St. Etienne to San Sebastian - Pyrenees to the Sea

If I could describe the days ride in just a few words I would call it the "ride of a thousand photographs." That's how many times I would have stopped to take pictures.

We left St Etienne de Baigorry this morning in low cloud/fog. It was not long until it began to lift and combined with the morning light we had stunning views as we ascended the mountain. We left France and crossed the border between Spain and France a few times.

 

We began the day with a big climb right up the Pyrenees.the sign indicated a 6% grade, but that was just the average because I saw plenty of 8-10% showing on my Garmin. The scenery was so breathtaking that it just didn't seem to matter.

We had yet another downhill and then ascended again right away. Overall we climbed about 4,000 feet at almost all of it in the beginning. The most beautiful was the first as seen in the photos. The vegetation & rock formations were truly amazing.

We stopped for coffee in a small French Village. Once we finished all of the climbing we ended up in San Sebastián for the night.

 

This is a beautiful city known for its pintxos/tapas. It also has an amazing beach and we walked to the historic old town after wandering along the beach. We even took time to dip our toes in the Bay of Biscay.

 

 

Loved San Sebastián and could have spent many more days here exploring. We have two more days of riding, neither of which will be as tough as these past few but still have some challenges of their own Our rides have have been challenging but have left me with such a great sense of accomplishment. This has truly been a trip of a lifetime.

 

We have only 2 days left both of which will be easier than recent days.

 

 

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