I left the Cognac-district in a steady rain, drove highways down to the Biscaya bay, Capbreton, a small city near Biarritz. That seemed to be a surfers paradise, but also a place made for tourists. From there I continued along really small roads towards the Spanish border, but when I realized that it would have taken me many more hours than the GPS told me, I let the nav guide me to Jaca, a small town on the Spanish side of the border.
It was really interesting to see how big a difference there is in the light, between the French and Spanish side, whereas the air is moist, humid and full of particles on the French side and thus more "gray", it was clear, bluish and totally different on the Spanish side. The mountains are a huge barrier for the rain clouds, like on the Norwegian coast, it rains on one side, and the other side stays dry.