Yes, it does happen. The surf does go flat here sometimes.
After a couple days of rain, yesterday dawned clear. The surf cams showed a small clean swell here in Guethary but the tide was very low, so I made my way up to Landes in search of a good beach break. Unfortunately, the swell was dropping fast and I couldn't bring myself to go out in the knee-high perfect barrels of Tarnos. Instead I returned home.
Karen has become interested in watching French films (in French with no subtitles!), so we decided to walk the five+ miles into Saint Jean de Luz to see the new Marion Cotillard film, Deux Jours et une Nuit. We were a little short on time, so we took the shorter route which touches the Sentier Littoral (coastal trail) but misses most of the spectacular parts.
After a couple days of rain, yesterday dawned clear. The surf cams showed a small clean swell here in Guethary but the tide was very low, so I made my way up to Landes in search of a good beach break. Unfortunately, the swell was dropping fast and I couldn't bring myself to go out in the knee-high perfect barrels of Tarnos. Instead I returned home.
Karen has become interested in watching French films (in French with no subtitles!), so we decided to walk the five+ miles into Saint Jean de Luz to see the new Marion Cotillard film, Deux Jours et une Nuit. We were a little short on time, so we took the shorter route which touches the Sentier Littoral (coastal trail) but misses most of the spectacular parts.
Of course the views from our shorter version are nothing to complain about. This is what it looks like as you enter Saint Jean de Luz from the Sentier Littoral. This is the Pointe Saint Barbe, a large park bordering the botanical gardens with views across the bay of Saint Jean de Luz to the Pyrenees beyond. You can see Les Trois Coronnes in the background. For me, this peak epitomizes the Pays Basque. We've climbed it several times. I'll include pictures of our hikes there in another blog post.
We covered the last mile to the cinema and made it with just minutes to spare. I'm not sure I can recommend the film. It's the very unlikely story of a young depressive woman who must convince the majority of her coworkers to give up their bonuses so that she can keep her job. Marion Cotillard is a great actress and I can't say the film is without merit, but maybe it's a bit too self-involved for me.
We covered the last mile to the cinema and made it with just minutes to spare. I'm not sure I can recommend the film. It's the very unlikely story of a young depressive woman who must convince the majority of her coworkers to give up their bonuses so that she can keep her job. Marion Cotillard is a great actress and I can't say the film is without merit, but maybe it's a bit too self-involved for me.
We grabbed a light snack and a Perrier in the Place Louis XIV and then walked along the beach back towards Point Saint Barbe. It was a beautiful post-frontal day with puffy cumulus clouds. There were quite a few sunbathers on the beach but it was nothing like summer or holidays when you can't see the sand for the people there.
After traversing the park and walking a short distance along a picturesque street lined with classic Basque homes, we reentered the more rugged part of the trail for the longer (6 mile) walk back to Guethary.
The trail quickly climbs along the edge of the cliff where you have breathtaking views south towards Spain and north to Landes. To the South, the Sentier Littoral winds around Saint Jean de Luz and Ciboure and continues south along the Corniche down to Heydaye and the Spanish border. Other coastal trails continue from there into Northern Spain. To the north, the trail goes to Bidart, the village just beyond Guethary, passing at least a dozen reef and point breaks.
The trail quickly climbs along the edge of the cliff where you have breathtaking views south towards Spain and north to Landes. To the South, the Sentier Littoral winds around Saint Jean de Luz and Ciboure and continues south along the Corniche down to Heydaye and the Spanish border. Other coastal trails continue from there into Northern Spain. To the north, the trail goes to Bidart, the village just beyond Guethary, passing at least a dozen reef and point breaks.
Sentier Littoral south towards Spain (in the Distance)
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Sentier Littoral north towards Guethary, Bidart, Biarritz and Landes in the distance
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This part of the trail passes old World War II bunkers embedded in the cliffs now overgrown with lush greenery. There is apparently an underground tunnel (closed to the public) which connects them. The trail ends briefly at the Croix d'Archilua, erected there in the 19th century, then it turns down the hill to Erromardi.
As you descend the hill, you'll see one of many ancient Basque markers found along the Sentier Littoral.
Erromardi Erromardi is a popular beginner surf spot. Karen has surfed there many times and has very long rides. At low tides with a medium sized swell, it's a challenging left for more experienced surfers and at high tide, there is a Kamikaze right on the north end and a solid little-ridden left about a quarter mile offshore on the south end of the beach.
Karen entering the 'hidden' trail at Lafitenia Continuing along the road past Erromardi, you climb a steep hill and about a quarter mile further, you turn left onto a beautiful cliff-side trail. There's a small parking lot picnic area at the bottom that overlooks the famous surf break of Lafitenia. From the small picnic area, there is a trail that looks like it goes down the cliff. It doesn't. Instead it disappears from view - it isn't visible from above, but winds through the trees growing in the face of the cliff.
There's a trail in there?
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Karen in a clear spot on the Lafitenia trail
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The famous Lafitenia surf break (flat) When I first came to the area in the seventies (see my post Our Place in France - Part 1), I surfed it alone for the winter months I was there. I think it compares favorably with Rincon near Ventura. Now, it's rare to see even a bad day with fewer than 50 people in the water and often there are over one hundred.
I was fortunate to catch it last week looking like this. There were only 6 of us out for the first hour, but at lunch time, Quiksilver's employees all decided to join us and it got a little crazy. Quiksilver is one of the largest employers in the area. In general, the surf is more crowded in France than it is in California. The crowds drop off in the winter, but during the summer and fall when the water is in the 70s, it can be brutal.
The trail meets the service road for the Lafitenia beach then turns uphill onto the road that leads past several three and four-star campgrounds. This is the Acotz area which is officially part of Saint Jean de Luz. The area that was once filled with farmland is now home to dozens of campgrounds each complete with restaurants, swimming pools, rec rooms, cabins, and more amenities than you should ever have 'camping'.
Passing the campgrounds you cross into Guethary at Cenitz beach. The road ends and you're back on a trail that winds up the Cenitz hill. Karen and I often watch sunsets from here and the picture of us at the top of my homepage is taken from the hill at Cenitz looking south. The picture above is looking northwest. Cenitz has a small restaurant above its mostly rocky beach but is a popular surf break with a left point/reef to the south, a left and right reef in the center, and a right point/reef on the north end. Just beyond that is the famous big-wave break of Avalanche. You can see the 6 inch waves of Avalanche on the far right of the photo above.
Passing the campgrounds you cross into Guethary at Cenitz beach. The road ends and you're back on a trail that winds up the Cenitz hill. Karen and I often watch sunsets from here and the picture of us at the top of my homepage is taken from the hill at Cenitz looking south. The picture above is looking northwest. Cenitz has a small restaurant above its mostly rocky beach but is a popular surf break with a left point/reef to the south, a left and right reef in the center, and a right point/reef on the north end. Just beyond that is the famous big-wave break of Avalanche. You can see the 6 inch waves of Avalanche on the far right of the photo above.
Karen descending the trail to Les Alcyons Passing Cenitz, you're on a cliff side road with a train track on the right and multi-million euro luxurious Basque homes overlooking the ocean. There are paths down to the beach and the famous Les Alcyons surf break as well as the seaside restaurants on the 'jetty'. Most of the restaurants were completely demolished during the tempetes of this past winter (2014) where the cote Basque saw huge damage.
Uplifted sedimentary rock at Les Alcyons
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Jetee des Alcyons towards Guethary
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Itsasoan apartments (condos) next to Guethary's 'port'
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This picture was taking in the early 60s, but the same thing happened this past winter. When I was here in 1974, this building (Itsasoan) was Guethary's casino. When I returned in 2004, I was surprised to find that it and the grand hotel next door had been turned into condos. Worse, the buildings had been allowed to deteriorate with cracked bottle glass, peeling paint and rotting beams. After this winter's storms and the additional deterioration of the building, the tenants of Itsasoan finally did some work on its appearance. Final touches are in progress, but it certainly looks much better than it has over the past 10 years. Hopefully the Geteria next door will do the same.
We walked by the ongoing construction at the Itsasoan, continued past the popular Heteroclito restaurant which is housed under the parking area for the lower part of Guethary, said hello to Bob Simpson who has a spectacular apartment overlooking the Parlementia surf break (the Sunset Beach of France), and made our way to the Le Madrid where Cyril greeted us with sangrias and conversation.
True, there was no surf to be had, but our 11-mile hike in one of the most beautiful places in the world guaranteed us an appetite for another superb Basque dinner.
True, there was no surf to be had, but our 11-mile hike in one of the most beautiful places in the world guaranteed us an appetite for another superb Basque dinner.
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