Day 1- Hendaye to Olhette

After our much needed sleep we put on our packs to find the start of the trail where we ate paninis and espresso on the beach.  We began our climb out of Hendaye- winding around the Bay of this historic Basque city- past the old stone and whitewash Basque houses into the rolling pasture land overlooking the Atlantic. We spent the next many hours climbing into the mountains surrounded by horses grazing on the mountainside. After a few hours of climbing we came to very small town on the French- Spanish border full of funny little shops selling wine from barrels by the litre for 1-2 e.  We continued on through the afternoon climbing slowly through wet forests and fernland until we came to a perfect campsite on a mountain top just before the town of Olhette.  We spent the night here surrounded by the sound of the bells from the horses ranging free around us.