Dune du Pilat

Day 5: San Sebastián to Dune du Pilat

On Tuesday, I was sorry to leave the beautiful beaches of San Sebastián, but later in the day I was glad I did, because our next destination did not disappoint. 

We drove from San Sebastián back into France, to the Dune du Pilat, a giant sand dune that is growing larger and larger every year.  With the ocean on one side and the forests on the other, it’s a gorgeous place.  It requires a steep climb up hundreds of steps, or you can be foolish like me, and walk up the sand. 

Mom and I had a picnic of meat, cheese, bread and apples on the top of the dune, looking out over the gorgeous Cap Ferret, watching the sailboats below.

After the picnic, I ran down the dune to the water and walked along the beach for a long time, watching people up in flying dune buggies.  The climb back up was such a great workout though, albeit an exhausting one, and I was completely tuckered out by the time I got back to where mom was waiting.  When it was time to leave, unfortunately, I didn’t have a sandboard, so I improvised, using my hands to help me ride down the dune like a slide. 

Afterwards, we drove to the beach at Acarchon where we lounged for a while.  The water was colder there than it had been in Spain, so I completely wimped out of going in.  We had crepes with chocolate and an ice cream sundae before continuing the day’s long drive to La Rochelle. 

      
Our hotel in La Rochelle was located right next to the Tower of the Lantern, but St. Nicholas Tower and Tower of the Chain weren’t too far away.  We didn’t arrive until 10, so we had dinner at a café on a really neat walking street by the hotel.