Now you ask "Why that header image?" and I confess that I really don't know. I do recall stopping and taking that image and another minus my finger which I think I was including as a size guide! Oak galls were common in the oak trees I often climbed on Bostock's Farm across the cattle grid from where we lived in Kenilworth (Warwickshire) between my age six and eleven so the gall itself wasn't new to me. I don't remember Warwickshire galls that colour though and it's big, but not that big. I wonder if there had been an insect or bird on it a bit earlier. Such are the puzzlements of some of this reprising the ride!
These are from the town with the, to me, very un-French name of Soorts-Hossegor. Wikipedia has this to say about that:
In 1913, the town associated the toponym of Hossegor, from the name of its marine lake, with its original name of Soorts. The root of the name Soorts is probably close to that of Sorde, the verb gascon sórder or sordar, sourdre, meaning "where there are sources". Related names are Sor (Ariège, Sort) and Sort-en-Chalosse (Landes) from the same Gascon etymon. The origin of Hossegor is more obscure: it may be an Aquitain or Basque name to be attached to the hydronyms osse and the adjective gorri, meaning "dry water".[citation needed]
I like the "citation needed"! More on the town at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soorts-Hossegor
I think those two men just struck me as very French (unlike the town name!) It also looks as if there has been a shower of rain and I thought I didn't hit any until the final ride into Compostella. Hm.
I had the impression I was moving into more seriously moneyed towns.
But maybe those aren't all that posh! This isn't.
A classic "pop-pop and panniers" as we used to call them when I a child when they were very, very common in France and ridden by pretty much all ages and manner of people often with a second person sitting on the back rack. The engine really does drive the front wheel by being pushed forward onto it with that lever so I assume that brakes are applied after pull the engine up off the wheel! I hadn't seen one for many years and I don't think I've seen one since.
In Bayonne I felt I was started to make up distance and was getting excited, and a bit nervous about going over into Spain so I checked into a motel (I think it was the first place that I had seen charging points for electric cars with a couple of very flash looking cars connected up near where I stored proto-Tito and tucked into this.
and then this.
I do remember that both were very welcome and the odd snippet of memory that does come back to me is that there were many photos of former French rugby player and I sort of half-recognised him, but with no name coming to mind. I asked the young waitress about it and she told me he owned the motel and was very full of himself and she clearly, clearly did not like him. I trust she has very long ago moved on and I'm pretty sure she was doing it as a holiday job so I guess that's safe!
Added 30.viii.26.