As the world advanced towards the precipice life looked good in a small quiet corner of France. A powerful motor yacht turned out of the marina then surged down the Bidassoa River past Fuentarrabia on the Spanish side and Hendaye on the French side of the broad channel that separated the two countries. Once out into the bay they felt the swell of the open sea. Robert Moreau eased back on the throttle, he had no intention of having his guests throw up as his wife was about to open the Champagne. The short run to small picturesque Port of Pasajes San Juan, where they planned to stop for dinner, would take half an hour at the most.
His guests for the evening’s outing to the firework display in San Sebastian were Niall Kavanagh and his wife Françoise, old friends, Sophie Emerson and her English friend Tom Barton, and a real-estate promoter David Jameson.
After rounding Cabo Figueras they headed west at an easy speed with the slab like cliffs of Montaña and the green hills of the Basque Country on the portside. Admiring the passing landscape from the upper deck, the guests sipped the Champagne, Moreau’s wife, Gisle, had poured and helped themselves from the tray of appetizers she passed around. The weather was fine, around 27°C, the sky was clear and according to the forecast it would hold until late in the night when a depression was expected, momentarily putting an end to the fine weather, bringing a spell of high wind and rain.
Moreau’s boat, the Corsair, a powerful Guy Couach 3000 motor yacht equipped with two 1800HP motors giving it a top speed of 30 knots with a consumption of 150 litres of fuel an hour, had set him back over three million euros, but it was a good investment for his business as the exclusive French representative of the Spanish firm Martínez Construcciones.
That morning he had signed an agreement with Jameson to form a sales company for the promotion of the new apartment complex and shopping centre to be built plumb in the middle of Hendaye Ville, a deal worth more than one hundred million euros. The sub-prime crisis was still far away from the small town; on the other side of the Atlantic, its ripples just being felt on the other side of the English Channel.
The real estate market had never been so good with Spanish buyers almost flooding into Hendaye, which lay directly across the border from the Spanish towns of Irun and Fuentarrabia, the latter a picturesque walled town dating back to the Middle Ages, dominated by a fortified palace built under the King and Emperor Carlos V, situated less than twenty kilometres from the prosperous city of San Sebastian.
Since Spain had joined the European Union the Basque Region had seen a considerable development of its economy. Geographically it was an economically strategic location; the only practical land passage between France and Spain, lying on the western side of the Pyrenees with major road and rail connections for the massive flow of goods from one side of the border to the other.
Hendaye formed part of the Consortio, constituted by the three contiguous towns, which coordinated the development of common infrastructure, environmental and cultural projects. It was the first such cross border local government structure established in the EU.
Their mood was celebratory as Moreau dropped anchor a couple of cables offshore in Pasajes San Juan. They reached one of the wooden pontoons of the little quay in a small inflatable outboard dingy, which Moreau took care to leave in view of the restaurant he had chosen — he did not relish the idea of having to swim back to his boat if one of the locals took a fancy to the dingy, or its motor.
Barton was fascinated to discover Pasajes San Juan, or Pasai Donibane as it was known in Basque, a picturesque village that dominated the narrow channel leading into a large bay that was the home of a large industrial port, Pasajes Ancho, and the fishing port of Pasajes de San Pedro, some five or six kilometres from the centre of San Sebastian. It was vastly different from the Spain of the Costas, with few tourists; apart from local visitors and a sprinkling of over-the-border French.
Sophie related the history of the village composed of a colourful cluster of 18th and 19th-century buildings overlooking the channel. In 1777, Lafayette had set out from Pasajes de San Juan to take part in the American Revolution. Then in 1841 Victor Hugo, fascinated by the beauty of the spot and its people, lived in the village for a year, describing it in his book Voyage aux Pyrénées. It was a popular spot for an evening stroll for families and friends, followed by drinks or diner in one of the many bars and restaurants that lined its narrow streets below the cliffs and abrupt hills that overlooked the village.
It was still early and a closed sign hung on the door of the restaurant; it did not prevent Moreau from entering and looking for his friend, the owner and chef, explaining to him they needed to eat fairly quickly, so as not to be late for the start of the firework display.
They were shown to a table from which Moreau had a good view of his boat, and of course the dingy. He made quick work of the menu ordering a plate of boiled shrimps with fresh mayonnaise, and a plate of pimento de Gernika for starters, for the main dish they all agreed to merluza à la plancha. Moreau then selected a Rioja from the wine list, which was promptly served without ceremony, then to whet their appetites a plate of finely sliced Jamon Iberico was placed in the middle of the table.