Along the road from Bergerac to the Basin Arcachon we passed the village of Ste. Terre located on the banks of the Dordogne.

Once we got around Bordeaux, the road to the Basin Arcachon was lightly traveled. We followed the signs to the Dune du Pyla and found ourselves in a parking lot at the base of the dune. This dune (photo at right) is 375 feet high, two miles long and a half mile wide. It actually formed during the past 300 years as two separate dunes merged. We heard there was a wonderful view from the top of the dune, but by the time we got 2/3 of the way up these stairs, the wind was howling and Jan began to worry about her ankle, so we decide to walk in a quieter area.

We grabbed a quick sandwich at the base of the dune and were off through the city of Arcachon.

At first there were many places where you could stop and view the bay. Here we could see Cap Ferret and the bay. As we got further into Arcachon, the number of one way streets and streets blocked by construction grew. We finally headed back to the highway toward Port du Teich and its bird refuge.

Once again we found a parking lot at the beginning of the trails leading into the Parc Ornithologique du Teich. The first thing we noticed was the number of storks nesting both on the nesting platforms built for them and in the pine trees in the refuge. We also spotted cormorant, egrets and other shore birds. The walk was wonderfully quiet. There were a few other hikers and some bikers, but not many. Occasionally we came on the cabins probably used by fisherman.

In addition to the birds there were many lizards sunning themselves near the path. One that got away before I could get a picture was bright green, about a foot long and six inches high. A real beauty. The one pictured was a camera hog who wanted to be on a Web site.

After leaving the refuge we traveled up the bay toward Andernos Les Bains where we had reserved a room at a bed and breakfast. By the time we got to Andernos we wanted afternoon coffee before we searched for the B&B. We pulled off on a side street and parked the car.

Andernos is obviously a summer community with a laid back atmosphere. Many of the shops along the main road through the town were closed. We finally found a pâtisserie and took our treats with us to a park. We decided to try and locate the B&B and ask there where we could go for coffee. We didn't have a good map so we went to the information center.

Clearly the center was just opening for the season and the lady there had never heard of the street where our B&B was located. She voluteered to make a photocopy of a town map and we searched the map together, looking for the street. It turned out to be just three blocks away.

We walked back to the street and found our car parked just one block from the B&B. The owner of Les Albatros, M. Jacques Malfere, was waiting out front to welcome us. He said he had thought about the amount of lugage we would have and asked us if we would prefer to stay in the larger Safari room. As you can see it is a beautiful room.

After settling in, we walked down to the water. An oyster boat (left) and lots of sailboats were high and dry at low tide. We came back an talked with M. Malfere about his computer and places to eat. Monday night is another night that a number of restaurants don't open, so we wanted some pointers before we went out searching.

The main pier at Andernos is where most of the restaurants are located. We found a great little restaurant and had an excellent dinner. Afterwards, like just about everyone in the area, we walked out on the pier. The sunset reminded us of Door County.