav Eiffel replaced it in 1887 with an iron bridge that is still in place. The statue of the Virgin Mary was installed as a token of gratitude by whalers, saved from being shipwrecked by following a dazzling and mysterious light perceptible from the rock's summit. (Source from Accorhotels.com)

 

 

After the long morning walk, we stopped at a cafe that is strategically built close to the jogging path and a few metres away from the toilet facilities. It is so convenient for people to stop and rest after a jog. It must be the most common meeting point for anyone. We ordered a panini which has fillings of mozarella cheese, ham and tomato. EUR4.50. Oh so yummy especially when you are really hungry!

 

Now, we are ready to enter Pyrenees!