TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR COPYING, DISTRIBUTION AND MODIFICATION

Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document without a fee, provided that the person conspicuously and appropriately publishes on each copy the appropriate copyright notice and these terms and conditions for copying, distribution, and modifications. Changing this document or charging a fee for distribution or using this document for a financial profit is not allowed. Including this document in a publication that is for sale is not permitted.

This document solely expresses the author's current opinions. It in no way expresses the opinion of any other legal entity. This document does not claim to be correct, complete, or factual. Reading it is at your own risk.

Aug 3 - Aug 7, 2005

Waves of Sand and Water

Dunes at the Coastline of Les Landes

Manfred Pfluegl

Keywords: France, Les Landes, Bayonne, Capbreton, Hossegor, Leon, Vielle, Plage Huchet, Plage Moliets, Moliets, Plage Saint Girons, Saint Girons, tourist, travel trip report, travel log, travelogue.

Les Landes is the coastal region in the south-western corner of France. It starts at the French-and-Spanish border and follows the Atlantic coast line for some 120km. Les Landes is a popular camping destination. Being close to our home and having some desire to experience nights in a tent again, we have selected it as our travel destination. The day before we left for our vacation I scanned the internet for camp grounds. Being a well known region I expected to find some 10 or 20 camp grounds. I was astonished as within minutes of searching on the Internet I found close to 100 of them. The region is 120km long and has 100 camp grounds? That is about one camp ground per kilometer of coastline. Wow! It must be more than just popular.

We started in the south and slowly worked our way up in our camping bus, heading north. Right behind the Spanish border are the rich beach towns of Saint-Jean-de-Luz and Biarritz. Expensive real-estate and castles from the last century share the views of the ocean. The rich and famous came here in the last century, and still come here. It is like the Saint Tropez of the Atlantic. In August the main road leading through these towns is slow at best and grid-locked and entirely jammed at worst. It is sizzling hot and you are stuck in a tin can in bumper-to-bumper traffic. It is the downside of any summer trip to this region. On the upside, there is plenty of time to enjoy the beautiful flower beds in the center of the round-abouts and along a few central boulevards through the car window.

Bayonne

Bayonne is the biggest town in the region and as we get there it is in the midst of its yearly week-long festival. Thousands of people stream through the narrow streets of the old part of town, streets that have seen markets during medieval times. Friends of friends that I have never met before invite us to a glass of wine in a bar. It is our first glass of the day but clearly not their first. Concluding from their red noses and their animated state they all had at least half a dozen of drinks before. And as the alcohol loosens the tongue they start singing drinking and patriotic songs. During the week of festivities alcohol will flow in excess.

Capbreton and Hossegor

The highlight of Capbreton is the river that flows into the sea. Urban life centers along the waterfront, both ocean and river. Parallel to the river runs the main shopping area that is made attractive by being a pedestrian zone, inviting the tourists to stroll and window-shop. The "Hotel de Ville", city hall, is an attractive house in typical French architecture. Right next to it in the park we had our lunch picnic.

Less than a handful of kilometers onwards is the town of Hossegor. Another beach town, this one with a hip and happening flair. People come here to cruise, people-watch and be seen. As we drive along the coast we hardly get to see the ocean as the sand formations and dunes up to 10 meters tall hide the views and separate the beaches from the seafront and the road.

Leon

Leon is a small town inlands. Since it is away from the sea -- even though only a few kilometers -- it is already a lot more quiet. It's hot and people escape by going to its lake. Being a very shallow lake and waves being whipped up the wind, the dirt from its soil and bed are stirred up turning its water into an unattractive murky and brown color. Wind surfers don't seem to mind.

What got most of my attention in Leon and its vicinity were the houses built half in timber and half in bricks, in a framework construction. I am sure architects have a special term for that. It is charming to see these old dark brown, nearly black, timber logs in these time-worn buildings, and their contrast to the bricks in their natural red color or painted in bright blue and red shades.

Outside Leon is the insignificant village of Vielle where we had our base camp in one of the local camp grounds. Even our simple camp ground had all sorts of amenities: air castles, kid's playgrounds, swimming pool, restaurant and more. Here is where I learned that those campers are freaks. Cleaning freaks! In the area of the toilets and sinks were 6, yes 6, mops. This is how it worked: You step up to a sink to wash your hand, you mop the floor afterwards. You step up to a sink to rinse 2 plates after dinner, you mop the floor afterwards. You brush your teeth, you mop the floor. What insane cleanliness! My feet or shoes in general are not so dirty that I constantly need to clean the floor afterwards, so this mopping rule drove me crazy. Needless to say that I ignored it. And from the looks of it I was the only one who ignored it. But just seeing the others mopping restlessly made me shake my head.

Huchet

Some 4 km from the closest road is the isolated beach of Plage Huchet. The only way to get there is on foot. It is a lovely walk leading first through a shady pine forest along a creek and then up and down a large dune before finally a never-ending beach opens up in front of your eyes. In this heat, climbing the dune put sweat pearls on my skin. And pushing the baby stroller through the fine sand was a chore that made me very briefly doubt the endeavor. But once we saw the long empty beach in front of us it was all worth it. Very few people make it here. A couple of fisherman had their rods stuck in the sand. A guy was flying his kite, Inma was tanning, Angela was playing in the sand and with the shells we collected for her, and I was relaxing under the small sunshade we brought.

If you like peace, but don't want to be all alone, if you like to watch the waves roll in and hear them crash onto the sandy beach, if you like an endless beach that fades away in the haze on the horizon, than this beach would meet and exceed all your desires.

Moliets and Saint Girons

Plage Moliets is just the contrary of Plage Huchet. Since the road leads right to the beach and there is ample parking, you will find large crowds on the beach. The feeling of a sardine can will bubble up in your mind.

Plage Saint Girons is a bit better, meaning there are fewer people, but still plenty. The waves were nice the day we were there. They were about a meter tall, and we played with them extensively. The life guards were busy keeping the people within the supervised area. Their whistle was blowing constantly.

In Summary

The four days we were in Les Landes was a bit short. We have only seen half of the region and skipped the northern part around Mimizan. But the part that we have seen, I liked. It is a large protected area, and hence not too much construction and urbanization can be found. This might also be a reason for the fact that there are so many camp grounds but relatively few hotels in comparison. There are no skyscrapers or ugly tall buildings along the coast. Some of the smaller towns, especially those away from the actual coastline have kept their slow pace of living. The streets are quiet and everything is done leisurely. Climatically the region is very, very dry and the soil is sandy, even far away from the beaches. The only plant that seems to be capable of adapting well to the heat and the nutrient-poor sandy soil is the pine tree. So, all over the region are large pine forests, miles and miles long. Trails and bicycle paths crisscross them and connect thereby the different villages. Being flat, shady due to the surrounding pine forests and away from the traffic, these trails are a biker's paradise. It is a joy to ride through the forest and plenty of people use this opportunity.

Living so close, I am sure we will be back. Les Landes does not make for very exotic vacations, but it is relaxing and more in tune with nature than many other tourist destinations. I am looking forward to feel the wind in my hair, the sand between my toes and the smell of pine trees in my nose.

These copyright notice and legal disclaimers apply to all pages of this Web site.

Travel with Manfred