Pyrenees : Part 13 - Day 6 Afternoon : Espelette

Day 6 (Afternoon) of Pyrenees Drive

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

Route: Biarritz -- Espelette

Must-Incur Costs :

(1) None in the afternoon

The Story

060915: We left Biarritz at 11.30am, and in one hour, we were in Espelette. Our entry into Pyrenees! Our first photo of the Pyrenees range of mountains is at Larres Sore. We stopped by the road side and stared in awe at the view of the mountains. The skies were perfect that day with the fluffy white clouds. We were so happy. I could not believe that I was finally here in Pyrenees after 6 days of driving!

Prof Sweet Tooth in his own words - "This is wonderful. We can smell the cows here (pointing to his left), and we can smell the burning brakes of the cars passing here (pointing to his right), and we can smell our warm engine here (pointing to his car). This is how holiday should be."

I don't agree on the burning brakes of the cars. I don't even know how they smell like.

Espelette is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. It lies in the traditional Basque province of Labourd. (Source from Wikipedia)

Most houses built in traditional Basque style are white houses with red or occasionally green shutters. Truly, these type of houses can only be found in the Basque region and nowhere else in France.

 

We chose to enter Espelette city because this village is entirely dedicated to red chilli peppers. Oh my goodness - the chilli peppers were so delicious! We went inside a shop and got some free tasting of cured ham, and the chilli peppers mixed with ham. The bottles are small and they sell from EUR4 a bottle. I think that is the cheapest price I saw. I bought some as souvenirs.

Behind the shop, I did see a chilli pepper garden. Can you see the red chilli peppers? Now, we drive on to St Jean Pied de Port.